5 ways to improve your pull-ups

The lat pulldown has become more popular around gyms than the pull-ups. The reason is simple, pull-ups are freaking hard and most people cant do them well or just cant do them at all. Here are some ways to change that.

1) Lose excess weight/body fat-You need to be strong and lean to do pull-ups. The heavier you are the harder its going to be to excute obviously.

2) Do not train to failure-When your doing pull-ups if you always train to failure you end up with horrible sloppy reps and you just dont gain a benefit from it. In fact going to failure on pull-ups often tends to lead to decreases in strength and mass gains for reasons unknown, it just happens.

3) Elbows towards your sides-Think about driving your elbows down and back to really bring the lats into play and therefore avoid relying mostly on your biceps.'

4) Improve your grip strength- the stronger your grip the better your pull-ups will be. You can build grip strength by doing more deadlifts and reverse curls or by using fatter barbells. You can also do wrist curls and other exercises geared towards grip strength.

5) Train with different ranges-To do a bunch of pull-ups you need both strength and endurance. Make sure you lift with low rep ranges for strength and high rep ranges for endurance. You can use bands as assistance for the pullups if need be.

Full blast back routine

A1) Seated row with V bar- You will hold each rep and focus on squeezing the shoulder blades together at the back of the movement. Rep 1-8sec rep 2- 7 sec rep 3-6 sec........until last rep is held for 1 sec. 8 total reps of course. The isometric hold is a great way to recruit more muscle fibers and has been shown to be highly effective when training the back.

**Rest 60 sec and repeat this for 3 more total sets

B1) T-bar row-This will be done as a drop set. Do your first set with a challenging weight for 8-10 reps. then immediately drop 25lbs off the bar and then try and rep out another 8-10 reps.

**Rest 60 sec and repeat this for 3 more total sets

C1) One arm row with a dumbbell and pause-Do a standard one arm row but let the weight rest on the floor at the bottom for a 1 sec pause each rep before exploding up as fast as you can. This pause will keep you from cheating and allow you to focus better on solid movements. Do 8 reps

**Rest 60 sec and repeat this for 3 more total sets

Done!

Try this!

Do 100 reps of pullups in as few of sets as you can. You can take whatever rest you need between sets just don't exceed 2minutes. Then next time you workout your back try and get to 100 reps in fewer sets as you did the first time around. It doesn't matter what number you start with your how many you do in each set just get to 100 in the least amount of sets. If you are not strong enough to do legit pullups then you can use the assisted machine or just wait til your stronger!

Example

25 reps-set 1

15

15

10

10

10

10

5

Done

A bigger back with this

T-bar row-10 reps
SUPERSET WITH
Narrow grip lat pulldown-6 reps ( make sure the weight is very heavy for 6 reps )

Rest 90 seconds and repeat 4 more rounds


Decline straight bar row-10 reps
* Set up a decline bench in front of a cable pulley. Put the cable at about hip height. Lying face up on the bench grab the straight bar from behind you and pull the bar towards your thighs keeping your arms locked out and straight.
SUPERSET WITH
Decline dumbbell one arm row-10 reps
* Hold a dumbbell in your right arm and put your right leg out to the side for support. Place your left leg back on the top of the bench. Row the weight up from the floor. The dumbbell should start from the lowest end of the decline bench near the floor.

Rest 90 seconds and repeat for 4 more rounds

High volume back workout

The muscles of the back respond very well to a high volume of work so this workout is great to stimulate new growth. Sometimes training back can fatigue your forearms so make sure not to hold everything with too firm of a grip. This workout can be done with any of your favorite back exercises, below are just some that I like to use for this.

Straight bar row ( overhand grip )- 6 sets of 10 reps

* 1 minute rest between sets

T-bar row ( neutral grip, palms facing each other )- 6 sets of 10 reps

* 1 minute rest between sets

Straight arm pulldown standing- 6 sets of 10 reps

* 1 minute rest between sets

One arm dumbbell row- 4 sets of12 reps

* 1 minute rest between sets

Total of 22 sets and 228 reps!

