The 3 Tips You Need To Master For The Perfect Pull-Up
As far as workouts go, pull-ups should be a big part of any guy's strength-training plan. Today's Thrive Quick Tip is all about perfecting the pull-up, with three indispensable tips that promise to deliver hardcore muscle gains[1].
Pull-ups of any kind[2] are amazing for boosting strength and size. They are also one of the few workout moves during which it's practically impossible to hurt yourself. During the Golden Era of bodybuilding, the ability to do 20 body weight chin-ups was considered the epitome of strength. Nowadays, you'd struggle to find a guy in the gym who could keep up: The fact is, chin-ups and pull-ups are damn hard to do. Luckily, our host Dr. Patrick Owen has three fantastic tips that will get you knocking those pull-ups in no time — with perfect form.
Tip #1
Use Partials For Starting Strength
Partial reps aren't just for when you are almost done your set and can barely continue. Use partial pull-ups to add some extra fire to your back muscles. These types of reps help boost your initial strength from a straight dead hang, since your lats and teres muscles have to be really strong to pull your body upwards. Doing partials can also fire up the rest of your workout by forcing blood into your muscles.
Tip #2
Focus On Negative Reps
If you're not in particularly great shape but want to change that, negative reps are a great option for you. They can also be useful for getting through plateaus. Negative reps work because your eccentric strength is greater than your concentric strength. For example, you often reach a point in your workout where you can no longer bench press the weight off your chest, yet can still lower it slowly when starting from the fully extended position.This is due to your body's ability to recruit different fast-twitch muscle fibres.
Tip #3
Use Ladders To Extend Sets
Ladder sets are a fantastic and simple way to get more reps out of your basic workout. They tap into your deeper strength and muscular endurance and allow for a more prolonged overall lifting effort. If you find yourself unable to do more than 10-12 pull-ups, ladder sets are a great way to kick your ass into gear. By doing a ladder set, you can easily end up doing 20 or more reps in the same session.
RELATED: The Basics Of Gym Etiquette[3]
Have a question? Get it answered by AskMen's guyQ[4].
References
- ^ hardcore muscle gains (www.askmen.com)
- ^ Pull-ups of any kind (www.askmen.com)
- ^ The Basics Of Gym Etiquette (www.askmen.com)
- ^ guyQ (www.askmen.com)
