Davesbeard Posted June 8, 2006 Share Posted June 8, 2006 After my last log failed miserably i thought i'd try and start afresh, i've got a definite goal now and i'm working out consistently. So far my best Weighted pullup is a rather poor 63lbs (At 165lbs ish BW) and i've been stuck at this for a fair while now. So i decided 2 weeks ago to leave weighted pullups alone for a while. I've been doing various exercises with a bag filled with bricks (Until i go to uni in september/october i've got next to no equipment) to strength my biceps, lats, delts,triceps, traps all those sort of muscles and in two weeks i've made a brick or 2's progress (around 7lbs per brick) in each lift. Rather good increases in strength i thought so today i couldn't resist giving the weighted pullups ago. I assumed that i'd manage at least 70lbs but instead failed miserably and managed a mere 56lbs. 7 below my previous max. I'm not sure what i'm doing wrong so i'm posting this log for advice more than anything. I'll show you what i did today and see what you think. 10 BW pullups 5 BW + 35lbs 3 BW + 42lbs 2 BW + 49lbs 1 BW + 56lbs 2 Attempts BW+63lbs both missed Any opinions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unseenbeat Posted June 8, 2006 Share Posted June 8, 2006 Alternate what you do on pullup days. Some days do unweighted, some days add a little weight lik 25 pounds, but still go for reps, other days try to max out in weight. Mix it up. I'd also suggest practicing controlled one-arm negatives. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davesbeard Posted June 9, 2006 Author Share Posted June 9, 2006 No lifting today. Just did some cardio to try and get as lean as possible. If i lose 10lbs (might be possible if i get to about 10% bodyfat) i'm 20lb closer to my target so i think it should quicken the process rather. 10 minutes at 40km/h on an exercise bike. 20 Minutes at 7.5 km/h running. 4*500m in 2 minutes with a 1 minute break between each. That pretty much killed me. Good to be doing some cardio, i'm shockingly unfit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
God-man Posted June 9, 2006 Share Posted June 9, 2006 Although I personally am not training for a one-arm pull-up (although that would be cool to be able to do), I have worked up to 4 reps w/ my bodyweight + 90lbs (@ 155lbs bw), so I consider myself somewhat knowledgeable on weighted pullups, ha. The advice I would give to break past that barrier is basically the same advice that unseenbeat gave: mix it up. I would definitely NOT advise doing max attempts each and every time you do a pull-up workout. Do your max attempts and go all out on some days, then other days just do a few sets of non-weighted pullups: give your body a rest and allow it to recuperate, and other days, do the weighted pullups for reps, but maybe try not to go too heavy. Doing one-arm pullup negatives sounds like a good idea, too, although I haven't done those myself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davesbeard Posted June 9, 2006 Author Share Posted June 9, 2006 Ok thanks both of you, i'll try doing it like you suggest. I do think i've been prone to overtraining and therefore not been getting anywhere. Cheers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davesbeard Posted June 11, 2006 Author Share Posted June 11, 2006 (edited) Ok following your light-medium-heavy routine i did some pullup reps today. Not very many mind. Lost about 5 reps off my max since about 3 weeks ago as well. I think i'm broken... Pullups: 15 BW 10 BW 5 BW Core: 50 crunches with legs at 90 degrees against a wall 16 Twist crunches (on each side) in same position as before. Pressups: My chest is severely undertrained and i only managed 30 pushups yesterday. Though last time i did them (About a week ago) i did 40. Aaargh, going rapidly backwards sucks! Edit: I haven't been able to close my 2 for a while now as well. What the hell? Edited June 11, 2006 by Davesbeard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unseenbeat Posted June 11, 2006 Share Posted June 11, 2006 Stick with it, sometimes I'll get stuck in a rut for a week, and suddenly make huge gains. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deaner Posted June 11, 2006 Share Posted June 11, 2006 Try the old 10x10, that might be a nice change, the mental stress of having to always add weight can make gains difficult. Some high volume work can help bust through barriers sometimes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davesbeard Posted June 14, 2006 Author Share Posted June 14, 2006 Ok, this is still going but i've got exams at the moment so i can't get in everything i want to do. Still going for the light-medium-heavy system. Medium day: Pullups 5*Bw+20lbs 4 sets. 40 pushups 60 Ab crunches with legs on wall (wow those have come on, you can see it in my stomach as well ) 18 Oblique twists with legs on wall. Thats it, but its something. