CategoriesProgram Design

3 Quickie Programming Notes On the Pullup

Today I wanted to share some quickie thoughts with regards to pull-up/chin-up programming. I firmly believe possessing the ability to perform a pull-up, if not multiple pull-ups, is one of the most rewarding and worthwhile achievements to accomplish in the weight-room.1

  • Pull-ups are a fantastic way to measure and gauge relative strength; I.e., your strength relative to your bodyweight.
  • Pull-ups are great for overall shoulder health; I.e., help to offset muscular imbalances and/or strength asymmetries from pressing too much.
  • Pull-ups make you look yoked.
  • Pull-ups don’t require expensive equipment to perform.
  • There are an infinite number of variations you can play around with.
  • Uh, if you ever find yourself climbing a mountain, pull-ups help you from falling off it.
  • Let’s see.
  • They’re just good for you, alright. Trust me.
Copyright: vertolet / 123RF Stock Photo

 

When it comes to programming the pull-up/chin-up here are some things to consider.

1. All Rows Count

I think where a lot of trainees (and even coaches) go wrong is falling into the trap that in order for someone to perform their first pull-up/chin-up that they have to do pull-ups/chin-ups.

My friend Meghan Callaway did a great job of extolling why this is not necessarily the case in THIS post.

That said, I think all rowing movements count and should be utilized in this scenario.

Yes, specificity matters and takes precedent.

However, building pulling strength in general – incorporating row variations from varying angles with varying implements with varying set/rep schemes – is going to have a profound carryover for pretty much everyone.

 

What’s more, and as my other good friend, Bryan Krahn, has noted on several occasions…building a muscular physique can take years (if not decades).

As such, “its best to use joint friendly exercises as your training “cake” with other effective yet potentially problematic moves serving as “icing.”

When it comes to back training:

Cake: Rows (ALL FORMS <— seriously, use them all)

Icing: Pull-ups

Pull-ups can (not always) beat up people’s elbows – particularly when volume is cranked up and someone’s not prepared for it.

To that end, be intelligent and don’t downplay your rows.

2. Do More

Now, forget what I just said about volume.

I think one of the biggest mistakes I see most people make with their pull-up/chin-up programming is that they simply don’t train the pattern enough.

Most people will train their pull-up once, maybe twice per week.

This isn’t enough.

Strong First coach and pull-up badass, Artemis Scantalides, will often advocate a frequency of 4-5x per week.

To mirror what I mentioned above, though, when Artemis says 4-5x per week that includes a hodge-podge of ground based drills like push-ups and hollow holds, pull-up assistance drills such as band-assisted pull-ups, eccentric pull-ups, and flexed-arm hangs, in addition to TRX row variations or even hybrid drills like a Rack Pull-Up.

 

So, not just pull-ups/chin-ups.

Starting to catch a theme here?

One day may include nothing but Hollow Hold drills; the next Flexed Arm Hangs for time; and the next Band Assisted Pull-Ups.

Later in the week you toss in some high-rep TRX Rows.

All told that’s four separate “exposures” during one training week that either hit the pattern itself or have a favorable carryover. You can bet this will be a far superior and time efficient manner to finally conquer that pull-up/chin-up conundrum.

3. Easy Training Is Good Training

I’ve championed this saying before, but it bears repeating. I’d rather my clients leave the gym feeling refreshed and wanting more than feeling like the lost an arm-wrestling match to a tank.

That doesn’t even make any sense, which is precisely my point.

Neither does it make sense to train to failure every…single…set…of…every…single…day.

Missing reps routinely does you no favors. Straining, fighting, and clawing for every rep does you no favors.

By contrast, hitting your reps helps you. Ensuring the bulk of them are clean, “fast,” and performed with pristine technique helps you.

With regards to increasing the total number of pull-ups you can perform this is key. It’s called greasing the groove, and it works.

Lets say you can currently perform four pull-ups and you want to be able to do more. Stop TESTING the total number you can do and actually BUILD it.

Every few hours, perform HALF that number; in this case two.

This will ensure each rep is textbook. Jesus himself will weep because these reps will be so immaculate.

