How many pull ups can you do?

[milwaukeesportsfan]

I tried doing a pull up yesterday for the 1st time in years, and I'm embarrassed at how bad I am at it. I was only able to do 2, sort of. The 2nd one wasn't pretty. The machine I was using has one of those assist things that you can kneel on to make it easier to do them, but real men don't need help to do pull ups. I'll keep at it, and hopefully I'll be able to do more in the near future.

[thebruce44]

I usually just do sets of 5, but if I just did one set to failure I would guess around 10? It takes a while to get better for sure.

[hurricanecrush]

I'll be 43 in March and I can do 13 without cheating; full extension at the bottom and coming to a complete stop. I'm pretty proud of that.

[JumpinMacFlash]

First off, pull-ups (along with push-ups) are great. Wonderful exercise.

 

I used to do pull-ups with an underhand grip, until I was told by one of my friends that those are chin-ups, not pull-ups. Now, I try and mix in multiple grips. The most I've ever done to failure was 17. I was never able to do them until about five years ago, so I'm relatively pleased.

[PlayerHader]

Depends...when I finished up P90X last spring or right now? LOL

 

I can do probably 3 legit chinups. 1 pullup right now.

[Dnye23]

I really want to get one of those Iron Gym pull-up bars you hang on the door frame. Anyone have one, like it/don't like it?

[PlayerHader]

I have one. Not an Iron Gym, but essentially the same thing.

 

Works very well. I find myself doing sets of 3 or 4 pullups throughout the day as I pass it.

[JumpinMacFlash]

I have one and I like it. It's especially nice since we're currently renting and can't install one.

 

It's held up for quite a while now, but I sometimes wonder how long it will last. That being said, I've more than gotten my money's worth out of it.

[jjkoestler]

How Much Ya Bench?

http://www.dailymotion.co...vq_how-much-ya-bench_fun

[Hofbraunhaus]

I'm exhausted from reading this thread. That should give you enough information to ballpark how many I can do.

[razzzorsharp]

I would say 1 give or take 1.

[owbc]

I like the Iron Gym but you need to make sure you have the right kind of door frame for it. I can do about 12 reverse grip pullups and maybe 7-8 with the front grip.

[milwaukeesportsfan]

Okay, so it looks like so far we've got a high of 17 and a low of, basically, zero. At this point, 17 is pretty unrealistic for me. Split that in half, though, and I've got something to shoot for.

[mothershipconnection]

I can still rattle off sets of 50 push ups, but could maybe reach down and pull out 1 pull up. Even when I boxed and was in fantastic shape, I just couldn't do pull-ups.

[homer]

Grip width also matter when doing pullups. The wider the grip the harder it is (that's what she said). If you can do 15 with a super wide grip you are a man.

[GAME05]

having shorter arms helps. i'm tall and so always struggled with pullups and the bench. my max was only three. don't know what's so bad about the assisted pullup machine, though. there's no better compound exercise than the pullup, so if you can't do too many at first then the machine helps a lot.

[JumpinMacFlash]

The only thing that ever bothered me about the assist machine was how it may sometimes lag if you pull yourself up faster than it glides. You could pull yourself off the the pad, and it catches up and hits your knees. It is a nice thing to be able to use, and I know I used one. Working those muscles in some fashion is an excellent place to start.

[LouisEly]

having shorter arms helps. i'm tall and so always struggled with pullups and the bench. my max was only three. don't know what's so bad about the assisted pullup machine, though. there's no better compound exercise than the pullup, so if you can't do too many at first then the machine helps a lot.

Yup. Work is a function of mass and distance. The longer your arms and the heavier you weigh, the more work it takes to do a pull-up, push-up, etc. I have a 36-37" sleeve and weigh 220 lbs. I calculate the distance I have to pull my body to do a pull-up to be about 21-22"; compared to someone who has a 32" sleeve that distance should be about 4", or 25%, more. Compared to someone who weighs 170 lbs that's 30% more body weight. So to do a pull-up requires roughly 62% more work for me than someone who has 32" arms and weighs 170 lbs.

[rwa12]

Is there a number less than zero? Would using the bar as a closet rack qualify for a -1? I wish I could do them, but my long monkey arms do not allow it. No matter what shape I'm in, never could do them.

[Bikeage77]

About 6 months ago I did 4 or 5 on the subway in NYC. If I lived there and took the subway late at night, I'd do chinups all the time.

 

I tried to get in a regime where I'd do 100 jumping jacks, 50 situps, 25 pushups a day, but that only lasted about 3 or 4 days. For the person that did P90X, how'd you like it? I know it costs 250 or so, but with all the attention its getting on sports radio, i'd love to try it out.

[jjkoestler]

P90X is great but difficult. I think it costs around $125. I injured my shoulder playing ball about a month into the program so I sent the DVDS back and got a refund.

[yfinn6]

P90X is just a fad workout.. eventually it'll go the way of Tae Bo and 8-minute abs. It's probably a great workout if you eat right, and do everything the video instructs you to do. Unfortunately, a lot of people use it who are really too far out of shape for the program to really work. For some reason it's immensely popular, yet the people who claim they do it still have quite a bit of flab. To each their own I guess. I've found the best results with running and cardio and good old fashioned weight lifting.

 

As to the original question, I rarely do pull ups to muscle failure. I do three sets of 8, the last set is a bit rough but I get it done. I don't know how many chin ups I could do, those are a LOT easier.

[davebobn]

Call P90X a fad all you want, but it's a fad that works because the workouts are solid. When I started it approx. 3 years ago I could do about 8 good pullups. I can now easily do sets of 20-25 and have hit 30 at times.

[GAME05]

there is a thread specifically devoted to P90X on here if you do a search. most people who tried it really loved it, and i have a friend who used it and made huge strides.

 

i'm sure it's not for everybody, though. i think that all being in decent shape comes down to is finding whatever activity you enjoy doing and then being consistent with it, be it P90X or frisbee golf or jogging or whatever.

[dannyjnoonan]

I can do 15 or 16 chin-ups from a dead hang, and probably 13 or 14 pull-ups from a dead hang. I can do well over 30 CrossFit-style kipping pull-ups.

 

P90X might be a fad to the extent that it comes in a box and has a gimicky name, but the idea behind it is sound. Variation and intensity work, and they've worked long before people started running marathons or doing 3 sets of 10 reps on the bench.