Great routine to build the back

Here is a great workout for the back-

Lat pulldown-5 sets of 10 reps
Rest 1 minute between sets


Bent over row with barbell ( rest your head on the top of a incline bench )-10 reps
SUPER SET WITH
One arm dumbbell row-10 reps
Rest 90 seconds between sets. Repeat this for 5 total sets


Lat pulldown-5 sets of 10 reps ( most likely you will need to do less weight than you did earlier )
Rest 1 minute between sets

Drop sets

You can call them breakdowns or strip sets but most commonly they are called drop sets. Drop sets are one of the best techniques you can use to add intensity to your workout. Drop sets have been and will continue to be a favorite of bodybuilders. If you don't use drop sets you should add this technique to your training.

What are drop sets?

*Is a technique which you do an exercise to failure or close to failure, then you drop some weight and continue with the exercise for more reps.

What do drop sets do?

*By dropping the weight and continuing the set you will recruit more "reserve" muscle fibers. By recruiting more muscle fibers you will allow your muscles to grow!

Some drop set methods ( other than the traditional drop set )

A) ( 6-20 ) or "halving" method- This is when you choose the heaviest weight you can for an exercise for 6 reps. Perform the 6 reps, then without resting drop the weight by 50% and rep out 20 reps. This is great to do with dumbbell rows.

B) Tight drop sets-This is when you make small drops in weight. This would be like doing dumbbell bicep curls and you would do reps with the 50lb, then 45lb, then 40lb etc.

C) Wide drop sets-This is when you make a big drop in weight and generally you can do more reps. This method is best done with large muscle groups and exercises like the squat and leg press. You could have 6 plates on each side of the leg press and with each drop you take a 45lb plate off each side.

D) Power drop sets- This was made popular by Larry Scott who liked this method to not only build some size but also build your strength. Scott liked using this for his arms and shoulders. Start with your 6 rep max, then drop the weight between 10-15% and then do 6 reps with the new weight until you reach the desired number of drops

Some tips

• I wouldn't do more than 2-4 weight reductions ( drops ) during the routine- So if you start with 200lbs for bench, then you do 190, 180 and finish with 170. This would be 3 drops in weight.


• Stay within the 6-12 rep range since that is the best range for muscle hypertrophy. Sometimes you can go with the higher 15-20 rep range on your last drop.


• Don't do drop sets all the time- They are intense and you will overtrain and quickly burn out if you do. They say a ratio of 3:1 is best. Meaning do 3 regular sets and then 1 drop set.

Big back Wednesday workout

This workout is about volume. Bring it!

A)Cable pulley machine seated row- 4 sets of 10, F, F

Rest 2 minutes between sets.

** This is a double drop set. So do set #1 for 10 reps. Immediately drop the weight by 10-15lbs and do another set to failure. Finally, end by dropping the weight again by 10-15lbs and doing reps to failure. This equals 1 set.

B)Lat Pulldown ( wide grip)- 5 sets of 10

Rest 1 minute between sets

** Pause at the bottom of the movement for 2 seconds on each rep.

C) Decline straight bar pull downs- 5 sets of 10

Rest 1 minute between sets

** Set up a cable pulley at just below hip height. Place a decline bench in front of the cable pulley so your head is closest to the bar. Keeping your arms extended and locked out, pull the bar towards the thighs. Focus on your lats and keep the arms locked and straight!

Go Dominate.

Badass back routine

For the first part of this routine the focus is on heavier loads with minimal reps. Most people don't do this often enough so it will really shock your muscle. The ending of the workout will switch to more of a traditional hypertrophy workout with moderate loads and medium reps.

Hammer strength lat pull down machine- 5 sets of 5 reps

** If you don't have this at your gym use the lat pull down bar. Make sure the weight on this is heavy and it is a tough 5 reps.

Rest 60-90 seconds between sets

Row- 5 sets of 5 reps

** use a grip that you normally don't use or a handle that you don't use. Once again make sure the weight is heavy for the 5 reps and don't cheat and move your back forward as you pull!!!!!! Use the muscles we want to develop!

Rest 60-90 seconds between sets

One arm dumbbell rows- 1 set of 10 reps

SUPER SET WITH

Straight bar standing pull downs- 1 set of 12 reps

** Focus on standing tall and keeping your arms locked out and straight.

Rest 1 minute and repeat this super set 3 more times.

Gaining muscle- Techniques to get it done!