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davesbeard Posted June 15, 2006 Author Share Posted June 15, 2006 Just realised i got the weight wrong for the pullups. I was doing +25lbs not +20. And is it just me or has the edit button dissapeared? (if there even was one) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unseenbeat Posted June 15, 2006 Share Posted June 15, 2006 Just realised i got the weight wrong for the pullups. I was doing +25lbs not +20.And is it just me or has the edit button dissapeared? (if there even was one) It goes away 15 minutes after posting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muscle Turtle Posted June 16, 2006 Share Posted June 16, 2006 My experience with pull ups... One arms with reversed bands.. Two handers with added weight and bands to over load.. Chains are a good one.. One armed pull down on lat machine, lotts of biceps work.. upper lat work, external stuff like laying side raises and face pull and stuff like that. Work on pull ups and chin ups with different grips and widths. Find out what ur real weakness is in the pull. For most its their bicep then their lats. Good Luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ivarboneless Posted June 16, 2006 Share Posted June 16, 2006 Being a one arm chinner myself, and since you asked for advice here's my input. I think you should separate your pushup and pullup days. I have found that separating my pushing and pulling days gives me more energy and reduces my chance of injury (I used to get injured a lot). It is okay to do abs on the pullup days though. I don't think you should start training one armed until you can do at least 25 chins (palm towards you). In order to get to 25 chins (if you are not already there) I would say do your max (minus one rep maybe) chinups say in the morning so you get a good rest, then do your max pullups at lunch maybe. Then at night do sets of reps both hand positions. If you don't have the time to do the spacing then I would say max reps in chins followed by sets in pullups. I wouldn't do weighted chins at all because you don't really get a feel for the balance and muscle pattern of a one arm chin. If you are set on weighted chins then do one arm weighted negatives. If you must do weighted chins then only do them after you have broken the 25 barrier. I say get the reps up high first because I think it will help prevent tendinitis. (A BEAST IN ONE ARM CHINNING) Now real training advice: Only do one arm training twice a week. Have a good deal of rest between days like monday and saturday. Do the normal chinning routine of every other day then do one armers on two of these days. Make the one arm days light rep days and only rep AFTER all the one arm training and do the reps slow and controlled. DO NOT over do it, it will come just give it time. Do one arm static locks at 90 degrees for two seconds then pull as hard as you can for a good 5 seconds. when you start to move up from the static lock then start doing negatives (start at the top and slowly lower) after you get good on negatives start pulling from 90 degree two second static lock until you chin reaches over the bar. then increase to lower and lower static locks. for the final deadhang phase do dead hangs for 1 minute with one arm (GRIP STRENGTH!!), but do it with the arm contracting like you are trying to do a one arm chin. When you can go from a dead hang to half chin do two steppers, dead hang pull to 90 degrees then jump off shakeout and 5 seconds later hop back on at 90 degrees and finish. ONE ARM CHIN!! If my reasoning for any of the training I listed is unclear PM me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unseenbeat Posted June 16, 2006 Share Posted June 16, 2006 Ivar, I have come a decent ways on the one-arm chins (very good at negatives and lockoffs with my right arm), but I started training for the one-arm chin when I could do 15-18 deadhang pullups, and only had tendon pain on a few occasions. Nowadays I usually can only knock off a few sets of 10, and I never have any form of tendon pain, and my negatives and lockoffs have gotten better. This might not apply to everyone, but simply doing some negatives and lockoffs daily built up my tendons well enough that tendonitis isn't currently an issue. If only I could build back up my pullup endurance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davesbeard Posted June 16, 2006 Author Share Posted June 16, 2006 Went for max palm facing towards me pullups (or chins i forget which is which ><) and managed 20 today so i'm back up to my previous maxium. I'm not actually strong enough to do the locks off even slow negatives and i think this is largely bicep strength. I feel like i could be doing a lot more with my lats but can't apply the strength properly. This might be completely wrong. I think i'll stick with weighted pullups until i can do negatives and lock offs well enough to actually train using that method. Then i'll follow the program you suggested boneless. Cheers for all the advice guys. Big help . