Hey, hey ! Happy Friday!

Let’s get right into it! Let’s talk Pull-ups and Chin-ups.

If you want to do pull-ups or get more reps, I am your girl! 

I got you! Pull-ups are my jam. I love coaching them! Just the other day, I signed on a new in-person client, and during our intake, she told me she wants to be able to do pull-ups! I said yasssssss!! I am here for it! Let’s eat!

First things first: You’ve got this. Pull-ups and chin-ups are not some distant dream; they are absolutely within your reach. You CAN do it!

Pull-ups and chin-ups are skills that require persistence, time, and consistency!

Yes, pull-ups and chin-ups are hard. At first! There is no denying that. Getting to that first one can be very frustrating, but remember, it’s POSSIBLE! I understand the struggle, but trust me, it’s worth it.

It’s not just about doing more pull-ups! It’s also about getting your form on point. You will struggle with pull-ups if you don’t learn how to move the body through space effectively. But, with the proper form and muscle engagement, you can conquer them! 

So, your pull-up proficiency starts here...

• Pulling with the right muscles (back muscles), not just your arms.
  creating total body tension
• Scapular control (shoulder blades) - moving your shoulder blades down and together and reversing the movement pattern.⁣ This movement pattern is retracing & protracting your shoulder blades.
• Mind-muscle connection: Visualize your shoulder blades rotating towards the spine (retraction) and then protracting/reversing as you come down from the pull-up.
• Improving your mind-muscle connection together
• Improve your grip strength and lumbopelvic (spine and pelvis) stability! 

Of course, we train all the pulling movements consistently in the vertical and horizontal planes. We also train the movement pattern very often—more than just once a week. We also want to get stronger overall. Build your upper body strength like a boss. Please don’t shy away from it!
 

Difference between the grips:

• Pull-up: Hands facing away from the body (pronated grip) 
• Chin-up: Hands facing the body (supinated grip)
• Neutral grip pull/chin-up: Hands face each other on neutral grip bars

All three grips work similar muscles (lats, traps, pecs, biceps + triceps, erectors, rotator cuffs). 

The slight differences vary in biceps, chest (pecs) activation, and shoulder extension (chin-up grip). The pull-up grip recruits more lats and lower traps, as well as the triceps!

Learning the pull-up pattern tends to be easier initially with neutral and chin-up grips. So, start there, but train all three grips overall.

With all three grips, ensure you get your upper chest (chin over) over the bar at the finish portion of the pull-up.

Now for the movement patterns and pull-up-specific moves that you should incorporate besides just banded pull-ups (remember to vary the band - decrease the band over time):

• Negatives (Eccentric) Only Neutral Grip Pull-ups
• Scap Pull-ups | Modified Scap Pull-ups | Scap Pull-up Voice Tutorial
  • The scap pull is the initial movement of the pull - the first action that needs to happen.
  • This movement portion of the pull-up is a crucial component that you really have to master to master the skill of pulling your body in the pull-up.
• Passive and Active Hangs
• Hollow Body Hold
• Flexed Arm Hang aka Iso Hold (chin grip - hold in the top position of the chin-up)
• Inverted Row + Variations + Step-by-Step Guide on Proper Setup and Common Mistakes
• Leg-Assisted Pull-ups | TRX Leg-Assisted Pull-ups | TRX Scap Pulls (another great way to work on moving your shoulder blades properly)
• Grip Work - Farmer carries, farmer holds, and other farmers carry variations 

Other upper body exercises to incorporate:

• Rack Pull-ups
• Cable Rows
• Wide Grip Pulldown
• Pulldown variations - I love double-pause ones
• Face pulls
• Dumbbell and Barbell Row variations
• Jumping Pull-ups + Jumping Negatives
• Assisted Pull-up (partner assists you on the pulling portion) The lower down on your own slowly (negative)
   

STRONG friend, practice, and practice. And practice some more. You’ll get there!

Have you ever heard of Grease the Groove reps? What that means is sprinkling in mini-sets of a skill that you want to hone throughout the day/week without going to muscular failure or producing muscular fatigue. 

Do 1-3 reps of pull/chin-up variations a few times throughout the week.

Also, check out this blog that I wrote many moons ago (Five Ways to Get Your First Pull-up); still very helpful and valuable! It was one of my very first blogs when I started blogging regularly! So proud! 🥰

Alright, that’s that for now. Here’s to achieving your first pull-up or getting more reps under your belt! You got this, but you must stay consistent, be patient, and keep going!

If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to reach out. I’m happy to help!

In Strength & to Your Success,

One Love
Coach Candace