Pullups and DB bent over row

[bodyartt]

Most people say: even if you can't do pullups, just keep on trying. Then if you can do one, add another, etc. They often say other back exercises won't help you do pullups, only pullups will help u do pullups.

I never found this to work. When i tried this method, my progress stalled and I went in circles. So I did db bent over row for a month and now my pullup has not only gone up but they feel a lot easier on my body.

So my question: is the standard advice (do pullups to increase pullup number) a bit simplistic? Would it be better to build your back with rows etc. and then come back strong enough to do more pullups? Because currently I am enjoying rows, plus after a month my back feels strong and I am able to do more pullups.

[TheShadowMan]

I'll say that pullups can be crazy hard if you have undeveloped upper body muscles, or you weigh a lot. To counter that, there are various training tools you can use to build yourself up to them. You can do isometric holds at the top of the movement, use a box/chair to spot yourself, slow eccentric reps, assisted pull up machine, or my personal favorite is to use bands. Start out with the strongest band, and work your way down to the weaker ones, until eventually you don't need them anymore. They assist you, but they don't take over the movement - so you're still doing the work and getting the benefit of a pullup - you're just getting a set amount of help doing it, so you're moving a set amount of resistance depending on the band you use. If you're still struggling, you can use lat pulldowns to mimic the movement - but it's not going to be quite the same, so you can't expect the same gains with one.

[louie0939]

whatever works for you. progress, is progress

[SandBB]

I started with heavy pulldowns and my strength in pullups went up too.

[mikschu]

I started with heavy pulldowns and my strength in pullups went up too.

this. I started doing lat pulldowns 6 weeks ago, and since then I have seen a huge increase in my pulling strength, and my lats have started to grow like they never have from pullups alone.

[sebatu]

Doing pull ups is the best way to become good at doing pull ups because not only do you become stronger but you also become more efficient at doing the movement. If you can't do them then of course it's better to do exercises that will build your back in order to be able to do pull ups later.

[melDorado]

Personally I think rows do aid pull ups but pull ups/chins aid them better. I'm heavy and female and I think over time rows were a big part of getting strong enough to pull myself up.

[salty-vtr]

whatever works for you. progress, is progress

100% agree with this.

People often overlook this in order to do what works for someone else as they think that will work for them aswell.

[bodyartt]

Doing pull ups is the best way to become good at doing pull ups because not only do you become stronger but you also become more efficient at doing the movement. If you can't do them then of course it's better to do exercises that will build your back in order to be able to do pull ups later.

I get that pullups is the best, but my point is: 90 times of 100, you read any article or browse forum, you'll always see people dismissing pulldowns, rows etc. and say again and again that pullups alone will help u do more pullups. I followed this advice and wasted many months slowly improving my number. But now after just one month of rows, I feel strong and my pullup numbers have increased drastically.

So I am just saying, for beginners who can't even do one pullup (that was me a few months ago) asking them to do more pullups could be bad advice. Their time is better spent building a solid back with rows and then perhaps they can come back to chins. That's all I am saying.

[truth223]

How much do you weight OP? The best thing that helped me do more push ups was lose weight. The more weight I lose the more PU's I can do.