Bodyweight Exercises: Understanding Pull Ups And Where To Begin, Part 1 (A Beginner’s Guide).

The Pull up is one of my favourite exercises. There is something very primal about being able to pull your own body up and down. It gives you a feeling of tremendous power and freedom, but at the same time will very quickly give you that incredible pumped feeling!

The athletes who have mastered the pull up are gymnasts and climbers, not bodybuilders and weight lifters. Although I’m sure many bodybuilders can do quite a few pull ups, it is the athletes who are training exclusively with their own bodyweight who have really benefited from this awesome exercise.

The fact that both gymnasts and climbers have lean, sculptured bodies, with no fat on them, along with flexible, powerful limbs and rock solid core strength, is a testament to the effects of exercising with your bodyweight. The pull up is the basis for their strength training, and should actually be the basis for any athlete, or indeed anyone wanting to become lean and fit.

However, for many who have not exercised in a while and have let their strength go, the pull up can feel like a very daunting and almost impossible prospect. This is especially so if you are a woman. Let’s get one thing clear; it’s all about mind set!! There is no real valid reason why a woman in her sixties cannot do as many pull ups as a man in his twenties!! This may seem a bit of an extreme statement, but allow me to explain.

When referring to pull ups, I always like to include the true masters of bodyweight exercises: the primates! No other species of mammal is as strong, pound for pound as the apes and monkeys. In particular, the strongest of them all is our ginger friend, the Orangutan! It was once reported that an Orangutan in a zoo enclosure managed to toss away a log with just one arm. This was a log that 7 male zoo keepers had failed to lift together, earlier that day. The orangutan in question was an elderly female. In fact throughout all the primate kingdom, the female species prove to be not much weaker, and certainly not less capable, as the males. The reason for this is that they do the same amount of bodyweight exercises, pulling their bodies through the trees, leaping up and down, and pushing off the ground.

I’m not going to go into the particulars of primate strength and fitness here (that will be covered in another article), but I would like to point out that not only can we benefit from bodyweight exercises like the primates, but, in fact, we can benefit in the same way, because we are primates! Everyone of us should be lifting our bodies through space regularly, every day, and then no-one would be obese, nor would they suffering from heart disease, arthritis or diabetes; but this is an entirely different topic. The point I am trying to make is that whether you are male or female, young or old, fat or thin, you are a primate! You are designed by nature to exercise in this way. If you begin to exercise with your own bodyweight, I promise that you will become lean, fit, strong, powerful, virile and even flexible. And no girls, you do not have to build arm muscles the size of Arnie’s left leg to do it!!!)

Now although I do not believe it is good to run before you can walk, sometimes its good to just be thrown off at the deep end, and that is why I am beginning this bodyweight series with pull ups.

If you cannot do even one pull up, do not despair as this is what I am here for. There are a number of important things to remember about pull-ups:

Firstly, a pull up is not just about the arms, but mainly about the back.

Secondly, pull ups are core body exercises, which means they will activate all the core muscles; upper and lower abdominals, obliques and lower back.

Thirdly, as well as strengthening the muscle, pull ups will stretch and increase the strength of the ligaments and tendons throughout the arms and shoulders.

Now you maybe beginning to understand why the pull up is so beneficial; it basically incorporates the entire upper-body.

So when you begin your pull up routine, keep in mind that it is not just with the biceps that you are pulling, but with the latissimus dorsi, trapezius (muscles of the back), rectus abdominus, serratus anterior, obliques (core abdominal muscles) and the anterior deltoid (front of the shoulder). If you do the pull ups properly you will also activate the triceps and forearm muscles (of which their are many!). Therefore when you begin to pull, try to pull with your back as well as your arms. Use your core muscles to stop you from swinging.

In this article I’m going to start with those who cannot do a single pull up. You will need a pull up bar, or a ledge/rope/bar/rings/holds/grove/etc.., with which to perform these exercises. I will always refer to the apparatus as a ‘bar’, but simply replace this term with whatever you have available to you. You will also need a chair or table.

