Pull Ups

[Reesha]

That is AWESOME! My personal trainer was telling me that some people just aren't cut out for them, so that made me feel better when I spent a whole summer training on the chin up assist and never got to where I could do a regular pull up. Good on you!

[Susan]

I've always been wondering what's wrong with me and pull-ups. I just can't move as soon as my arms are straight. If I start from a position where my arms are bent a little bit, or jump just a little to get myself going, I can do 3 pullups on a good day. But if I straighten my arms fully I can't do even one. Not only that I can't move even the tiniest bit
And I don't seem to get better with practise.
Strange.

[Reesha]

I think it's important to train your grip as well... If you have weak hands/forearms, pull ups will be a real challenge. There are also these loopy things you can do pull ups on that are supposedly easier to grab. I did enjoy doing them on the pull up assist machine though. Have you ever tried that Susan?

[Susan]

I think it's important to train your grip as well... If you have weak hands/forearms, pull ups will be a real challenge. There are also these loopy things you can do pull ups on that are supposedly easier to grab. I did enjoy doing them on the pull up assist machine though. Have you ever tried that Susan?

I work out at home so I can't try these, but I can do assisted pull-ups by either asking DH to help by holding one of my feet or putting one foot on the stability ball.
It would still feel great to be able to do them all by myself

I'm quite short and stocky, muscular but heavy, so that is part of the problem for sure.

[lph]

That is AWESOME! My personal trainer was telling me that some people just aren't cut out for them

I think this is definitely the case, and it's also a technique thing. I've "always" been able to do pullups, straight arm, palms facing away, since I learned tham at karate class as a teenager. I have rock climbed for many years which obviously is an asset, but still, there are good female climbers who can barely do one pull-up, and even after not climbing for about two years I could do them quite easily. The difference was just how many I could do, not if I could do them at all.

My shoulder stability sucks, though...

[Reesha]

I think it is also a function of skeleton size. My friends who are fine boned have always been able to do pull ups, whereas I don't know many large framed friends like myself that could do them. We'd have to haul up a lot more heavy skeleton I guess.

[Wahine]

It has everything to do with strength to weight ratio and lever length. Just like anything else we do against gravity, the heavier it is the harder it is to lift. In this case what you're lifting is your body weight. But, leverage has a lot to do with it too. People with longer long bones (arm and leg bones) will typically have more trouble with pull-ups that a person with shorter limbs. So if you've got long limbs and you're not model thin... You get the idea.

This is why most gymnasts are more compact looking. Shorter levers mean you easier work to move those long bones when doing body weight based movements that require power.

Someone else mentioned grip strength and this is very important too.

[OakLeaf]

lever length

Never thought about that, but wow, is that enlightening.

Short people have one reason to live!