Is there any correlation between how much you can overhead press and pull ups/chin up

SpadesOfIndia · 10-03-2009, 01:30 PM

I can do 10 pull up with my 190 lbs. I think I can probably do couple more if I was doing just one set. I think that is decent. But my Overhead press is stalled at 115 lbs. My BP is also stalled at 165 lbs.

I have seen others on this board benching 225+ lbs but can't do a single pull-up.

Are these exercises correlated? How if they are?

It is just not making sense to em. I know one is pull and one is push but how to you progress of these two different kinds of muscle stresses?

JuicyAnimal · 10-03-2009, 01:37 PM

Pullups are one of the hardest exercises for most people. Even really heavy bodybuilders can have trouble with them. That's probably how the pulldown machine came about.

Overhead press was always easyer for me to progress in.

Old-Time-Lifter · 10-03-2009, 02:00 PM

I don't think there's a magic forumla for any correlation between two lifts involving completely different muscles or even the same for that matter.

I can cgbp much more than I can do on the incline, which I think is weird....... but maybe others don't?

blueeyes35148 · 10-03-2009, 02:06 PM

I fall into the 2nd category. I can bench 275 to 300 lbs. But I have one heck of a time with my pull ups.

Sisyphus67 · 10-03-2009, 02:09 PM

I have read in a couple of sources that pull-ups and chin-ups are good assistance exercises for the overhead press (as well as the bench press). The pulling motion assisting the pressing movement. Anyhow, when I began doing chin-ups seriously from a dead hang with each rep my overhead press increased nicely. My overhead press numbers are much better than my chin-up/pull-up numbers.

7rmr · 10-03-2009, 02:10 PM

There is definitely a correlation but its because of the third variable. People who can do a lot of pull ups typically work out a lot so all of their other muscles are stronger, therefore they can also overhead press more. However, as each exercise uses completely different muscle groups there is no direct correlation. Meaning, doing more pull ups won't cause you to be able to overhead press more or vice verse.

gbg · 10-03-2009, 02:21 PM

No correlation, if your asking how to increase your pull ups simply do more pull ups.

Sisyphus67 · 10-03-2009, 02:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gbg

No correlation, if your asking how to increase your pull ups simply do more pull ups.

He is asking how to increase his OHP. I have found personally, that chin-ups did increase my OHP. He can do many pull-ups but does not do well with OHP.

SpadesOfIndia · 10-03-2009, 02:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sisyphus67

I have found personally, that chin-ups did increase my OHP.

Did you do chin-ups till failure? Did you do them weighted?
I do the last set till failure and am about to start weighted.

Sisyphus67 · 10-03-2009, 03:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SpadesOfIndia

Did you do chin-ups till failure? Did you do them weighted?
I do the last set till failure and am about to start weighted.

Yeah, but I only can do about 6 unweighted for about 5 sets (each rep from a dead hang). They are also the last exercise in my routine. My OHP was stalled around 185, then when I added chin-ups, and could do 5 sets of 4 reps it was up around 225. It certainly isn't the end-all, be-all, you probably need to add some additional tricep work, but they seemed to do the trick for breaking a plateau for me. Good luck.

LongLefty · 10-03-2009, 04:30 PM

Leaner people tend to be able to do more pull ups, the heavier and more muscular you get the harder plain an simple. Also i've seen guys who are like 5' 5" do like 30 pull ups because they only need to pull up 5 inches or so till their chin hits the bar, conversely tall people who have to pull themselves up a foot almost find that exercise a little more difficult. I refer to this as the "Naim "pocket hercules" Suleimanov" syndrome, who at 132 lbs, lifted 418 lbs clean and jerk, one of the first to lift 3 times his body weight. To the best of my knowledge all the guys who have done so have been in this weight range.

Not to get all physics on ya, but

Work = Force X Distance

in which case in pullups, Force = Mass x Gravity

if you wanna fill in the numbers, go ahead, i'll spare you the trouble cuz you will find that the heavier/taller person will always have to do more work

Inthegrass · 10-03-2009, 04:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LongLefty

Leaner people tend to be able to do more pull ups, the heavier and more muscular you get the harder plain an simple. Also i've seen guys who are like 5' 5" do like 30 pull ups because they only need to pull up 5 inches or so till their chin hits the bar, conversely tall people who have to pull themselves up a foot almost find that exercise a little more difficult. I refer to this as the "Naim "pocket hercules" Suleimanov" syndrome, who at 132 lbs, lifted 418 lbs clean and jerk, one of the first to lift 3 times his body weight. To the best of my knowledge all the guys who have done so have been in this weight range.

Not to get all physics on ya, but

Work = Force X Distance

in which case in pullups, Force = Mass x Gravity

if you wanna fill in the numbers, go ahead, i'll spare you the trouble cuz you will find that the heavier/taller person will always have to do more work

I'll certainly vouch for that!! lol
I'm 6'3" with an over head reach of 8'4". Yes I'm deformed with extemely long arms!! lol
Anyway, so far I'm still working with 10 sets of 5 for my pull-ups. By the time I get to the last few sets, I end up doing 2, rest a couple of seconds, 2 more and rest a couple of seconds and one more for my set. The thing is, I have a huge distance to pull myself up and I weight over 210lbs.
Chin-ups I can knock of sets of 10.

I'm going to beat this if it kills me. I want to be able to knock off sets of 10 for pull-ups (full range of course).

Getting there slowly but surely.

chodan9 · 10-03-2009, 04:47 PM

pull ups are easy for me now for the simple reason that I made them a priority. I consider them my warm up exercise for back day.
my bench press and overhead press did not get equal treatment and therefore suffered, primarily because I worked out by myself for years. I was afraid to do too much without a spotter.
for the last 6 months I have had steady workout partners and have gained by leaps and bounds on my press movements.

ironwill2008 · 10-03-2009, 05:45 PM

No correlation between the two lifts. If you're looking to increase your OHP, the simplest way is to set up a progression routine for it.

Karl_Hungus · 10-03-2009, 10:24 PM

No correlation for me. My pullup strength is much better than my standing OHP. In terms of pullups, I can do about 130-140 more pounds than I can with standing OHP.