building up to do my first pull up.

[applepie12321]

My goal is to do 3x5 pull up, but I am still a long way to go, as I can't even do a full one.

So what excercises should I do to build up to that pull up?

My back and bicep day include

BB row
Deadlift
Lat pull down
EZ curl

I can do all that pretty decently well, but can't do a pull up.

I don't have a assisted pull up machine in the gym, I also workout alone, so no help to push me up.

I have heard that I should do negatives, as in starting from top and stop when my arms are straight?
Will that help me to build up to my first pull up?

What else can I do to achieve my goal?

Cheers

[benjobb]

Negatives are great, but if you're that weak and are a beginner, maybe look into beginner programs with more aggressive and planned out progression that will help you build overall strength and work capacity.

You can also do band-assisted pullups.

[applepie12321]

Negatives are great, but if you're that weak and are a beginner, maybe look into beginner programs with more aggressive and planned out progression that will help you build overall strength and work capacity.

You can also do band-assisted pullups.

I have been following some beginner's programe for quite a while, and I have some great stregth gain, but still not able to do a pull up. (maybe I have not done much back work ever)

[GentlemanLifter]

How much can you lat pulldown? What is your deadlift?

(Also yes negatives very good.)

[applepie12321]

How much can you lat pulldown? What is your deadlift?

(Also yes negatives very good.)

since I had a knee surgery, I have not been doing deadlift at full capacity (I am afraid I might get injured)

for lat pull downs, it is not very high the setting is 7, with 20 or 25 being maximum.
I have not been doing many lat pull downs or back work, as I focused on DB press every time I go to gym.

[cha89]

^Never ever sacrifice/skip back and legs training, they are the largest muscle groups in the body. At least back excises because of your injury.


loosing excess body fat is a good way to increase in pullups, but in your case I doubt its applicable.

For now getting good at lat pull downs, negatives and patience are your best bet I guess. But never ever think of lat pull down as a substitute for pull ups.

[GentlemanLifter]

Without deadlifts, part of the issue may be grip strength. Negatives will help with that too, or you can specifically target building grip strength.

[applepie12321]

with my negatives, will you recommend my grip to be a wide one (like lat pull down) or a palm towards or a palm outwards grip?

also, how many sec. should be the negative be?
I am planning to do 3x5 in my back/biceps day.

[pbrown88]

I would say you need to focus more on heavy compound lifts, you can probably skip bicep isolation movements for awhile. Most importantly though, you need to make sure you are using your back. When someone's back muscles are fairly weak they will over recruit with the biceps and forearms as beginners usually have more motor control in their arms than their back. So if you can recognize this as a problem, the solution is to start by doing a light enough compound row, assisted pull-up, or lat pull down weight so that the bicep involvement is secondary to the back, and just practice contracting your back muscles

This is best achieved by the combination of depressing your shoulder blades into your Lats to contract them, and squeezing them together to contract the Traps and rhomboids. I would recommend starting with this depression of the scapulae first before you even think about pulling. Think of your shoulder blades as the origin of movement and not the elbow.

After you have become proficient at that, get on a pull up bar and do some negatives. Assisted pull up bars are a great tool, but when ready I truly think the negatives force people to work harder Preferably you want one that you can step up to so you don't waste anyyy energy in the positive range. When performing these, you want to jump up and catch yourself with your chin above the bar. Start by doing as many as you can and really trying to hold your weight through your back as detailed above. When you start to feel your arms taking over, slowly lower yourself, wait about 15-30secs and do it again until your back is fairly exhausted (might only be 3-5 reps if you are working hard enough). Then perform a final repetition in which you hold on to the bar for dear life with every muscle you could possibly recruit.

I would so don't do this more than 3 times a week. If your truly pushing to the limit each time though I humbly believe 2X a week would be optimal along with your other workouts.

Those are just some tips. Ultimately it comes down to you. Dedicate yourself, and will achieve any goal

[applepie12321]

I would say you need to focus more on heavy compound lifts, you can probably skip bicep isolation movements for awhile. Most importantly though, you need to make sure you are using your back. When someone's back muscles are fairly weak they will over recruit with the biceps and forearms as beginners usually have more motor control in their arms than their back. So if you can recognize this as a problem, the solution is to start by doing a light enough compound row, assisted pull-up, or lat pull down weight so that the bicep involvement is secondary to the back, and just practice contracting your back muscles

This is best achieved by the combination of depressing your shoulder blades into your Lats to contract them, and squeezing them together to contract the Traps and rhomboids. I would recommend starting with this depression of the scapulae first before you even think about pulling. Think of your shoulder blades as the origin of movement and not the elbow.

After you have become proficient at that, get on a pull up bar and do some negatives. Assisted pull up bars are a great tool, but when ready I truly think the negatives force people to work harder Preferably you want one that you can step up to so you don't waste anyyy energy in the positive range. When performing these, you want to jump up and catch yourself with your chin above the bar. Start by doing as many as you can and really trying to hold your weight through your back as detailed above. When you start to feel your arms taking over, slowly lower yourself, wait about 15-30secs and do it again until your back is fairly exhausted (might only be 3-5 reps if you are working hard enough). Then perform a final repetition in which you hold on to the bar for dear life with every muscle you could possibly recruit.

I would so don't do this more than 3 times a week. If your truly pushing to the limit each time though I humbly believe 2X a week would be optimal along with your other workouts.

Those are just some tips. Ultimately it comes down to you. Dedicate yourself, and will achieve any goal

when I hold, should I do a 'chin over bar' hold, or a hold of half curled arm? (like in the middle of a chinup/pullup) or even a straight arm?