Why are Pull Ups so damn hard?

[pugilistico]

My pull up improvement really sucks and I can't help but think there must be something I'm missing.

I always wanted to be able to do comfortably do pullups (like 20+) but it's always evaded me. The most I've ever been able to do in one set was 18 and this was when I was the strongest. I was doing heavy compound lifts regularly and doing pullups at every workout. But this was years ago and in retrospect, I don't think I was doing strict pullups (my chest wasn't touching the bar).

Fast forward to now where I lost a lot of strength due to injuries and just got interested in doing other things than lifting. I'm currently recovering from a herniated disk and only doing upperbody exercises since doing anything lowerbody hurts. I figure I would use this as an opportunity to train as much as I can to the extent that I can while I'm recovering. I want to get better at pullups.

I go to a very small, ill-equipped but very cheap gym which is fine because I can't do much anyway. I basically just do pull ups, bench, seated OHP, and lat pull downs along with some dumbbell and cable exercises. I've been doing this for a couple months now. 2-3 times a week. I'm content with how fast I got my bench numbers up. I went from doing 5x5 with 60kg to now doing 90 for reps. Increased my lat pulldown numbers as well.

But my pullup improvement is so damn slow. I started with doing 5 per set to currently max 8 reps in a set. I can do much less in my subsequent sets (5-4). I've gotten better everything else by simply doing more of it, but pullups are the one exercise where this approach doesn't seem to work. And I'm implementing all the tips I've gotten online like scapular retraction, making my body straight, using pauses and slow eccentrics.

Is pullup improvement always like this? Am I missing something?

I've been watching a few videos like this guy who can do some impressive stuff. He says your brachs are important and suggests forearm exercises. I'm doing more grip strength and forearm exercises to see if it helps.

 

[KnightTemplar]

Have you considered Greasing the Groove? You'll need a pull up bar you can use multiple times a day. The idea is to do short, easy workouts at home. So if your max is 8, do 4 - 5 sets of 3 per day. GTG has a good rep with guys who focus on calisthenics.

Everyone's built differently, so we all have different strengths and weaknesses. Deadlift is the easiest for me to progress on. Squatting is tougher for me and my Bench is fucking horror show.

 

[pugilistico]

Have you considered Greasing the Groove? You'll need a pull up bar you can use multiple times a day. The idea is to do short, easy workouts at home. So if your max is 8, do 4 - 5 sets of 3 per day. GTG has a good rep with guys who focus on calisthenics.

Everyone's built differently, so we all have different strengths and weaknesses. Deadlift is the easiest for me to progress on. Squatting is tougher for me and my Bench is fucking horror show.

My gym is very close so I could drop by and just pump out a couple sets and go home. Maybe I just need to do more throughout the week

 

[KnightTemplar]

My gym is very close so I could drop by and just pump out a couple sets and go home. Maybe I just need to do more throughout the week

Pull ups are one of those exercises that respond best to volume. If you can train them daily, you will make faster progress.

 

[maximus__]

My pull up improvement really sucks and I can't help but think there must be something I'm missing.

I always wanted to be able to do comfortably do pullups (like 20+) but it's always evaded me. The most I've ever been able to do in one set was 18 and this was when I was the strongest. I was doing heavy compound lifts regularly and doing pullups at every workout. But this was years ago and in retrospect, I don't think I was doing strict pullups (my chest wasn't touching the bar).

Fast forward to now where I lost a lot of strength due to injuries and just got interested in doing other things than lifting. I'm currently recovering from a herniated disk and only doing upperbody exercises since doing anything lowerbody hurts. I figure I would use this as an opportunity to train as much as I can to the extent that I can while I'm recovering. I want to get better at pullups.

I go to a very small, ill-equipped but very cheap gym which is fine because I can't do much anyway. I basically just do pull ups, bench, seated OHP, and lat pull downs along with some dumbbell and cable exercises. I've been doing this for a couple months now. 2-3 times a week. I'm content with how fast I got my bench numbers up. I went from doing 5x5 with 60kg to now doing 90 for reps. Increased my lat pulldown numbers as well.

