Fit and Fine by Kamal Singh CSCS: Get ready for some pull ups

Also called the upper body squat, pull ups are considered the standard for testing upper body strength in most militaries across the world

In the physical fitness world, the Squat is considered the King of exercises, because of the impact it has on almost all the systems of the body – musculo-skeletal, cardio vascular as well as endocrine. If only one exercise had to be chosen for building strength and size, heavy squats done for medium to high repetitions would probably be on the top of the list. But which exercise can be called the “Squat for the Upper Body” – that’s right it would be the weighted pull up.

Pull ups are ideal even for a regular person who wants to up their fitness game, improve their posture while increasing muscle mass and strength in the upper back, shoulders and arms (Shutterstock)

In fact, the pull up done for a pre-decided number of repetitions is considered the standard for testing upper body strength in most militaries across the world. Even for a regular person who wants to up their fitness game, improve their posture while increasing muscle mass and strength in the upper back, shoulders and arms. Pull ups are also an excellent way to improve grip strength. Small pedantic note – there is a difference between Chin Ups and Pull Ups – when the palm is facing towards the trainee, it is called a Chin Up. the Biceps get stimulated lot more in a Chin Up. When palm faces away from the trainee, it is called a Pull Up. The Pull Up works all the muscles equally.

Most beginners generally are too weak to even do one pull up from dead hang to chin over the bar, i.e. full extension to full contraction. This is not surprising because 100 per cent of the bodyweight is being lifted. In comparison, in push ups 64 per cent of the bodyweight is lifted while in a squat, 75 per cent of the bodyweight is lifted. Going from 0 repetition to 1 repetition for a beginner takes quite a lot of training and effort. This might be especially very difficult for the lady fitness enthusiast, since women have less strength in the upper body. But do not let anyone tell you that women cannot do pull ups.

•Bent arm hang: This is the first step. Use a stool or bench to grab the pull up bar. Hang from the bar with the elbows bent, chin over the bar and chest close to the bar. Try to hang for 15 seconds. Slowly increase the hang time to about 70 seconds. Bent arm hang exercise can be done every day. Being able to hang for 70 seconds could take up to two-three weeks of diligent hard work.

•Eccentric pull up: Jump up to the bar, hang in the bent arm position for 5 seconds, now slowly lower yourself to the dead hang position. Take at least 10 seconds for lowering into the bottom position. Do the eccentric pull ups 2-3 times a week, slowly increasing the repetitions to five per workout.

Most beginners generally are too weak to even do one pull up from dead hang to chin over the bar (Shutterstock)

•After being able to do five eccentric repetitions each lasting 10 seconds, getting a full pull up should be easy.

•Take a day off after the last eccentric pull up work out. Then on the next workout day, try the first full pull up. Do one repetition every five to eight minutes, for a total of three repetitions.

Pull ups and body composition

One of the ways of increasing the number of pull ups is to improve body composition. The leaner one is, the easier is to up the number of pull ups. At one time, pull ups were used by athletic coaches to keep their athletes lean during the off season. If the number of pull ups went down, the coach would ask the athlete to start eating clean and lose the excess weight. So lose the unnecessary blubber and up the number of pull ups you can do. No go and do it.

Kamal Singh is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist who has been coaching for 15 years

From HT Brunch, May 16, 2021

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