By: Tony Gentilcore
If you’re a guy and can’t perform at least five pull-ups, you have absolutely no business doing an “arm day” where you perform seven different variations of arm curls in a matter 45 minutes. The reason you don’t have big arms is because you’re weaker than a baby’s fart, not because you don’t do enough arm curls. Don’t be that guy.
We all know that pull-ups are superior for building impressive backs, but they are THE best arm builders as well (your biceps are in the direct line of pull). If you can’t do them on your own, then I suggest you get yourself a Jump Stretch band and perform assisted pull-ups to help.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4449111140286223656
I like assisted band pull-ups because they serve as a great source of accommodating resistance. You get more “help” at the point of your weakest mechanical advantage (at the bottom), and the least amount of “help” at the point of your strongest mechanical advantage (as you pull yourself closer to the bar). Essentially, the closer you get to the bar, the more of your own bodyweight you’re pulling. I like this A LOT better than those assisted pull-up machines where you get the same amount of “assistance” throughout the entire lift. In my opinion, it’s more of a crutch than anything.
just a question on pull ups. am i suppose to let my shoulders ‘rise’ in between reps? I kept my shoulders locked when i was pausing at the bottom (dead hang? at least I thought it was) and this PT (not mine) told me I was cheating.
Its not clear how to use them, can you guys send out some links to some good tutorials on them?
My gym has those shitty bands with the plastic handles at the end. How would you recommend using those in a similar fashion? I tried looping it around the bar and putting my foot in it, but space doesn’t leave much room for error.
Thanks,
-burgers and cheese
I always tell my clients they should come to a dead stop at the bottom of the lift, elbows “slightly” bent. I can’t quite picture what you mean when you say that your shoulders rise, but I will say that I like to tell people to pull through their elbows and lead with their chest and focus on pulling the shoulder blades together at the top of the movement.
As far as the people asking for a further explanation on how to set the bands up:
1. Just loop the band through at the top of the rack or pull-up bar.
2. Place the bottom portion of the band (ie: pull it down) about half way between your knee and ankle.
3. Grab the bar and let er rip.
And those “shitty” bands with the plastic grip probably wouldn’t be the best choice. If your gym doesn’t have the proper bands, I suggest that you go to http://www.elitefts.com and purchase your own. A Jump Stretch band will run you around $18. It’s cheap. And there are various other bands that will offer different resistance as well. I have a Jump Stretch band, a set of Green average bands, and a set of mini-bands. Granted I use all the bands for other purposes, but I am able to use them for pretty much every variety of clients I have when it comes to pull-ups.
Hope that clarifies a few things.
yea, when i submitted that, I thought “that’s pretty unclear.”
what I mean is that I keep my shoulder blades close, kinda like setting up for bench, when setting up for the first rep (of pull up). and i maintain that throughout the set.
this PT was telling me that when i pause at the bottom, i should… uh… what’s the word? basically, i should let my body drop as low as possible (so my shoulders would kinda ‘rise’ compared to while i’m pulling) and then pull my shoulder blades in again when starting the next rep.
I wouldn’t do that while pressing, so I wasn’t doing it while pulling either.
i hope it made some sense this time.