Wanna Do More Pullups (Or Your Very 1st One)? Do this first.
It’s easier than you might think
Beach season is right around the corner, and that can only mean one thing. Well, two things:
- You’re going to be scantily clad.
- You’re going to want to look good while scantily clad.
Strength coach Dan John has jokingly remarked that people who say they want to look good with no shirt on are often the ones you can’t even tell work out unless they don’t have a shirt on. An admittedly snarky observation, but he’s got a valid point.
One of the best ways to look like you work out — with or without a shirt on — is by having a big, powerful back.
You know the kind:
- The kind that crowds out that slack in any t-shirt and fills it with lean, powerful muscle.
- The kind that stretches the logo on the back of any shirt until the design starts to crack and wear.
- The kind that makes you look every bit as dangerous and capable with your back turned. (Heck, the kind that looks big even while you’re facing someone!)
No matter who you are or what your goal is, a powerful back is a great “accessory” to have, for both strength AND “the looks”, and the undisputed champion of badazz back building is the pullup.
However!
A lot of people make the mistake of thinking that it’s their first, last, and only line of defense against a back smoother than a sheet of glass. So what do they do?
They chase pullups prematurely.
That’s right, as much as I love pullups (and believe me, I do), and as much as I want YOU to do pullups (or do even more pullups than you currently can), you’re making a BIG mistake if you’re skipping the fundamental step of building an unbreakable “movement foundation” and putting your time in with an unsung and oft-skipped move: the kettlebell row.
Case in point:
One of my students many years ago, Robin, was a 59 year-old grandma and avid recreational climber. She could do 1–2 pullups and had tasked me with helping her do more. I let her know that we’d work on them once she had sufficiently paid her dues with kettlebell rows, and she agreed.
After one particular session, she told me she went climbing later that night and that she absolutely smashed a really hard climb — one that was so hard her fellow climbers were telling her to stop!
And not only did she dominate that day, she did another one of my workouts a few days later and again smashed a hard climb later that evening like it was nothing.
The moral of the story:
Don’t dismiss the power of the row in building immediately usable back strength.
Even if you’re not a climber, if you have any ambitions whatsoever of pulling your way upward to greater glory (and a pretty sweet-looking set of wings on your back), then rows will get you there. But ONLY if you put in the time to practice them.
“So how can I practice them?” you ask?
Here’s a simple routine to start tossing into your regularly scheduled strength programming:
- At the beginning of each workout, do 1 moderate set of rows — something like 8–12 reps per side.
- At the end of each workout, do 1 more moderate set of rows, aiming to match the earlier set as best you can.
Bam. No fuss, no muss, and no complicated programming. Plus, plenty of rows, which is always a plus.
Give this a shot and let me know how it works out for you.
And while you’re on your journey toward making mad gains, you might want to give yourself a boost with my 9-Minute Kettlebell and Bodyweight Challenge.
It’s designed around the most foundational of all movements — your gait pattern — and many people have written in to tell me they’ve either maintained or even improved on their favorite kettlebell and bodyweight exercises, even without practicing them.
Oh, and it’s free. What’s not to love?
Get thee thine own copy here => http://www.9MinuteChallenge.com
Have fun and happy training!
Aleks Salkin
