THE CROSSFIT PULL-UP QUEEN: 5 Tricks Beginners Can Use To Do More Pull-Ups — With Henry Tran
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Get Started Training With Henry To Build Six Pack Abs:
What’s going on, Six Pack Shortcuts? Ashley a.k.a. The Pull-Up Queen is back here with runner-up Henry to go over just how to build up to performing proper pull-ups.
We’re going to go over 5 excellent tips and tricks to helping you guys at home work your way towards doing the correct bodyweight pull-up. Let’s get started:
1:15 – Band-Assisted Pull-Ups: Since the pull-up is a bodyweight exercise, to assist you in being able to perform a proper pull-up you can use resistance bands to act kind of like a slingshot assist in getting up from the bottom. To substitute for a band if you don’t have one, have a training partner assist as the band would. This will help to learn how to properly engage the lats, mid-back, rear deltoids, and biceps that you should be using when doing a pull-up correctly.
2:06 – Barbell-Assisted Pull-Ups: You can perform these at the gym at a squat rack and with a box. A Smith machine can be used as well to set the bar at a good height to use the box. To figure out a good height to set the barbell, first place the box at the correct distance from the rack as Henry is doing so you will be able to lay your legs parallel to the ground, creating an “L”-shaped 90-degree angle with your body. Set the bar at an initial height you think will work best to do the movement: with a straight torso and legs on the box, pull up to get your chin above the bar and return all the way to the bottom. Remember – the higher the bar is set, the easier the movement will be. Decrease the height of the bar as you progress to make it more difficult until you are achieving full, complete pull-ups.
3:01 – Negative-Contraction Box Pull-Up: There is actually two motions in the pull-up to concentrate on building up: the pulling up from a complete stop at the bottom to your chin above the bar, then the descent from the top back to the bottom/start position. It’s just as important to train the descent as it is the actual pull-up, so we’re going to focus on what’s called the “time-under-tension” of the negative for pull-ups. Standing on a box and grasping the bar at the top position of a pull-up – with your lats, mid-back, and biceps engaged with your chin above the bar. Slowly begin descending from the top, controlling the downward movement and tempo until you fully reach the bottom, then stand back up on the box at the top and repeat.
4:19 – Set Your Goals Ahead Of Time: We’ve been talking about the whole process of progression when it comes to performing a complete pull-up, so make sure you’re setting goals and taking notes how the workouts out are going. For example, on those Band-Assisted Pull-Ups, work up to doing 3 sets of 5 reps, then 3 sets of 6 reps, then 7, then 8, all the way up until you’re able to hit 3 sets of 12 reps. Same goes for the Negative-Contraction Box Pull-ups – work up to 3 sets of 6 reps, then decrease the box height…keep this up until there is no box and you’re doing full pull-ups without any assistance or box. It’s all about making improvements bit-by-bit until you hit the end goal… Which is doing some proper pull-ups!
4:42 – Lat Pull-Downs: One of Henry’s other favorite movements he uses to help with the progressing his pull-up abilities are Lat Pull-Downs. Instead of pulling your bodyweight up from the bottom, you’re actually using the same muscles to pull weight down towards the body, reaching the same position of your chin above the bar with your back and biceps engaged at the bottom. Start off light with the movement, doing hitting 3 working sets of 10-12 reps consistently at a certain weight then moving up at 5-10 pound increments.
Don’t get discouraged if you can’t do a pull-up just yet, guys… If you follow the progression workout tips and tricks we went over today you can have yourself that much closer in no time.
What other workouts are you finding hard to do? Are you sure you’re using the correct form? Which muscles should you be feeling while doing the exercise? Let us know in the comments below.
I think Henry wants a rematch now that we’ve gone through more pull-up training…What do you guys think? Tune in next time to find out what other challenges and workouts we’ll be doing… And don’t forget – like, share, and subscribe to Six Pack Shortcuts.
See Y’all Next Time,
-Ashley & Henry
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P.S. If you started using these great tips to get your pull-ups better or know a friend who could use the tips and tricks, make sure to like and share the video here:
