The Complete Female Pull-Up Makeover
by Dr Jack Rusin
Here’s What You Need To Know…
1. Even some of the fittest women struggle to increase their pull up strength enough to string a few reps together and get a training effect. But the problem isn’t the way they train the pull-up, it’s the way they train everything else.2. When it comes to a lack of pull-up strength, there are many common faults, but when it comes down to it, the entire body including the anterior core, lower body, upper body and shoulders all need to be involved and trained to improve the pull-up.
3. Just doing band assisted pull-ups or the cheater machine will not help you progress to real pull-ups, ladies. And no, kipping like a CrossFitter doesn’t constitute a “real” pull-up.
4. Here’s how to implement a complete full body remediation of strength, stability and performance for the pull up that will have you repping out on the bar while reaping the benefits of getting functionally jacked in the process.
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Introduction
The pull-up is one of the most superior exercises you can do for your upper body. This versatile bodyweight exercise will help you develop a statuesque and defined upper body, and will improve your ability to burn body fat. In terms of performance, it will dramatically improve your strength and ability to perform all exercises in the gym, and will enhance your overall athleticism and sports specific abilities. Best of all, the pull-up is extremely convenient as it requires very little equipment, so you can perform this great exercise at the gym, in the convenience of your home, and even outdoors.Unfortunately, many people, particularly females, struggle to perform pull-ups. The good news is that the issue does not stem from the fact that the exercise is too advanced, the problem is how you are training for it. I don’t hesitate to say that if you follow a fundamentally sound training program, and if you are healthy, you should be able to perform at least a few proper pull-ups, if not many more.
In this article, I will describe some of the common problems that prevent people from being able to perform pull-ups, I will talk about how to address and correct these problems, and I will list some more advanced progressions of pull-ups.
Muscles That Pull-Ups Target
The pull-up is such a bang for your buck exercise as it targets many different muscle groups. While the latissimus dorsi, the largest and most powerful muscle of the back is the primary muscle that is targeted, the pull-up also works the trapezius, rhomboid, deltoid, biceps, triceps, serratus, and core muscles. In other words, it essentially hits the majority of muscles in the upper body and core.How To Execute The Perfect Pull-Up
When it comes to executing a sound technical pull-up, there are many moving parts to this compound movement. Lets break these aspects of the pull-up down one by one:
Step 1: Grip
Either opt for a grip where your hands are approximately shoulder width apart and are facing away from you (pronated grip), or use a narrower neutral grip where your palms are facing one another.Step 2: Breathing & Core
Before you initiate the pull, take a deep breath in (360° of air around your spine), brace your core, gently tuck your ribs towards the pelvis so your body is in a slight hollow body position, and squeeze your glutes. This will provide the much needed stability around your spine and pelvis so you will generate significantly more strength with your upper body, and it will make the exercise feel significantly easier. I will exhale as my chin approaches the bar, and will inhale as I begin to descend. Right before I return to the starting position, I will re-engage my core/glutes so I am ready to initiate the next pull.Step 3: Path
Your body should travel in a straight line to the bar. This will create the shortest possible distance between your body and the bar, minimizing the use of compensation and provocative positions at the shoulders for pain and injury. Just think of this as the polar opposite of a “kipping” pull up that has a curved path up and down from the bar.Step 4: Ascending (Concentric) Portion
Pack your shoulders, and initiate the pull-up by depressing and retracting your shoulder blades. Keep your elbows at approximately a 45• position (similar to an overhead press) and do not allow them to flare. Pull yourself up by leading with your chest and pulling your elbows down to the floor. Make sure that your chin passes the bar, but do not strain your neck and reach with your chin. Keep your head and neck in a neutral position the entire time.Step 5: Descending (Eccentric) Portion
Lower yourself down until your arms are fully extended. Skimping out on range will shortchange your results, and partial range reps do not count! It is extremely important that you lower yourself down with control and do not fall or drop into the starting position, and you want to keep your shoulders stable by making sure that they remain packed. Failing to do so will make your shoulders and elbows susceptible to injury.Step 6: Alignment
It is very important that you maintain proper alignment the entire time. Keep your head, neck, and lower back in a neutral position. Keep your ribs down and do not allow them to flare, and do not allow your pelvis or torso to rotate. Your body should be in a straight line from your head to knees (or feet if you keep your legs extended).Step 7: Legs
You can either bend your knees, or keep your legs straight. It is important that you engage your glutes and muscles in your legs as a rigid body will be much easier to pull up than a body that is limp and unstable.10 Key Issues That Prevent People From Performing Sound Pull-Ups
#1 Inability To Keep The Body From Swinging
Ideally, when you perform a pull-up, your body should travel in a straight path to the bar. Just like the bar path during a deadlift, the shorter the distance you have to move your body, the easier the exercise will be to perform. When many people perform the pull-up, because they think the exercise is purely for the arms, they do not engage their scapular stabilizers, core, or glutes, and this causes their body to swing forward and ahead of the bar. Now instead of having to pull the body in a shorter vertical line, they have to pull their body in both a horizontal and then vertical plane, which will essentially double the amount of work. End result is compromised results.#2 Not Using Full Range of Motion
