Pull-Ups 101: Increase Reps And Strength

Relative strength is a term used to describe the amount of strength a person has relative to their bodyweight. For example, a strongman may be able to bench 400 lbs, but how many pushups could they do? Relative strength relates more toward exercises that generally use bodyweight as a measure of strength.

Among all exercises performed in the gym, one stands above the rest when it comes to assessing someone's relative strength - the Pull-up.

Far too often guys spend way too much time on the lat-pulldown and row machines and forget about training for relative strength on a pull-up bar.

Old school bodybuilders like Frank Zane and Franco Columbu were huge advocates of relative strength exercises. To this day strength programs should not be considered complete unless they have pull-ups integrated into the general programming.

With the legends in mind, you came here to create your own physique.

When you want to increase your pull-up you need to look at it from two perspectives - total reps and total strength.

Below you will find two separate programs to add to your current training regime in order to maximize your pull-ups.

*Rest Between Sets

The total strength program is built to increase your raw strength in the pull-up. Your focus on each rep should be to follow the tempo and use as much weight as possible - while maintaining proper form.

Depending on your current skill level you may want to decrease the reps on the CG Pronated Pull-up as it can exhaust your forearms and leave you tired for the rest of your workout.

Throw these exercises into your current back training days - supplementing for lat-pulldowns and rowing exercises.

The second program is catered towards increasing your total repetitions on the pull-up. You will notice that the emphasis here is to increase the total amount of time you have resistance placed on the muscle (excluding explosive pull-ups).

Your focus should always be to have clean repetitions that are slow and controlled - there is no need to kip.

For best results try to supplement this program into your current training regime 1-2x/week - depending on your goal.

From a specific point of view, increasing your pull-ups is as simple as doing more pull-ups. In the same way, if you wanted to increase your bench, you should start to bench more often.

Pay close attention to any shoulder or neck pain you could experience from increasing your pull-ups. The change to a higher volume means you may need to do some preventative shoulder rehab training and supplementing with an anti-inflammatory.

Prevention is the first step to avoiding injury.

For a clean and strong supplement to boost your performance, reduce muscle soreness, and hydrate the muscles you should checkout FALLOUT.

Not only will it help you to recover faster, but it will help you to avoid injury so that you can train longer, pain-free. Find FALLOUT here.