But my pullup improvement is so damn slow. I started with doing 5 per set to currently max 8 reps in a set. I can do much less in my subsequent sets (5-4). I've gotten better everything else by simply doing more of it, but pullups are the one exercise where this approach doesn't seem to work. And I'm implementing all the tips I've gotten online like scapular retraction, making my body straight, using pauses and slow eccentrics.

Is pullup improvement always like this? Am I missing something?

I've been watching a few videos like this guy who can do some impressive stuff. He says your brachs are important and suggests forearm exercises. I'm doing more grip strength and forearm exercises to see if it helps.

You could try adding some weight if you are around that 10 rep mark.

Do higher rep pullup sets one day around the 6-8rep mark (closer to your max) and another day add some weight and do 2-5 rep sets with it.
You will get stronger and eventually hit your 8 reps with the added weight, making the normal pullups easier.

I maintain around 15 reps rarely doing more than 10 in a set with this approach.
I used Pavels fighter pullup program back in the day to get to 20 reps.

 

[ricc505]

I do sets of 15, I haven't tried a single set over 20. I hadn't worked out in a long time and was surprised by the difficulty regaining the strength. I started doing sets at the park when walking the dog or at the park with the kid. I do them nearly every day, I won't ever be able to do one arm pullups again, not at 45.

What grip do you use? I have limited range of motion and prefer hammer grip or chin up to pullup

 

[Kowboy On Sherdog]

Man. I haven't tried pull ups or a rope climb in years. Would love to add them to my workout.

 

[ChickenBrother]

What is your height and weight OP? Not an expert but the most pull ups I've done was 34 weighing 165 lbs at 5' 8" - chin clearing the bar but not to chest. Like other bodyweight exercises, maxing pull ups is about relative strength, technique and speed. You only have around a minute before the lactic acid builds up and then you can only crank out a few more - because you can't fully recover while hanging from the bar unless you have Stephen Hawking legs. So you train to do them as quickly as possible in that first minute or so.

Not sure if you can do them with a herniated disc, but the biggest thing that increased my pull ups was barbell bent over rows. Prior to doing those regularly, I was also stuck at a plateau of 16-18 pull ups going to failure, and once you can do that many pull ups non-stop, it's not about strength anymore but strength endurance. With push ups, I found that just doing a shitload of reps increased my ability to do more push ups, but with pull ups, doing that caused me to stall around 16-18 reps, even when I trained with weighted pull ups.

YMMV but those bent over rows really helped. I think I was doing work sets of 4-8 reps with 155 to 205 lbs (my form was not good with 205 but I still touched the bar to my sternum) at 165 lbs bodyweight. After 2 months of those workouts, my max pull up count increased from 18 to 34.

 

[pugilistico]

You could try adding some weight if you are around that 10 rep mark.

Do higher rep pullup sets one day around the 6-8rep mark (closer to your max) and another day add some weight and do 2-5 rep sets with it.
You will get stronger and eventually hit your 8 reps with the added weight, making the normal pullups easier.

I maintain around 15 reps rarely doing more than 10 in a set with this approach.
I used Pavels fighter pullup program back in the day to get to 20 reps.

I'll try that too. I can squeeze a dumbbell between my feet starting with 5kg since that's the smallest one available. I thought doing heavier lat pull downs would help but it hasn't really translated into pullups.

What grip do you use? I have limited range of motion and prefer hammer grip or chin up to pullup

I don't know how to explain it but I use a pronated grip I curl my wrist forward so that my knuckles are directly over the bar. I don't know if that explains it but it has helped me with pulling in general.

What is your height and weight OP? Not an expert but the most pull ups I've done was 34 weighing 165 lbs at 5' 8" - chin clearing the bar but not to chest. Like other bodyweight exercises, maxing pull ups is about relative strength, technique and speed. You only have around a minute before the lactic acid builds up and then you can only crank out a few more - because you can't fully recover while hanging from the bar unless you have Stephen Hawking legs. So you train to do them as quickly as possible in that first minute or so.