Skimping on your range and not fully extending your arms will cheat you out of being able to perform proper pull-ups. Unless you fully extend your arms, the rep is no good…period!!#3 Using Momentum aka Kipping
While CrossFit encourages momentum as it allows you to perform more reps, a proper pull-up starts from a dead hang position. While kipping definitely makes the pull-up easier (and in my opinion it is actually just cheating) it places the shoulders and other joints under significantly more stress. If you are ever going to perform kipping pull-ups, make sure that you are able to perform proper (strict) pull-ups first and have developed the requisite levels of strength, stability and mobility as this will reduce your risk of injuring yourself. Unless you do CrossFit, skip the kipping, and stick to dead hang pull-ups.#4 Weak Large Muscle Groups In The Upper Body
While this is fairly straightforward, if your upper body is weak, it will be next to impossible to pull your body in a vertical plane. Women seem more vulnerable to suffering from upper body weakness, in part because many fixate on training their legs and neglect the ever important musculature in the upper body.#5 Inability To Control The Shoulder Blades
The scapula stabilizers are a crucial link between the arms and the rest of the body. The scapula stabilizers provide the scapula with stability and mobility as it moves synchronously with the arm, and prevents the scapulae from winging out. Many people, including those who are extremely strong, suffer from weak scapula stabilizers. This will absolutely limit their ability to perform pull-ups safely and effectively.#6 Disengaging During the Eccentric Phase or Bottom of Movement
When many people perform pull-ups, rather than lowering themselves down in a controlled manner, they allow their bodies to violently drop. While this is obviously detrimental to the health of the body, it will also impede their results as it essentially eliminates the eccentric component of the exercise. In order to perform this exercise safely and effectively, the muscles of the mid to upper back, including the scapula stabilizers, and shoulders, need to remain engaged at all times so the shoulders remain pinned. A common sign that someone has disengaged their muscles (usually in their back) is that their neck will disappear into their body.#7 Under-Engaging The Back and Overusing The Arms
When many people perform pull-ups, they initiate the movement by pulling with their arms, rather than depressing and retracting their shoulder blades. This will decrease their ability to perform the exercise to their full potential, and it will make them susceptible to chronic biceps and forearm tightness, and potentially strains.#8 Weak Core and Glutes
The core and glutes are what links the upper and lower body, and a stable core/glutes allow you to generate the power that is needed to perform pull-ups. Many people struggle to perform pull-ups, not because their upper body is weak, but because their core/glutes do not provide their body with the stability it needs to execute the movement properly. Imagine trying to pull a 125-225 lb floppy sand bag. Having weak core muscles and glutes turns your body into just that!#9 Reliance On The Assisted Pull-up Machine or Band Assisted Pull-ups
If you have set the goal of being able to perform pull-ups, stop using the assisted pull-up machine and performing band assisted pull-ups. I’ve watched numerous people slave away on this overrated machine, or use bands, and years later, they’re still not able to do single pull-up. This is not necessarily a reflection of their fitness level, but rather an example of ineffective training methods. With the assisted pull-up machine, zero core stability and glute strength is required, it provides too much assistance, and you are never truly forced to support your body in a dead hang position.As for band assisted pull-ups, while you are required to use your core and glutes to some extent, and while I would opt for these over the assisted pull-up machine, the band provides assistance at all the wrong times. It provides a huge boost at the bottom of the movement and this is when you need to be able to pull yourself up from a dead stop. The end result is that you will not improve your strength from this position, and will never be able to perform a pull-up without assistance.
If you have no aspiration to perform unassisted pull-ups, both options are fine, and from a physique standpoint, they can be used to add additional volume into a solid training program that already contains unassisted pull-ups, but they offer very little in terms of helping you progress to being able to do proper pull-ups. I do not include them in my training program, and rarely use them when I am training others.
Avoiding performing bodyweight ‘’pulling’’ exercises and spending the bulk of your time on machines – When it comes to being able to do pull-ups, being able to lift a lot of weight on a machine will offer little benefit. This also applies to exercises with free-weights. While many exercises with free-weights and some machine based exercises can be very beneficial to you strength-wise and aesthetically, they will do little good when it comes to enhancing your ability to pull your bodyweight in a vertical plane.
#10 Carrying Excess Body Fat
Pull-ups are already challenging enough for most people to perform. Now imagine performing them with an extra 5-100+ lbs of weight strapped to your body. Guess what, carrying excess body fat is no different. The less body fat you have, the easier it will be to perform pull-ups. This is especially true for females as many tend to carry their excess body fat in their hips and legs.
How To Progress Your Pull-Ups
Now that we have the common mistakes covered, lets go through some detailed coaching progressions so you can transform your pull-ups from flawed to fabulous!When it comes to all of the exercises below, the key points for stabilizing the body and maintaining proper alignment apply (breathing, bracing, glutes) so I won’t repeat myself.
Phase 1: 4-8 weeks
To acquire the ability to perform pull-ups, start out performing various isometric holds, and pulling your bodyweight, but with some modifications. During this phase, you will also work on improving your grip strength, strengthening your scapula stabilizers, core, and glutes.
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