Improving wide grip pull ups
Discussion
MajorProblem said:
Hi guys, just after some advice on how I can improve my wide grip pull ups, I've been training for a while now and this seems to be the weakest part of my game by a long way.
Thanks.
Practice them a lot or lose weight. There are a few exercises that hit similar muscles - lat pulldowns or assisted pullups using a chair or gym machine. I struggled with the chair so used a step ladder and that worked better for me. On the assisted reps hold at the top for a few seconds and then lower yourself down slowly.Thanks.
How many can you do now?
cliffe_mafia said:
Practice them a lot or lose weight. There are a few exercises that hit similar muscles - lat pulldowns or assisted pullups using a chair or gym machine. I struggled with the chair so used a step ladder and that worked better for me. On the assisted reps hold at the top for a few seconds and then lower yourself down slowly.
How many can you do now?
I'm 90kg with 17% body fat - looking to hit 10% so a bit of weight will come off, might try focussing on the negative. I can do 2 or 3 with no assistance. Shocking. How many can you do now?
dont be put off, keep going with it, they're a great power to weight ratio marker & a good way of telling if your putting to much weight on 
quite often I'll alternate between 'behind neck' and 'to chin' it hits different parts of the back (minimal difference though)
they're sort of like the flat bench press for back, a good shaper, nick the handles off the seated row machine, hook it over the bar and try some narrow grip, it'll make the wide grip seem easy
but on the whole, you'll need to loose weight to get to higher reps, they're quite a difficult one to tackle, it took me 10 yrs to get to the point of 20 reps at 100kg.
quite often I'll alternate between 'behind neck' and 'to chin' it hits different parts of the back (minimal difference though)
they're sort of like the flat bench press for back, a good shaper, nick the handles off the seated row machine, hook it over the bar and try some narrow grip, it'll make the wide grip seem easy
but on the whole, you'll need to loose weight to get to higher reps, they're quite a difficult one to tackle, it took me 10 yrs to get to the point of 20 reps at 100kg.
All you can do is practise.
I'm 90kg with about 13-14% fat and can only squeeze out 6-8, but can happily pull off 30 chin ups. When I was doing chin ups everyday I got to the point where I could do 50 chin ups in a set,yet at a push only 8 or so wide grips, so ultimately if you want to do more you just need to do them day in day out.
And for godsake don't compromise form, I hate people who do pull ups and only drop several inches.
I'm 90kg with about 13-14% fat and can only squeeze out 6-8, but can happily pull off 30 chin ups. When I was doing chin ups everyday I got to the point where I could do 50 chin ups in a set,yet at a push only 8 or so wide grips, so ultimately if you want to do more you just need to do them day in day out.
And for godsake don't compromise form, I hate people who do pull ups and only drop several inches.
Yep they're one of the harder ones for sure.
I would do as many proper ones as you can then do the remaining set of negatives, get a chair climb up and lower yourself down in a controlled manner.
Then at the end get up to the top and hold it, try and hold on as long as possible 30 sec maybe all you can do but it will burn like a biatch!!
Keep doing it but increasing the amount of full ones and decreasing the negatives.
I would do as many proper ones as you can then do the remaining set of negatives, get a chair climb up and lower yourself down in a controlled manner.
Then at the end get up to the top and hold it, try and hold on as long as possible 30 sec maybe all you can do but it will burn like a biatch!!
Keep doing it but increasing the amount of full ones and decreasing the negatives.
Nah.
Just work on your Lat, Pec and Bicep strength. Do different exercises that either isolate these (bicep curls, lat pull overs etc) or compound these (bench press, tricep pulldowns or pushdowns etc.). Use the Progressive Principle and increase weight and/or reps every single time you try.
Practicing the same exercise without progress is route one to plateauing/is plateauing and ultimate failure. No matter how hard you try, progress will be slow or non-existent.
I've seen people who have never even tried doing a wide-grip pull-up before but because they had spent plenty of time training the muscles that make this happen, go and rack out 10 no problem first time (like me for a start )
Negative reps help though. If at a gym use an assisted pull-up station. If at home using a pull-up bar, jump and then lower yourself down slowly.
Just work on your Lat, Pec and Bicep strength. Do different exercises that either isolate these (bicep curls, lat pull overs etc) or compound these (bench press, tricep pulldowns or pushdowns etc.). Use the Progressive Principle and increase weight and/or reps every single time you try.
Practicing the same exercise without progress is route one to plateauing/is plateauing and ultimate failure. No matter how hard you try, progress will be slow or non-existent.
I've seen people who have never even tried doing a wide-grip pull-up before but because they had spent plenty of time training the muscles that make this happen, go and rack out 10 no problem first time (like me for a start
)Negative reps help though. If at a gym use an assisted pull-up station. If at home using a pull-up bar, jump and then lower yourself down slowly.
dojo said:
Yep they're one of the harder ones for sure.
I would do as many proper ones as you can then do the remaining set of negatives, get a chair climb up and lower yourself down in a controlled manner.
Then at the end get up to the top and hold it, try and hold on as long as possible 30 sec maybe all you can do but it will burn like a biatch!!
Keep doing it but increasing the amount of full ones and decreasing the negatives.
this is a good idea to.I would do as many proper ones as you can then do the remaining set of negatives, get a chair climb up and lower yourself down in a controlled manner.
Then at the end get up to the top and hold it, try and hold on as long as possible 30 sec maybe all you can do but it will burn like a biatch!!
Keep doing it but increasing the amount of full ones and decreasing the negatives.
I'd suggest a two-pronged approach:
1) Once a week (or however often you train your back) do 20-30 wide-grip pull-ups. Doesn't matter if you end up doing single reps, just hit the number. If you reach the point of failure before you get to 20 or 30 then make up the numbers with negatives or forced reps (jumping from the ground). Frequency and volume are important.
2) Every time you're in the gym do a couple of reps - it need only be 2 or 3, but the repeated effort will help a great deal.
I used to have the same problem (although I'm a bit lighter than you) and using the above quickly got me to 3 sets of 10. At that point you can start aiming for 50 or 100 reps against the clock!
1) Once a week (or however often you train your back) do 20-30 wide-grip pull-ups. Doesn't matter if you end up doing single reps, just hit the number. If you reach the point of failure before you get to 20 or 30 then make up the numbers with negatives or forced reps (jumping from the ground). Frequency and volume are important.
2) Every time you're in the gym do a couple of reps - it need only be 2 or 3, but the repeated effort will help a great deal.
I used to have the same problem (although I'm a bit lighter than you) and using the above quickly got me to 3 sets of 10. At that point you can start aiming for 50 or 100 reps against the clock!
Just do it. If you can do 1, just try to crank another one out after a rest. Every attempt is training the relevant muscles. And crank out some that others wouldn't count as a pull up as again that will be training the muscles.
If you couldn't do a single pull up then the above advice is all good.
If you couldn't do a single pull up then the above advice is all good.
This might sound odd but I found I could do wide grip pull ups much easier after trainig my forearms and fingers.
I train for arm wrestling and was hanging to stretch after a workout. It was only then that I realised that my hands and arms weren't in the slightest bit under strain, so I pulled myself up easier than ever.
I'd trained back as well during this period (3 or 4 months) but no more than I used to.
During pull ups, hold at the top for a couple of seconds, then lower yourself slowly.
I train for arm wrestling and was hanging to stretch after a workout. It was only then that I realised that my hands and arms weren't in the slightest bit under strain, so I pulled myself up easier than ever.
I'd trained back as well during this period (3 or 4 months) but no more than I used to.
During pull ups, hold at the top for a couple of seconds, then lower yourself slowly.
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