Damaging muscles are the key to building them. To build new muscle you must stress the existing muscle in a new way. When muscles are stressed then become damaged and then must be rebuilt. With adequate diet and rest your body will rebuild the muscle with an increase in size!

Try some of these techniques to shock your muscles into new growth:

1) Super-sets- Nothing has been around longer than this! You can really up the intensity on the muscle with this technique. Some examples include:

• Lat pulldown/Row


• Bench press/Fly


• Deadlift/Lunge


• Close grip press/ Dips

2) Negatives- If you like submitting yourself to pain than please try these! Negatives focus on the eccentric phase of the lift which has been shown to cause more damage to the muscle and lead to more growth. This is tough...and is best to do with a partner. You can do negatives two different ways. One way is to have a spotter help you with the weight on the way up and the other way is to lift the weight yourself. I like to do the negative and then have my spotter help lift the weight up. You can use more weight on negatives but just limit the negative to under 10 seconds.....any more you should increase the weight because it is too light.

3) Off set rep scheme- This is a personal favorite that I have come up with and use often myself. First pick two exercises for one muscle group. Then what you will do is do heavier weight on one exericse for low reps and then medium to lighter weight on the other exercise for higher reps. For example:

Standing barbell bicep curls- 6 reps

SUPER SET WITH

Seated dumbbell hammer curls-12 reps

Ultimate lat routine

If you want to widen that "V" look and build up those lats then give this one a try. Although, I am normally against doing too many exercises for one muscle group in a workout I am willing to look the other for this routine. Every exercise in this routine is geared to target those lats. Remember when doing lat work, don't grip the weight or bar too hard and get a mindset of having light arms and feel your back doing the work. For those of you who generally do lat work and by the end have screaming forearms then you are simply putting to much pressure on your grip when performing the exercises. Think of your grip as if you were holding an egg. You want a strong enough grip to keep the egg from dropping but not too hard to the point of cracking the egg in your hand.

Everything is single sets unless noted

Wide grip lat pulldown- 10 reps

rest 1 minute between sets, do 5 total sets

Standing straight bar pulldown- 8 reps ( stand in front of a cable pulley machine and attach a straight bar. Keeping your arms extended and straight the whole movement, simply move the bar towards your thighs while keeping an upright posture)

DROP THE WEIGHT BY 10 LBS- This time continue but only do the bottom half of the movement- 1@Failure

rest 90 seconds between sets, do 4 total sets

One arm row with dumbbell- 6-8 reps

* try and use heavy weight but keep good form

rest 1 minute between sets, do 4 total sets

Straight bar row with lean- 8-10 reps

( set up is like a regular row keeping your palms down, however lean forward the entire set but still keep your back flat the entire time, no rocking backward keep the forward lean. Also make sure you feet are low on the foot pads)

rest 1 minute between sets, do 4 total sets

Developed lats

I know through my poll that I ran that many of you are having a hard time with getting your back to grow. Try this routine which is designed to hit your lats and stimulate growth. If you struggle with pull-ups I would suggest using the assisted pull-up machine so you can have good form and not just rep out garbage.

Exercise #1

Wide grip lat pulldown ( lean slightly back when doing these )- 5 sets of 10 reps

**Rest 1 minute between sets

Exercises # 2 & 3

Standing straight arm pulldown ( use pulley cable system )-1 set of 10 reps

SUPER SET WITH

Medium grip pull-ups-1 set of 8-10 reps

**Rest 2 minutes and repeat 2-3 more times.

Pull-up/chin-up variations

Sternum chin-ups- This style of the chin-up was brought into popularity by Vince Gironda. These can be done with both a supinated ( palms facing you ) or pronated grip ( hands away ).You will focus on keeping the torso leaned back through the entire movement. You want the low portion of your chest to touch the bar. When you try to pull yourself up make sure to lean your head back away from the bar and to arch your spine throughout. Near the end part of the movement your hips and legs should be about 45 degree angle to the floor. Once you complete the movement your head should be parallel to the floor.

This is a great all around back developer. The beginning of the movement is like your regular chin-up, the mid-range is like the pullover and the end is similar to the row. I would not recommend this to the beginner but more for the advanced guy looking to change things up.


Subscapularis pull-up- Start with the normal wide grip pull-up position and bring yourself up until the upper pecs make contact with the bar. Once at the top try and push yourself away from the bar and then lower yourself slowly under control. Your subscapularis muscles are part of your rotator cuff and will help with you back strength and overall shoulder health.