  • If you do this 4-5x per day that’s 8-10 immaculate pull-ups.
  • Over the course of a week that 56-70 immaculate pull-ups.
  • Over the course of a month that’s 216-280 wet dream inducing pull-ups.

You will be able to perform more than four pull-ups after all that.

And you won’t feel like a bag of dicks either.

The Ultimate Pull-Up Program

If you’d like more similar insights on the topic I’d encourage you to pick up Meghan Callaway’s fantastic resource.

It’s impressive, thorough, and something she put a ton of work into. I can’t say enough good things about it.

Whether you’re a male, female, beginner, or elite lifter…this manual will have something to offer you. It’s currently on SALE for half-off the original price and the sale ends TONIGHT (10/27) at midnight.

Soooo, you need to act fast.

Go HERE.

CategoriesProgram Design

Earn Your Curls

I have a few silly rules at CORE:

  • Always greet my clients with a smile and their first name when they walk through the door.
  • When someone is attempting a deadlift PR (or if they’re deadlifting in general), they get to pick the music.2
  • Everyone has to wear pants on Wednesdays.
  • Clients have to “earn” their bicep curls.
Copyright: estradaanton / 123RF Stock Photo

 

Last week I posted something up on my Instagram account highlighting the latter point – earning your curls – that sparked some good conversation.

I posted a video of one of my female clients performing a set of bicep curls and in the description I wrote:

“I have a silly rule when it comes to working with female clients. I don’t include any direct arm work (mostly referring to bicep curls here) until they’re able to perform a strict bodyweight chin-up. @blondepaleo has earned her curls.”

Actually, what am I doing?

Why don’t I just post the video and subsequent commentary here?

DUH.

Many who chimed in simply asked “why?” and asked if I’d explain my rationale and train of thought.

Others brought up some very valid points, even disagreeing with me, which also served as an additional impetus to write this post and expound further.

So, here we go.

Earn Your Curls

First and foremost let’s not get cra-cra.

There’s a lot of things I take an “anti” stance on – anti-vaccers, Dr. Oz, mushrooms, poodles – but bicep curls isn’t one of them.

I’m not some elitist, Acai shake drinking, gluten free eating, bourgeoisie douchehole running around the far reaches of the internet trolling people telling them “bicep curls aren’t a functional exercise.”

Because, well, they are.

There are many things we do and accomplish in everyday life that require us to flex our elbows and/or to hold something isometrically in our arms.

Secondly, just so we’re clear, I’m also not a Sith Lord.

I don’t deal in absolutes.

There’s always going to be a “what if” or “it depends” caveat to any comment or claim.

As someone astutely pointed out in my original IG post:

“What if you’re working with someone who’s overweight and would otherwise have a long journey to their first chin-up/pull-up?”

1. On one hand, as a coach, I’m going to work to the best of my ability to set all my clients up for as much success as possible. My goal is to respect their goal(s) and to elicit a training effect.

If bicep curls are part of that equation, so be it.

2. However, assuming an overweight client’s goal is to lose weight, I can think of many things more deserving of our time within an hour session than performing bicep curls.

Anyhoo…..

As far as WHY I have my “no bicep curl until you can chin-up” rule I can wrap it up into a few bullet points:

1. Standards Simplify Programming

By implementing a few standards or “markers” into the mix, I find it helps to make programming more seamless and transparent.

As an example I have my own rule that no one graduates to the Trap Bar Deadlift until he or she can deadlift the “Beast” (48 kg kettlebell).

I have no smarty aleck explanation as to why, it’s just something I adopted after reading something from strength coach Mike Perry which resonated with me.

There’s no time line on this.

I have some clients who nail it within a session or two. Some take a few weeks. Others take a few months.

Either way it provides some semblance of guidance and direction with programming.

Do this then you can do that.

2. Performance Based Goals Work

Lets be real: most people start working out because they want to look good naked.

There’s no denying the aesthetic bias that drive many of us to the iron.

Whether I’m working with a female or male client for the first time, many will divulge they’d like to “tone up” this area or “tighten up” that area.

Having a pair of muscular arms to show off – especially now that we’re in the summer months here in Boston – is almost always high on someone’s list.

