Adding Pull-Ups to My Workout…To My Amazement!
The Pull-Up. Always considered by me an exercise for the very strong and fit…after trying to do it a couple of years ago I realized I had a long way to go before they were within my reach. For several months now I’ve been wanting to incorporate pull-ups into my workouts, but I’ve been putting it off due to minor injuries on my left side (wrist, arm, rotator cuff). I’ve started a pull-up from time to time but it didn’t feel good and I didn’t want to take any chances making a minor injury worse. So I’ve been focusing on lifting smart, giving each muscle group plenty of recovery time, and building my strength on bench press and deadlift.
The month of May has been phenomenal for me. I’ve had great workouts, with no soreness or stiffness in any of the areas that had been giving me problems. I’ve reached a couple of goals, 225 on flat bench and 350 on deadlift. I haven’t missed any post-lifting cardio. In a nutshell, I’m stronger, leaner and fitter than I’ve been at any point in my life! But still I strive to reach new goals….
Last night was time to do back. I was doing barbell bent-over rows. The pull-up bar was right next to the rack I was using. I started to wonder….do my accomplishments of late signal that maybe my back is strong enough that I’d be able to do a pull-up? Time to find out. I intended to be careful, just trying to do 1 good rep to see if I had the strength and had no pain in my arm. I decided on a reverse grip (one palm-down, one palm-up), which I thought I had the best chance of doing. I got set up and did the first rep with such ease and comfort that I kept going and did 3 more before I started to get tired. Four pullups, a great achievement for me! But of course I wasn’t satisfied. I had to try them using a palms-down grip on both hands to hit the back better. I grabbed the bar at shoulder width, and used straps to help my grip. I did the first rep, went to full extension on the descent, then I was able to come back all the way up for a second rep and then hold it for a few seconds before going down again. Two full reps! I was amazed! During that back workout I went on to do 2 more sets of two solid reps. That’s 10 pull-ups in all. Amazing!
This is another step on my journey towards being the fittest I can be, and I’m very thankful for the gift of my body and good health. Now that I’ve added the pull-up to my arsenal I’ll continue to work on it, using wide grips, medium grips, and narrow grips. I’m sure I’ll be up to sets of 10-12 reps in a few months. Keep soldiering on and you’ll reach your goals too!
May 31, 2008 at 4:33 pm
You keep adding to the list of things I have to keep ahead of you on! LOL! I like pullups for adding width to the lower lats. Do them almost every back day. Keep up the great work!