Thread: Am I weak? Trouble doing pull ups...

Don't worry, pullups are pretty hard to do.
I won't expect the newbie trainee to be able to do them.
I could do one pullup.
What I did was I got a spotter to push me up a bit so that way I was able to do around 4 reps (assisted) at the beginning. After a few workout sessions I was able to pull 2,3 unassisted reps and I continued doing 3-4 more with the help of the spotter.
Now, after around 2-3 months. I'm able to do 8 un-assisted pullups with a slow and controled motion.

You might try doing what I did, it worked for me.
I don't think if you get your biceps strength up would make that much of a difference.

That's good to know cheers. I'll try the assisted ones like you suggested and see if it makes any difference. Thanks for the tip...

I'm in a similar situation, however, I've gotten there a different way.

I was originally too weak to do proper pull ups, then I lost about 30lbs and I could do them ok, then I started weight training and got better at them, however once I started bulking and after gaining around 15lb I started to struggle with them. I'm actually referring to "chin-ups" not pull ups (chin ups=underhand grip/pull ups=overhand grip).

Anyway, now at another 15lb heavier and about 23% BF, I find chin-ups the most demanding exercise in a workout by a mile!! I don't think there's any other exercise that makes me feel as "insufficient" as that one does!

I find that a makeshift base can help as it's there at the bottom of the ROM if you need it to launch off to give yourself a little boost! And if you can do without, then you don't have to use it, whereas with a spotter you may feel inclined to use him/her for every rep just because s/he's there. May be a good alternative anyway if you can't find a spotter!..

The biceps are only there to assit the back muscles in the chin-up. Make sure you are sufficiantly working your back not just hitting the bench press. Bent-over rows, seated rows, lat pulldown etc are all good. There is no need to isolate your biceps, it won't help much if at all.

Also, it might sound simple but the more you do them the better and stronger you get.

Originally Posted by sc0ttb

It is really annoying me and although I can now bench almost 70Kg from starting at 40kg my biceps seem to be the limiting factor here. I have tried working them twice a week hard sessions and they have gotten really big but strength hasn't imrpoved all that much.

Work your back more.

Originally Posted by PrISM

Work your back more.

agreed, if you can't do pullups you could also do some lat pull downs to help you eventually do pullups.

Practice with a spotter & go through the motions. Cheat a little bit with an assist from your spotter to get you started. Keep trying & you'll get there.

Im bad at pullups also, at the most i could do 2 maybe 3 if im realllly lucky.

If you do pulldowns, then using common sense i would say dont be doing them in like sets of 10 reps everytime. To increase your pullups, id do like 6-10 sets of 1-3 reps, high weight. Makes much more sense to build up that strength

If your gym has an assisted pullup/dip machine that works too to.build up the requisite muscle group. Also lat pulldowns as suggested earlier. As for the spotter, make sure he holds you vertically. Some spotters hold the legs out and if your grip fails you're going down facefirst!

Has anyone mentioned doing negatives yet?

If not then try using a step to get you into place at the top of the lift and then let yourself down slowly. You'll get better at holding yourself there pretty quick and you'll also be able to lift yourself back up unassisted before too long

Originally Posted by g8r80

If your gym has an assisted pullup/dip machine that works too to.build up the requisite muscle group. Also lat pulldowns as suggested earlier. As for the spotter, make sure he holds you vertically. Some spotters hold the legs out and if your grip faoils you're going down facefirst!

Another spotting method that we use in the military is to have the spotter stand behind you and place his palm on the small of your back. When your movement slows have your spotter give you a *small* upwards push. You'll be suprised how much a little assistance can help you get over the hump.

If you're still having problems, lat pull until you've developed the requisite strength to complete a pull up.

As you're having problems with your pull ups and your press ups, you might be focusing to much on the chest and arms. Make sure that you are balancing your resistance training throughout your body in order to prevent muscle imbalances and possible injury.

+1 on the negatives (and eveything else mentioned here).

When you do your negative, concentrate on going down as slowly as you can! Also, incorporate stopping at the halfway point for a moment and then continue in the slow fashion.

Lats are key here. Bentover rows, pulldown and pullovers are all going to improve your lat strength and help you along your path to a pull-up goal.

Good luck and keep us posted!

Cheers for all the advice lads! I have been somewhat neglecting my back lately and have got obsessed with chest and biceps so def going to include a 'back' day. I will keep u posted cheers

+1 on the lats work- but pullups are kind of a weird exercise in that they come easy to some people, and other people just have a really tough time with them. My brother is immensely stronger than I am, and can barely do one, and I can't remember a point in my life where I couldn't do at least 25- and I've never been particularly strong.