In my 15+ years as a personal trainer and strength coach, though, the limiting factor which prevents most people from attaining a nice pair arms isn’t their lack of bicep curls.

It’s their lack of being strong.

 

If I can nudge trainees towards a performance based goal – which will provide purpose and intent in their training – almost always, the aesthetic changes many covet just kinda sorta happen.3

3. People Are Gonna Perform Curls

Listen, I’m not going to sit here and say programming bicep curls is stupid, because it’s not. I often toss in a bonus “Gun Show” for many of my clients at the end of their session.

That being said, I wasn’t born yesterday.

Why program curls if you know people are going to sneak them in on their own no matter what anyways?….;o)

The Chin-Up Hierarchy

My friend and colleague, Max Shank, brought up a valid point in the conversation:

“Dude I have a rare opportunity to politely disagree with you on something!

Shall we? 

Curls are a functional exercise. They also can help one achieve a faster, better pull up if applied properly. “Endless” would be totally up to application. 

You are silly in a good way, my friend—and your rule is silly in a doesn’t really make sense to me yet kinda way. Maybe this is just the pendulum swinging back from too many curls and kickbacks and no compound moves?”

I can’t disagree with any of that.

“It depends” is always the right answer to any question.4  And, to be candid, I have programmed bicep curls into some client’s programs in an effort to expedite their chin-up prowess.

Oftentimes for the the exact reasons Max outlined above.

But also because bicep curls can help with the “end range” of the chin-up….especially those last 1-2 inches. Moreover, in terms of helping to improve anterior shoulder stability (bicep tendon attaches to the corocoid process), bicep curls can be valuable.

To that end, when it comes to one’s ability to perform their first chin-up (male or female) there’s a hierarchy of sorts I like to follow.

Training chin-ups/pull-ups more frequently will be paramount. This is a point I stole from Artemis Scantalides who’s a HUGE fan of training the chin-up 4-5x PER WEEK.

Mind you, not the “chin-up” chin-up 4-5x per week, but rather all the “stuff” that make up its parts 4-5x per week.

1. Learn the Hollow Position

This is a great way to teach context. Trainees need to learn to appreciate the Hollow Position from the floor before they have any hope in emulating the same position hanging from a chin-up/pull-up bar.

 

What’s more, there are a number of exercises you can perform in the Hollow Position – 1-Arm Presses, DB Flye, for example – that will reinforce full-body tension and transfer very well to the chin-up/pull-up

2. Learn to Use the Scapulae and Lats

 

The biceps ARE in the line-of-pull when it comes to chin-ups/pull-ups, so it’s not uncommon for people to feel them working.

However, it becomes a problem when the biceps the only thing people feel working.

The upper back, scapulae (shoulder blades) in particular, should be where the movement initiates, as well as the lats.

Scapular pull-ups, as demonstrated by strength coach Meghan Callaway above are a fantastic learning tool. That and cueing people to drive their elbows towards the floor when pulling.

3. Confirming, that, in fact, Wu-Tang Clan Ain’t Nuthin to Fuck Wit

Because, they’re not.

4. Actual Chin-Up Variations (Hanging From a Chin-Up/Pull-Up Bar)

  • Chin-ups with accommodating assistance (band assisted)
  • Eccentric Chin-Ups (emphasizing the lowering portion)
  • Flexed-Arm Hangs
  • Straight Arm Hangs
  • Straight Leg or Bent Knee Raises

5. Accessory Movements

Movements/exercises that very closely resemble chin-ups/pull-ups and/or target the same muscle groups:

  • Rack Pull-Ups

 

  • TRX Progressions

Starting with regular ol’ Inverted Row variations to something more along the lines as this:

 

  • Seated Lat Pulldowns – various grips
  • Any rowing variation – Seated Rows, Chest Supported Rows, DB Rows, literally, anything.
  • Rollout variations – Stability Ball, Ab Wheel, etc

6. Bicep Curls

Get some.

Wrapping Up

I am not anti-bicep curl.

I am not anti-bicep curl as part of a program to help someone achieve their first chin-up (or to perform more chin-ups).

I’m just anti-bicep curl when I know I have a limited amount of time with someone.