So Sunday I got the idea in my head that I wanted to set a new pull up personal best. I think it was loosely motivated by Ray L talking about taking down 30 reps at this weeks advanced Bar-barain training session in NYC. I had no thoughts of doing 30 pull ups, I was hoping to squeak out 28, one better than my surprising 27 rep effort in October.
I haven’t had any amazing pull up break throughs lately that would have made me think I had a good shot at 28 reps, I just got the idea in my head I wanted to do it. I even used a bit of Zef style visualization leading up to the set, imagining how good it would feel to crank out 28.
I wore my Crossfit Clitheroe hoodie that Lee sent me for extra motivation, plus it was rather chilly outside by Florida standards. (low 60’s)
After chalking both the bar and my hands I started pulling. With max rep attempts speed is important but since I subscribe to the Bar-barian mantra I also am very aware of form. I kept my legs straight and my range of motion solid for all reps.
I was pretty stoked when I did the first 22 reps with no break. I knew that 28 should be in reach. When I squeezed out my 28th rep all of a sudden my vision changed, I want to get 30 reps…
Although my back was very fatigued, my grip still felt solid enough to allow me to do some on bar recovery. I hung for awhile but managed to squeeze out rep 29 and 30 in a convincing, chin hovering over the bar fashion.
When I watched the video back I was pleased that my form stayed consistent within Bar-baric standards.
I dropped off the bar very surprised I just completed 30 pull ups. When I squeaked out 25 reps a few months back 30 seemed a very different and difficult beast to tame, yet here I was. It felt damn good to be setting personal physical bests even as I am rapidly approaching half a century on the planet…
Not many people can do 30 pull ups, when you add “45 and older” to that sentence, the numbers shrink dramatically further.
Nice job Shawn-did you do anything different recently to make you think you would try it? I recently hit 20 reps, and that took a lot longer than I thought it would. But it did feel good to finally hit the magic 20-30 is a whole new animal though-my muscle up is still pretty lame, but I want to get it solid-now that weather is getting cold, this goal will be harder-I feel like I need to do a sustained program of weighted pullup work etc-For the winter, I plan to focus more on losing some poundage, and getting more vascular-I see you are 6’3″ 175-I’m 6’2 hovering around 185 after Thanksgivng chowdown, and it is coming off slowly-a lot of crappy eating lately-I need to get back down to 175-that was weight when I first got the MU-anyhow, great job on pullups-maybe I will start thinking about 25..
Thanks Chris, congrats on getting your 20, that is a big milestone as well. Well since my left wrist has been troublesome for several months I have been doing more pull ups since they don’t hurt. But to be honest, just as with all my max rep bests (25,27 and 30), I just sort of got it in my head that I wanted to set a new best.
Of course the mind is powerful but that doesn’t mean you could go from 20-30 just by thinking you can do it.
Most of my gym work outs begin with pull ups plus I think the lever practice I have been doing is strengthening my back even further.
Solid work bro. #beastmode
Nice work!
Just discovered your site. Great stuff.
I’m an aspiring bodyweight athlete. 43 years old. 5ft 9.5in tall. 140 lb.
I’m locked at 20 pull-ups. Tried the Armstrong program and was able to improve my training sets and pyramid numbers but not my 1-set max. The frequency eventually caught up with me in the form of elbow tendinits.
Any suggestions to increase numbers in a more age-appropriate, tendon friendly manner. What frequency do you recommend? What’s the role of weighted pullups?
Any help you can give is greatly appreciated. I also hope to get to the 30 milestone before my 45th bday.
Ah another 40 + bar guy, awesome, we are pretty rare. You are the perfect size for bar work. I struggled with tendinitis for two or three years and it definitely stopped me from progressing. I kept going through cycles of injury followed by rest that were very frustrating.
I finally licked the tendinitis by stretching my forearms daily during the 5 minutes I spend on a cross trainer every day to warm up. I have a video that demonstrates what I do/did. Since doing that I have not been sidelined by tendinitis for a couple years.
20 is a tough hurdle to break. I basically did it through reps and variation in how those reps are performed. Weighted/multiple sets with minimal rest/slow reps, you name it, I have tried it. I also started using a wider grip on my pull ups that allows me to use more of my back while pulling and less arms.
If you have a video of yourself doing reps I might be able to give you some more ideas.
Thanks for the response. Here’s a video of some reps:
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=qfR7IYlCbqg
Where can I find your forearm stretching video?
How many days a week was most effective for you? What types of rep ranges did you shoot for when doing weighted sets?
I have a love/hate thing with the pull-up. I can’t get enough of the feeling of strength I have when cruising through reps. On the flip side, progress can be so slow relative to the extreme effort I’ve put into advancing.
As far as the tendinitis, it seems to be exacerbated by the final bit of pulling my chin over the bar. It also doesn’t seem as bad when I use a wider grip, so it sounds like you’re on to something there.
Look forward to hearing from you.
Mike
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sHjaxjLHk6k
Damn I just realized I didn’t move all videos off my old YT channel, including that one.
When doing weighted reps, I wasn’t going for a certain amount of reps, I will just be doing a ladder where I am doing max reps each time and then stepping up the weight and repeating.
For example a set at 25 pounds then 45 pounds then 70 pounds then 90 pounds. You could go up in smaller increments if you want to get more total reps in. However, if you are having tendinitis issues, weighted reps are going to hurt.
Your form looked solid, you could go a little wider on the grip and if you want Bar-barian form keep your ankles glued together (instead of crossed) and legs as straight as possible.
If that is the pace you are doing max rep attempts at I could see your issue. Slow controlled reps are good for training but if you are going for max reps you want your reps to be explosive as possible for as long as possible.
The tricky part is doing that while maintaining good form and range of motion.
Thanks for the video. I’ll give the stretches a try.
Also thanks for looking at my video and commenting on my form. I plan on using a wider grip once I start pulling again. I’ll also try being more explosive in my reps. For some reason, I was assuming that going slower and more methodical would save me energy.
I seem to be able to do inverted rows and tuck front lever rows without pain so hopefully I won’t lose too much from taking time off of pull-ups.
Keep up the great work on your goals and the site. I’m glad I now know another bar-obscessed compadre.
Duff
My elbow pain has subsided and I’m thinking about starting pull-up training again. Any suggestions on how to ease back into it while minimizing chance of recurrrence? From your experience with tendinitis, how many days do you find you can train pull-ups?
I came across this forum thread and was a bit bummed out by it. I’d like to prove this guy (who I understand is quite respected) wrong like you have. I’m interested in your thoughts.
http://kbforum.dragondoor.com/showthread.php?t=152540&page=1
Interesting article. My joints in general are pretty shitty although to this point, pull ups have not aggravated them. A lot of muscle up training definitely aggravates my elbows.
As far as what you should do when getting back into pull ups, obviously moderation is key. You simply have to listen to your body. I train pull ups probably 4 or 5 times a week but I don’t do hundreds of reps.
Honestly, I think the key thing in my ability to do it is the forearm stretching I begin every workout with. For me, it solved what was an off and on problem for 2-3 years. If you haven’t started doing it you really should.