Not sure if you can do them with a herniated disc, but the biggest thing that increased my pull ups was barbell bent over rows. Prior to doing those regularly, I was also stuck at a plateau of 16-18 pull ups going to failure, and once you can do that many pull ups non-stop, it's not about strength anymore but strength endurance. With push ups, I found that just doing a shitload of reps increased my ability to do more push ups, but with pull ups, doing that caused me to stall around 16-18 reps, even when I trained with weighted pull ups.

YMMV but those bent over rows really helped. I think I was doing work sets of 4-8 reps with 155 to 205 lbs (my form was not good with 205 but I still touched the bar to my sternum) at 165 lbs bodyweight. After 2 months of those workouts, my max pull up count increased from 18 to 34.

I'm 5'6 and weigh around 158. When I was able to do 18 reps years ago, I was about 165. Back then I did a lot of deadlifts and bent over rows so the I believe you that it helps.
Unfortunately I can't do bent over rows now. Bending over to pick up a 10kg dumbbell hurts enough so I'm being very careful. I have however started to incorporate inverted rows on the smith machine by putting my feet up on the bench. I guess I could place a plate on my torso for weight.

Thanks for the input guys. I'll try to incorporate the following:
Do pullups more frequently throughout the week.
Low rep weighted pullups.
Weighted rows.
I'll continue to work on my grip and forearm strength as well to see if it helps.

 

[Blazeblack]

Just be consistent and patient with yourself. Try to keep your muscles relaxed keep good form. Try to do just a little bit more every time you do some.

It's a son of a bitch, but if you stick with it you'll find that pull ups are one of the best work outs you can do.

 

[maximus__]

I'll try that too. I can squeeze a dumbbell between my feet starting with 5kg since that's the smallest one available. I thought doing heavier lat pull downs would help but it hasn't really translated into pullups.


I don't know how to explain it but I use a pronated grip I curl my wrist forward so that my knuckles are directly over the bar. I don't know if that explains it but it has helped me with pulling in general.


I'm 5'6 and weigh around 158. When I was able to do 18 reps years ago, I was about 165. Back then I did a lot of deadlifts and bent over rows so the I believe you that it helps.
Unfortunately I can't do bent over rows now. Bending over to pick up a 10kg dumbbell hurts enough so I'm being very careful. I have however started to incorporate inverted rows on the smith machine by putting my feet up on the bench. I guess I could place a plate on my torso for weight.

Thanks for the input guys. I'll try to incorporate the following:
Do pullups more frequently throughout the week.
Low rep weighted pullups.
Weighted rows.
I'll continue to work on my grip and forearm strength as well to see if it helps.

Buy a dip belt off Amazon, use a back pack, rope or belt if you do BJJ. Pulldowns don't translate at all unless you can't do any.

 

[pugilistico]

Buy a dip belt off Amazon, use a back pack, rope or belt if you do BJJ. Pulldowns don't translate at all unless you can't do any.

I have a belt from doing judo and of course i have backpacks. I can't believe I didn't think of that before

 

[maximus__]

I have a belt from doing judo and of course i have backpacks. I can't believe I didn't think of that before

Haha weighted pullups were my main pulling movement for about 5 years. I use a combination of my weightvests and dip belt depending on weight.
A Judo belt is perfect. Don't use a resistance band unless you can be really strict... I have made that mistake before.

 

[Deaths Head]

An old school gym I used to go to back in th3 day had a pull up bar you needed a stepping platform to reach ( I think the higher the bar the harder it was always seemed more gravity pulling down on you ? ) they had a specific weight belt you could use with a clip you can latch any weight to it even those 45 Olympic ones . I remember using them I was still in high school they definitely worked , though I never overly improved in pull up volume ( most likely bc I was doing it wrong and mixing it in on wrong days but it did make me stronger.) I’m sure there’s much better information these days how to do pull ups , I don’t think I ever did more then 30 ?

I came in third in high school contest doing 21 , second place did 24 and we both got smoked by the lightest guy who also happened to be a real life gymnast he was basically a pro he did 44 . Lol