Article Link Women's difficulty with pull-ups is about more than biology

[FitBoop]

Strength is the greatest gift, and physical strength brings mental strength. It does not matter how we look. We are not here to impress others or get approval. We are here to live with the healthiest body we can have, and the stronger we are, the better.

[Pam]

X2 FitBoop Very well said!

[topfitmama]

Originally Posted by Sara1000

Doing a pull-up could mean pulling up 90 pounds or 190 pounds or 290 pounds, depending on the person's weight. I used to do them all the time when I was a kid and weighed about 80 pounds.

I used to do chin-ups all the time in my early teens. Our doors had a window at the top, and most of them were open or had been taken out (I can't remember why), so we would hop up to the bar and pull ourselves up until we couldn't do more. I was pretty strong back then and did very well in PE when it was about strength and endurance. Sadly, PE became more about basketball and volleyball, and I was never good at team sports.

[EnglishIvy]

Originally Posted by eyefit

.......

Here's a question for you ladies that do pull ups on a regular basis. I am DETERMINED to manage at least one real pull up this year. Do you think it would be considered over training to attempt a few every day? That one lady I mentioned before said she did a few every time she walked by her permanently mounted bar. However, when I'm just working up to do it should I just stick to doing them on the STS back days where Cathe includes them? Maybe just every other day try to attempt a few? Would every day be over doing it and hinder me? TIA for any advice!

Now I need to go check out that Greasing the Groove thing...

I think it depends somewhat on your current condition (general strength, weight, chronic shoulder injuries etc). You would have to listen to your body if you wanted to try adding daily work. That being said, doing daily pull-ups definitely increased my numbers. It was far more effective than trying to do them a few times per week during splits. I can't leave a pull up bar in my door way but I did purchase one of these to mount above the door. I could do daily hangs/pull-ups that way in addition to bar pullups on my split days. Regular suspension training also helps. It all adds up and once you get over that initial hump, you'll be so excited for all the fun stuff you can do when you have the strength to lift yourself

[eyefit]

Originally Posted by KarenP

As I stated above, yes, I do think it would be too much. Your doing a single and that's very intense. Chin-ups work a lot of muscles in your upper body. You need to recover because that's when your body repairs the muscle fibers and makes you stronger. Unless you're very young, I would recommend training them no more than twice per week. Even once per week would be OK. In fact, IIRC, that's what I did when I first got chin-ups. You'll be performing sets of 1 at first, but hopefully they'll get bigger soon. My recommendation is to do them on your lifting days, and make them your first lift.

Originally Posted by EnglishIvy

I think it depends somewhat on your current condition (general strength, weight, chronic shoulder injuries etc). You would have to listen to your body if you wanted to try adding daily work. That being said, doing daily pull-ups definitely increased my numbers. It was far more effective than trying to do them a few times per week during splits. I can't leave a pull up bar in my door way but I did purchase one of these to mount above the door. I could do daily hangs/pull-ups that way in addition to bar pullups on my split days. Regular suspension training also helps. It all adds up and once you get over that initial hump, you'll be so excited for all the fun stuff you can do when you have the strength to lift yourself

Thank you so much for your feedback ladies! I think, if I'm being honest with myself and my current strength abilities, attempting them every day might be a bit much. I think what I'm going to do is, in addition to my STS days, trying to at least attempt a few pull ups/chin ups at night when I'm fresh and not pre-fatigued. Not every day, but maybe a few times a week and build up from there paying attention to how my body feels as I go along.

English Ivy- I keep putting off getting a suspension trainer because I don't really have the room but I really want one. I'm trying to think of ways of mounting it, but my current set up doesn't really allow for a ceiling mount. Do you think using the door would be an okay substitute? I know my range of motion would be restricted, though. Also, what do you think of this suspension trainer? http://www.amazon.com/WOSS-3000-Equa...ension+trainer It's pretty reasonably priced. Thanks again!!

[bubbles76]

Originally Posted by Jeanne Marie

My personal experience is that people like to comment on how much I weigh. I realize that many of them are not meaning to be insulting, but as someone who trys hard to build muscle and keep a little weight on, it's a little disheartening when people are always saying things about my weight. I had a complete stranger tell me one time that I needed to eat a sandwich.

