Why can i not do Pull ups?! | Lifting 101 | Forum

I really hope Darrin or someone will have a look at this since its really annoying me at this point , First of all im 17, 155lb , been in the gym for over a year now (and yes i do mean on a good plan , 4 days a week ) however started the Full body attack just recently, I have been doing different programs for over 6 months now so i do have a good amount of "muscle tone" , however for the first time yesterday i tried to do pull ups as mentioned in the program, and much to my embarrassment, I did not even get half way on the first one!! , now what i noticed when doing was my wrist, i had no problem pull up but my wrist could not possible bare it, i could not even hang there for 10 seconds straight simply becuase my wrist was not strong enough, something else which might have something to do with is, while i am "big boned" my wrists are VERY small compared to my size,

I really love to do some pull ups, and strengthen my wrists at the same time,

Any advice guys?

Hey Guys, Thanks a lot for all tha advice,

gene: I did 3 sets of wrist curls today and god i can feel it!! , Will do this for a month and see what happens!

donals: Great find mate, thanks a lot!

Darrin: As for the 10seconds i mentioned , i must have been very tiered that day (and also exaggeration!), Today after finishing all of the "Full body attack" exercises on Day 1 i tried pullups and was able to hang there for a good 30-40 seconds, Going to add 5 seconds everytime and then wrist curls for a month or so and then see what happens!

But yeah i do find it very weird, I have massive biceps and triceps , and i am also "big boned" but when it comes to my wrist and forarms, they are VERY small! So going to focus on this and hope for the best!

Thanks Guys!

Ok guys, almost 4 weeks on and reporting back, i think i have made great improvements, in the past 19 sessions here is what i worked on:

truparad0x: Thanks a lot for your comment, yeah i was actually told the same thing by a friend few weeks back,

1. Wrist curls at the end of every sessions, 60% strengh gain since started.

2. Building Lats.

3. More workout for upper back.

Now – First please consider where i was coming from before laughing :) , i could hardly hang on there, pulling up was out of question!! , now, I can hang on for a very long time, and i can do a nice steady 3 sets of 5 pullups.

What is very interesting is, i found while my hand grip has got a lot stronger and so has my forarm, i can do a lot more in almost every other exercise!

Thanks a lot guys for the advice, next goal: 3 sets of 12 pullups in 12 weeks!

Will report back! Might even post a video this time heh,

Post edited 11:01 pm – May 27, 2010 by gregsfc

I start out my first set of chins/pulls in any style like gang busters.  I can do one set of 5 with 30 lbs strapped to me, which isn't bad since that is like adding over 20% to my body weight and really not bad compared to my strength in lower body lifts.  However, I wear out on this exercise much faster than on other ones.  Even w/o weight, I can't do more than 10 on the first set, and subsequent sets are religated to 6 or 7, even with a 2-min. rest.  It's been this way my entire, adult life.

I have worked on this exercise more than any other, because I've always wanted to be one of those guys who can jump up and knock out 25 chins or pulls, but I can't ever seem to pull it off (no pun intended).  I've tried it all: from one set every day; to absolute failure once per week; drop sets; ten sets per day (like Arnold in the Austrian Army); to twice-per week at 70% of failure.  Still, even though I feel strong when I start out, I can't easily do these exercises.  I've been doing chins/pulls for years.  I feel like my build is too posterior dominant (as if I've built up too much from pulls and rows versus my development from presses, which is opposite of most lifters), yet my pressing movements are better.  For instance, I can do about 22 dips, and eight dips with 70 lbs. tagging along (adding 47% to my body weight).  I can do dumbell presses for eight with 70 pounders, which is near my body weight, yet my traps and other upper back muscles dwarf the size of my pecs and delts, giving me a sunken chest look.

Is it possible that a person's highly-developed upper back can blast him or her through heavy weight on pressing movements, while still leaving his or her pecs and delts weak?

By the way, it's not my wrist giving out.  It feels like it's my anterior delts.  But if my delts are weak, why can I dip as much as I can deadlift (dip weight includes my body weight).

Any ideas?

Yeah, I really like front squats, but I'm still figuring out how to keep this exercise strict, yet intense.  As I posted on the topic specifically about front squats, I'm still working on a way to keep the bar still accross the front of my body, yet still get far enough down for good range with an amount of weight that is challenging for my muscles.  I love the way it seems to work by abs and quads.  But my quads seem way ahead of my hamstrings and glutes, so I try to focus more on back squats and deadlifts.

The back pain isn't while I'm lifting, but seems to come for two or three days after lifting if I do too many sets of deadlifts/power cleans; too much weight on squats; or type too long on this computer.

Today, I did lower body:

Squats 2-sets: 165 10/11.  Front squats: 2-sets: 135 7/5.  Dumbell Deadlifts 2-sets: 180 10/10.  I had the day off work, so I rested before going to the gym, warmed up better, and did better with the amount of weight I used.  I'm going to increase my squat weight.  I didn't do any drop set stuff or lunges, because I wanted to get in a couple of good sets of deadlifts.  I finished off the workout with a set of lower-back hyperextensions (with only my upper body weight) and three sets of standing calf raises.

My arms aren't long, and I'm not broad, but my torso is extremely thin; front to back.  My lower ribcage is the thickest part of my torso.  Even with those drawbacks, I do look fairly muscular from the front, when my arms are down by my sides and all my little muscles stack on top of each other.  There are a pair of muscles in my back above my lats but further out to the sides than my traps that pooch out whenever I lower my arms.  With my arms down, my triceps are pushed outward by these pooches, as if I took my hand and placed at my underarm.  This gives me the appearance of fairly large arms until I raise them off my torso.

I've been on programs this year wherein I did some curls and tricep stuff; but only a set or two; and only heavy weight/low rep. with strict form.  For instance.  I might do a set of barbell curls near the end of a workout with enough weight for a set of four or five.  Or, I might do a set of lying, dumbell, tricep extensions after doing a set of single, dumbell pullovers, using the same weight.  At the time, my dumbell weight was limited to 50#, so the pullover would be more reps than the extension.

Anyway, you guys are great help and support and this topic is supposed to be about chinups, and I've been writing about full body movements.  I've got my eating just about right (I think).  I feel like I might actually be making some progress.  I'll try some high rep lat downs (occationally) and some hang time stuff and see if that helps me increase my pullup/chinup reps.