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unseenbeat Posted June 16, 2006 Share Posted June 16, 2006 Went for max palm facing towards me pullups (or chins i forget which is which ><) and managed 20 today so i'm back up to my previous maxium.I'm not actually strong enough to do the locks off even slow negatives and i think this is largely bicep strength. I feel like i could be doing a lot more with my lats but can't apply the strength properly. This might be completely wrong. I think i'll stick with weighted pullups until i can do negatives and lock offs well enough to actually train using that method. Then i'll follow the program you suggested boneless. Cheers for all the advice guys. Big help . Well, at least try to hold yourself in the top position of a pullup with one-arm. That's how I started, I couldn't do slow negs at that point. I built up to them, or rather down to them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davesbeard Posted June 16, 2006 Author Share Posted June 16, 2006 Went for max palm facing towards me pullups (or chins i forget which is which ><) and managed 20 today so i'm back up to my previous maxium. I'm not actually strong enough to do the locks off even slow negatives and i think this is largely bicep strength. I feel like i could be doing a lot more with my lats but can't apply the strength properly. This might be completely wrong. I think i'll stick with weighted pullups until i can do negatives and lock offs well enough to actually train using that method. Then i'll follow the program you suggested boneless. Cheers for all the advice guys. Big help . Well, at least try to hold yourself in the top position of a pullup with one-arm. That's how I started, I couldn't do slow negs at that point. I built up to them, or rather down to them. Right ok, i'll give up on the weighted pullups then. I was running out of room from bricks anyway.. Did a weighted pullup session today before i read this and forgot to post it earlier Pullups: 10*Bw 5*Bw+25lbs 2*Bw+44lbs 1*Bw+58lbs 1 attempt at 63lbs . Didn't get it Ok. So new training routine. Something on the lines of. Monday : Static holds with arms at (something less than 90 degrees, i'll see what i can manage) for 2 seconds then pulling for 5 seconds. Sets of this until on each arm until failure? 1 set 5 Palm facing towards 2 sets 5 palm facing away Wednesday: Max palms facing towards in morning Sets of 10 reps palms towards and away in evening Friday : Same as Monday Sunday : Same as Wednesday Repeat. Any advice on the workout/when to increase reps/angle? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ivarboneless Posted June 16, 2006 Share Posted June 16, 2006 Don't go to failure necessarily, go until the static lock is your max effort and have that be your last set. Increase reps whenever you can. Increase the angle when you can chin from 90 degrees. All looks good. You will be pumping one armers soon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davesbeard Posted June 19, 2006 Author Share Posted June 19, 2006 Rather pathetically i can't even hold myself at the top of the movement with one arm so that training option isn't viable >< What should i do? Try and build up to about 30 reps 2 handed or something? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unseenbeat Posted June 19, 2006 Share Posted June 19, 2006 Rather pathetically i can't even hold myself at the top of the movement with one arm so that training option isn't viable >< What should i do? Try and build up to about 30 reps 2 handed or something? Well, there are a few little things you can do. And that's not pathetic, many of my friends, some of whom do climbing and stuff, have failed the first time they tried to do this. I don't think I could do one the firsttime I tried, though I had already been doing weighted pullups. Getting a bit of hypertrophy going isn't a bad idea, you should be trying to move your BW pullups up always. Just try and do a hang at the top position after, or maybe in the middle of every pullup workout. Eventually you'll start getting them. And I bet it won't take too long. Isometrics can be increased very quickly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davesbeard Posted June 19, 2006 Author Share Posted June 19, 2006 