These are the four exercises with which you need to begin. With all of them try varying the grip on the bar each time; overhand, underhand, alternated hands, close together hands, wide apart hands, etc… This will activate the muscles at different angles and increase your grip strength in the same way a climber moves his/her body into different positions to scale a rock face, or a monkey climbs a tree!

Let us begin.

Hanging: Simple hanging from the bar will strengthen you in the same way it strengthens monkeys. It will improve your grip, strengthen your ligaments, tendons, triceps, shoulders and back. If you cannot hang for more than 10 seconds, allow your feet to support some of your weight on the floor. If the bar is to high off the ground for you to do this, then this is when you can use the chair or table as support. Try to load as much weight onto your hands as is as comfortable as possible, Hang for at least 10 full seconds. Ideally you want to be working up to hanging from the bar with your feet off the ground for 20 seconds. Do whatever you can, then rest for 1 minute, then repeat two more times, making it 3 sets in total. Every day you return to this workout, try to add a few more seconds. This is also a great way to warm up the upper body before dong the other exercises.

Isometric Holds: Isometric refers to isolated movement. It is the same principle as the hanging, in that you are holding a position. In this case you will be holding the position with your chin above the bar, hands to shoulders, arms totally bent. This is a much harder exercise than hanging. You may have to jump up to get into this position. Ideally you want to be holding for at least 5 to 10 seconds, eventually 30 seconds. Again, if you cannot physically hold your entire weight in this position, use the chair/table to support as much of your weight as you need. Once you have completed this, lower your body so that your forearms are bent exactly 90 degrees from your biceps. Your head should be level with the bar. Hold this position for the same amount of time, with the foot support if necessary. These isometric holds will strengthen your biceps, as well as your grip, shoulders and back. Do 3 sets in the same format as the hanging.

Lower offs: With these you begin in the same position as the first isometric hold; with your chin above the bar, hands to shoulders, arms totally bent. You will then lower your body as slowly as you can until you are hanging. Repeat this 5 times. Then rest for 1 minute and then repeat this 5 repetition set two more times. If you need loaded foot support, then simply bend your knees as you lower your body.

Assisted Chin ups: Chin ups are far easier than pull ups as they only go half of the way. Often the two are confused with one another. A pull up is when you pull your body from straight-arm hanging all the way up until your head is above the bar. A chin up is when you only lower your chin below the bar, then pull it back over the top. This causes you to bend your arms fully at the top, but no further then ninety degrees at the bottom of the movement. Basically you will be moving between the two isometric hold positions. Begin with your arms bent at ninety degrees with your feet on a chair/table, with knees bent. Then pull up, using as much of your upper body as possible until you reach the top. If your foot support is at the right height from the bar, your legs should be almost straight by this position. Then lower your body back to the ninety-degree position. This is 1 chin up. Try to do 5 in succession. Rest for 1 minute, then repeat 2 more times, making 3 sets. If you find you can do this without the foot support, then great, get to it! You are half way there to doing your first full pull up!

These exercises should be done in this order 3 times a week. Progressive exercises from this will be covered in part 2 of this article series.

Here are the exercises in a simple workout format, with the numbers you should be completing before moving onto the workout in the next article:

Hanging: 3 x 20 seconds sets, unassisted, with a 1 minute recovery between each set.

Isometric Holds: 3 x 10 seconds at each hold, unassisted, with a 1 minute recovery between each set.

Lower Offs: 3 x 5 sets, unassisted, with a 1 minute recovery between each set.

Assisted Chin Ups: 3 x 5 sets with a 1 minute recovery between each set.

Keep trying until you have reached these numbers, it shouldn’t take you too long. Providing you can hang for at least 10 seconds to begin with, then you should be able to reach these goals within 1 to 2 months. Try to do this routine 3 days a week, eg. Monday, Wednesday, Friday.

Note: If you cannot even hang for the 10 seconds, begin hanging with the foot support and slowly build up the time until you can hang freely. This may be because you are over weight, in which case you will need to do some gentle cardiovascular exercise to burn the excess fat, before you can lift your bodyweight. If it is simply a strength issue with regards to the grip, which may be the case with many women, then keep your eyes skinned for my article on grip strength that is coming soon.

Best of Luck!