I am so glad you said this! I have had this going on ALL WEEK now that I'm back in training. People I have not seen in months are commenting on my weight, telling me I need to eat a sandwich, etc. Only one of my fellow students told me I looked toned. I almost cried right there on the spot. As someone else who tries hard to build muscle, it was nice that she complimented me on THAT instead of harping on how much weight I had lost. I can't help that. I'm trying to get stronger, put on muscle. When I weight train, I'm not hungry.

Originally Posted by kalliope999

My best friend since my teens is naturally very slim and long-limbed, and she has to work like the dickens to put on muscular shape. In junior high people were always asking me if she had an eating disorder, and all her life people have commented on her being "scrawny," having knobby knees, or have told her to "eat something." She finds it just as hurtful as comments made to others about their overweight looks.

I can relate to this. I've been called scrawny, knobby knees, sickly looking, all of that. I remember a hurtful comment about weight I've had flung my way from a VFer here. I remember commenting after Tiny Bubble was born that although I had lost the baby weight, I didn't FEEL right. I didn't feel strong, toned, etc. because I wasn't working out. I know most of it was mental, because I liked how exercise made me feel. Anyway, this VFer commented that my comment was one of the most annoying she had ever heard on VF! Basically telling me I shouldn't have a problem because I had lost the weight. Now I know that a comment from a complete stranger should not have bothered me, but it did. I PMed her, trying to say that I wasn't meaning anything false by talking about it, but she never PMed me back. I didn't visit VF for weeks after that.

I have since become thicker skinned on the message boards But real life comments still hurt.

Oh, and to answer the question, I believe that the standards in the military should be the same for women and men. I believe, like the other military member, that the standards aren't really reflective of what they ask us to do, but since they are there, if you can't make the cut, don't join.

Additionally, I would also like to get better at pull ups. I think I was able to do a few in the military, but not now. I haven't tried in years though. I may get a pull up bar and just start with trying to do a few three days a week.

[EnglishIvy]

Originally Posted by eyefit

...

English Ivy- I keep putting off getting a suspension trainer because I don't really have the room but I really want one. I'm trying to think of ways of mounting it, but my current set up doesn't really allow for a ceiling mount. Do you think using the door would be an okay substitute? I know my range of motion would be restricted, though. Also, what do you think of this suspension trainer? http://www.amazon.com/WOSS-3000-Equa...ension+trainer It's pretty reasonably priced. Thanks again!!

Pm'd you.

[eyefit]

Originally Posted by bubbles76

I can relate to this. I've been called scrawny, knobby knees, sickly looking, all of that. I remember a hurtful comment about weight I've had flung my way from a VFer here. I remember commenting after Tiny Bubble was born that although I had lost the baby weight, I didn't FEEL right. I didn't feel strong, toned, etc. because I wasn't working out. I know most of it was mental, because I liked how exercise made me feel. Anyway, this VFer commented that my comment was one of the most annoying she had ever heard on VF! Basically telling me I shouldn't have a problem because I had lost the weight. Now I know that a comment from a complete stranger should not have bothered me, but it did. I PMed her, trying to say that I wasn't meaning anything false by talking about it, but she never PMed me back. I didn't visit VF for weeks after that.

I have since become thicker skinned on the message boards But real life comments still hurt.

Oh bubbles, I'm so sorry that happened to you. I am definitely familiar with that sort of thing on here, as well as the thick skin that develops as a result. It does sting and it sucks. People always say "if you're going to be on the internet expect that kind of thing...blah blah" but I say it's still crappy if you can't be kind and have manners whether it's IRL or online! Just because we eventually develop a thicker skin to those kinds of comments, doesn't make it okay. I'm so glad you came back to VF in the end!

I'm also so glad you commented on the military pull up thing since I knew you were in the military as well and was curious what you thought. Thanks for posting!!

[desie]

Regarding pull-ups, if you can only do one, maybe invest in a rubber band? Loop the band around the bar, put your foot in the loop hanging down, and voila! The band supports some of your body weight. Plus the band is fun to use for stretching and other things.

[Helen S]

Originally Posted by desie

Regarding pull-ups, if you can only do one, maybe invest in a rubber band? Loop the band around the bar, put your foot in the loop hanging down, and voila! The band supports some of your body weight. Plus the band is fun to use for stretching and other things.

Yup. That's what I recommended in my post too. I called it a SuperBand so maybe some people didn't know what I meant. When I first bought it, my younger DD thought it was fun to just sit on it and bounce around.