Pull Ups: A Favorite Exercise!

Welcome to the 3rd installment of "My Favorite Exercises"! I'm not sure how many installments there will be, because as I continue to learn, I continue to have "favorite" exercises. Don't forget to check out my posts on burpees and planks- two more of my favorite exercises!

How To Do A Pull Up

Not those pull ups!

A pull up is when you grab onto a bar and lift your body weight so you chin goes above the bar. "Simple", right?

Not really! Pull ups are hard! But there are ways to practice and work up your strength so you can do one. This Youtube video is an awesome tutorial- I love this gal!

Why Pull Ups Are Awesome

1. They're one of the best compound exercises for your upper body! A compound exercise is an exercise that targets several muscle groups at once. Pull ups target your back, shoulders, biceps, and triceps.

2. Convenience. All you need us a bar and you're good to go!

3. It's strength training AND cardio. Try banging out a couple sets of pull ups without losing your breath. I dare you!

4. You will feel BAD ASS. Okay, this is my own reason I like pull ups. I feel really hard core, as hard core as the GUYS when I do pull ups. You'll probably feel pretty bad ass too, so I went ahead and added this as a reason pull ups are awesome. Confidence is IMPORTANT!

Let's face it. Pull ups are hard. Especially for us girls! We have more body fat and less muscle mass than men. So of course it's going to be harder. But that doesn't mean we can't do one! If you're not able to do a pull up on your own yet, try the tips from the Youtube video above, or use the assisted pull up machine at the gym. You'll get stronger, and eventually, if you work at it, you'll be able to do one without any assistance.

If this is the body you get from doing pull ups, count me IN!

I can only do one unassisted pull up, and it's a pretty shoddy one. So today when I went to the gym, I decided I'd do some pull up practice. I went to the assisted pull up machine and grabbed on to the close grip bars. This is easier than a wide grip pull up. 

My plan was to sort of jump up so I could hang there with my head above the bar (like this guy!) and lower myself down as slowly as possible- as demonstrated in the Youtube video above. This is supposed to help you gain strength to do unassisted pull ups. Well when I jumped up, I banged my legs into the machine in front of me. OW! I am sure I looked like an IDIOT, but I didn't look around to see if anyone saw me. I just hung there as long as possible. I didn't know what was hurting more, my legs from banging into the machine, or my biceps from hanging there.

So no more jumping up onto that thing! I shall pull myself up carefully next time! And there will be a next time! I am determined to be able to bang out more than one unassisted pull up!

 Do your pull ups, ladies and gentlemen!

How many pull ups can YOU do?????