6-12-25 Back

For those of you who were a fan of the arm 6-12-25 workout, here the back version. If you want a new way to add gains then try this unique method of training. After completing the first cycle of this routine you will most likely need to drop the weight 10-20% in order to complete cycle 2 fully. Below are some examples for this routine:

Lat pulldown ( heavy )- 6 reps

SUPER SET

Dumbbell one arm row- 12 reps

SUPER SET

Seated row-25 reps

*** Really focus on squeezing those shoulder blades when doing the rows. The weight will not be that heavy so you can focus in on the squeeze.

Rest 2 minutes before doing round 2. Repeat for 3 total rounds.

Gymnast pullup routine

I had read about this routine from one of Charles Poliquin's articles. He is a very well known strength coach/ trainer. It is a routine that gymnasts use to build their impressive backs. I did take the original and made some adjustments. Just make sure you are strong enough to do 12 chin ups and at least 10 pull ups before trying this. Basically if you are not advanced than I would not attempt this.

Wide grip pull ups-as many as possible
10 second rest

Narrow grip pull ups-as many as possible

10 second rest

Neutral grip chin ups ( palms facing each other )-as many as possible

Rest 3 minutes and repeat 2-3 more times. You will be in pain!

Back fixer

There are numerous back muscles and this routine takes aim at most of them but with a focus on the lats and rear deltoids. The rear delts are located well you guessed it on the back side of the delt. For most it can be tough to really feel the rear delts because the bigger stronger muscles tend to take over. The dumbbell reverse fly is best done by setting up an incline bench and resting your head at the top of the bench while facing the floor. Raise your arms straight out as if someone had a string attached to your elbows and were pulling them up. Don't rush this exercise go slow and feel those rear delts.

Inverted row with wide grip-10 reps

SUPER SET WITH

Wide grip pull up-10 reps

SUPER SET WITH

Bent over dumbbell reverse fly- 12 reps

Rest 2 minutes and repeat 2-3 times.

Pure lats

I like this routine which really focuses on your lats. The first exercise is the basic lat pull down with a 2 second pause at the bottom of the movement. Take a wide grip on the bar and pull it all the way down, at the bottom hold for 2 seconds while trying to squeeze your shoulder blades down. Try to ease the tension and not grip the bar extremely tight.

Lat pull down with wide grip- 8 reps with 2 second pause at each rep

Rest 1 minute and repeat 3 more times. After completing all 4 rest for 2 minutes and move on to the next combo.

Next will be the straight arm pull down in which you should use a straight bar that you connect to a high pulley cable. The most important thing to keep in mind when doing this exercise is to keep your arms straight to avoid using your triceps. Another key point is to keep your shoulders back and engage your core. Start by doing all 8 reps and then drop the weight by 15 lbs and now try to do 10 more reps but this time only going from the bottom to half way up and back down again. This half way up and down motion really hits the lats with extra focus!

Straight arm pull down-8 reps

SUPER SET WITH

Straight arm pull down ( just bottom half )-10 reps

Rest 90 seconds and repeat 3 more times.

Helping to achieve that "V" look

Besides having impressive shoulder width and a small waist, lat width is what will ultimately give you that desirable V shape that most guys wish to achieve. Below is a super set for the lats that will shock them into new growth. Take a weight you could normally dumbbell row for 10 reps and drop it by a good 5 lbs for this routine. I would also suggest dropping your usual weight for the lat pull down for 10 reps by 10 lbs or so.

One arm dumbbell row-10 reps
SUPER SET WITH
Wide grip lat pull down-10 reps

Rest 90 seconds and repeat 2-3 more times.

Legendary Lats

Lats are the key to giving you that coveted ''V'' look that every guy strives for. A great combo is supersetting an isometric lat pulldown with a regular lat pulldown. To begin grab the bar and pull it all the way down to the bottom part of the movement. From here hold the bar in place by squeezing your lats and driving your shoulder blades down into the floor. Hold this position for 20 seconds. Once the 20 seconds is up let the bar all the way up and now go ahead and do as many regular reps as you can. The isometric hold at the beginning allows you to hit more muscle fibers, as much as 10% more!