How to improve your pull-up game in the gym.
One of the more common exercises that people struggle with in the gym, often opting for the assisted version instead. But why is it so hard to do pull-ups for some people and how can you improve on them?
Grip Issues.
One of the biggest issues with the pull-up, is being able to hold your own bodyweight long enough to perform the reps. Grip is a common issue in many pulling movements but can be improved quite easily. Start holding the last rep on your sets for as long as you can. This works particulary well on exercises like deadlift and you’ll train your finger and forearm grip strength. Another great way is to perform negative pull-ups as shown below:
The focus on this exercise is only on the lowering phase. Simply jump or step up to the top portion of the lift, then holding your own weight lower as slowly as possible on each rep. This will teach your body to hold your own weight and improve your grip. You’ll soon strengthen up on full pull-ups adding this into your routine.
High Rep Issues.
Outside of grip and muscular strength issues, people will often struggle to crank out high rep sets on pull-ups, letting their form completely go to pot…which can result in injuries. There’s an easy system you can implement in order to build up your reps over time known as ladders. By basically breaking down your sets into smaller reps, you can focus on form better, allowing your body to strengthen up a whole load quicker. Here’s an example of how you can do it:
Ladder Pull-ups
- Day 1: 3, 2, 1, 1
- Day 2: 3, 2, 1, 1
- Day 3: 3, 2, 2, 1
- Day 4: 3, 3, 2, 1
- Day 5: 4, 3, 2, 1
Between each of the rep ranges simply drop down, shake your arms off and get ready to go again after a short rest (no longer than 15–20 seconds). Small incremental increases over time will start to add up to a lot more reps per set before you know it.
Strength Issues.
Bit of an obvious one. To get better at pull-ups, don’t aim to get movement strong, aim to get muscle strong. Therefore you’re going to have to train the necessary muscle groups required for the pull-up in order to strengthen them up. We created this workout that will help you in this area.
You’ll be reppin’ in no time!