OK cheers, i think i'll do the type of pullups i mentioned earlier 2 times a week and do reps once a week at first possibly 2 times a week later. I'll keep trying the static holds at the start of each workout then. Cheers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davesbeard Posted June 21, 2006 Author Share Posted June 21, 2006 Rep day today as scheduled. My sets of reps have also dropped off. Those weighted pullups didn't do much for me.. 10 pronated pullups 10 supinated pullups 10 pronated pullups 10 supinated pullups Didn't try and lock offs today, i'll do those on my heavier days. Also did 60 crunches with legs bent at 90 degrees on wall. I'm gonna add a rep to each of the middle sets next week then a rep to the first and last set the week after. Then i'll continue adding reps in this way. I'll do the same for the one arm biased pullups i'm doing on mondays and fridays. At least until i can start doing some proper training with lock offs. Good to be doing something that feels like its working again! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davesbeard Posted June 26, 2006 Author Share Posted June 26, 2006 Missed my friday workout as i had my last exam the same day and i didn't get home till very late due to running around wildy celebrating. Not got any pressures on me now so i should be able to workout whenever i want. Played squash with a friend for about an hour yesterday. Good fun though the quick changes of direction have given me sore ass muscles! Worked out today as planned (The type of pullup i'm using i'll call a semi-one armer, one arm supinated and central and the other arm as far out as possible with a pronated grip. When i say each side i mean swapping which arm is central and which is out wide) Semi-One armer pullups 3 reps each side Attempts at a lock off on each arm. Still couldn't do it but i did feel closer to holding it this week which is good 4 reps each side 4 reps each side 3 reps each side Once i'm doing 4 sets of 5 reps each side with these i'll start removing a finger from the pronated hand then building back up to 5 reps then reomoving another finger etc etc. Static hold at 90 degrees in Semi-One armer position. Held until just before failure each side. 60 crunches legs 90 degrees to wall. With my legs like this it seems to tire out my lower abs so i don't do any leg raises. 20 oblique twists each side. Legs 90 degrees to wall. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unseenbeat Posted June 26, 2006 Share Posted June 26, 2006 Missed my friday workout as i had my last exam the same day and i didn't get home till very late due to running around wildy celebrating. Not got any pressures on me now so i should be able to workout whenever i want.Played squash with a friend for about an hour yesterday. Good fun though the quick changes of direction have given me sore ass muscles! Worked out today as planned (The type of pullup i'm using i'll call a semi-one armer, one arm supinated and central and the other arm as far out as possible with a pronated grip. When i say each side i mean swapping which arm is central and which is out wide) Semi-One armer pullups 3 reps each side Attempts at a lock off on each arm. Still couldn't do it but i did feel closer to holding it this week which is good 4 reps each side 4 reps each side 3 reps each side Once i'm doing 4 sets of 5 reps each side with these i'll start removing a finger from the pronated hand then building back up to 5 reps then reomoving another finger etc etc. Static hold at 90 degrees in Semi-One armer position. Held until just before failure each side. 60 crunches legs 90 degrees to wall. With my legs like this it seems to tire out my lower abs so i don't do any leg raises. 20 oblique twists each side. Legs 90 degrees to wall. All sounds good bro. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davesbeard Posted July 1, 2006 Author Share Posted July 1, 2006 (edited) Didn't do my reps on wednesday. I like to mix up my training. (Yeh i was lazy and didn't do them. It was really hot though!) Semi-One armer pullups 4 reps each side Tried the Lock offs again today, still failing but again i felt stronger. Could almost call it a slowish negative now! 4 reps each side 4 reps each side 4 reps each side Going good. I really like this exercise. A good proportion of my back and shoulders are tired after them including my delts so i'm definitely sticking with this program. Even once i can do lock offs i'm gonna try and get 1 day of these in each week. Also did 80 crunches and 25 oblique twists each side. The reps i'm doing in these are rocketing! Edited July 1, 2006 by Davesbeard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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