User99 Posted August 2, 2010 Share Posted August 2, 2010 I used to be able to do a few pull-ups without assitance, but after slacking off for a while I'm no longer able to do them. I've been doing all of my assisted reps in a parallel/neutral grip and my forearms seem to be taking the brunt of the damage. Should I continue to work with the neutral grip or change up to a chin-up or pull-up grip? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
climber511 Posted August 2, 2010 Share Posted August 2, 2010 I used to be able to do a few pull-ups without assitance, but after slacking off for a while I'm no longer able to do them. I've been doing all of my assisted reps in a parallel/neutral grip and my forearms seem to be taking the brunt of the damage. Should I continue to work with the neutral grip or change up to a chin-up or pull-up grip? Yes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anson Posted August 2, 2010 Share Posted August 2, 2010 I'd stay away from the assisted stuff, just do negatives, you'll get strong fast this way. Use a variety of grips as Climber said. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Natural Posted August 3, 2010 Share Posted August 3, 2010 Using a big jump stretch band is a good way to add a little assistance at the bottom. It's hard to describe how I set it up, but basically the band is under my arms, around my arm pits, and it pulls me up a little at the bottom. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
426 Posted September 23, 2010 Share Posted September 23, 2010 I used to be able to do a few pull-ups without assitance, but after slacking off for a while I'm no longer able to do them. I've been doing all of my assisted reps in a parallel/neutral grip and my forearms seem to be taking the brunt of the damage. Should I continue to work with the neutral grip or change up to a chin-up or pull-up grip? I would change grips and maybe do a couple of other things: Use straps, do negatives, set up a band like other said. If you can set up a pulley system to remove weight from your body you can track how close you are to getting back to top form. You might need a harness though, unless you know how to do a swiss seat... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lifesnotfair Posted September 23, 2010 Share Posted September 23, 2010 When my wife started working out with me she couldn't even do a push-up, let alone a pull-up. We only used negatives and she eventually got a strict pull-up! Use a chair and just lower sloooooowly from the top possition. Fight until your arms are straight, not just the top portion. Then add weight... and do weighed negatives, it's comfortable because you wont be adding too much weight anyways. Once you can do some slow negatives with a little added weight, next session try a pull-up without weight and you'll likely get one. This worked for her. About the grips... they definitely hit different muscles. The "chin-up" grip or underhand grip definitely allows for more bicep involvement. People who do weighed chin-ups usually report a nice increase in their curl numbers, from what I have read. Also most people can do more chin-ups than pull-ups (overhand). I only do overhand nowdays, but I admit it's because I don't have parallel bars to do them from... the times I have tried doing them in parallel bars they feel the most comfortable and I can do more reps. They also feel the most comfortable for doing L-pull-ups, I don't know why... maybe because the arms are not rotated (ie: log press vs. barbell press) it just feels better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unseenbeat Posted September 24, 2010 Share Posted September 24, 2010 When my wife started working out with me she couldn't even do a push-up, let alone a pull-up. We only used negatives and she eventually got a strict pull-up! Use a chair and just lower sloooooowly from the top possition. Fight until your arms are straight, not just the top portion. Then add weight... and do weighed negatives, it's comfortable because you wont be adding too much weight anyways. Once you can do some slow negatives with a little added weight, next session try a pull-up without weight and you'll likely get one. This worked for her. About the grips... they definitely hit different muscles. The "chin-up" grip or underhand grip definitely allows for more bicep involvement. People who do weighed chin-ups usually report a nice increase in their curl numbers, from what I have read. Also most people can do more chin-ups than pull-ups (overhand). I only do overhand nowdays, but I admit it's because I don't have parallel bars to do them from... the times I have tried doing them in parallel bars they feel the most comfortable and I can do more reps. They also feel the most comfortable for doing L-pull-ups, I don't know why... maybe because the arms are not rotated (ie: log press vs. barbell press) it just feels better. It's funny you mention the L-pullup thing, I've noticed the same. I think it's all about learning how to use ur lats properly, read some pavel, he talks a lot about that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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