New Weighed Pull-up PR from Training without Weight

A few years ago, I obtained a personal best in weighted chins (bodyweight plus 75lbs for 1 rep at 130lbs bodyweight) after being stuck at bodyweight plus 55lbs for a number of years. The improvement came after a couple months of Mon, Tue, Thu, Fri training on 1 arm static top holds (approximately 3-5 seconds) integrated with performing 2-3 sets of 1-3 reps of assisted one arm pull-ups.

During this period, I did no weighted chins or high rep pull-ups - just the program outlined above. In addition to the weighted chin PR, during the same time frame, I also performed an easy set of 19 pull-ups as a spur of the moment demo for some of my students.

I feel that these results were the result of focusing on the top static hold under an increased training load (i.e. the one arm hold). I did no training to increase my strength in the bottom hang position, although I wonder if working both together might have been even more beneficial.

Yours in Fitness,

Coach Sommer

I actually did nearly the same thing during a 6 week period over the summer, and I also logged the results which I hope Coach Sommer doesn't mind if I post. The progress is fairly staggering to say the least, and the only weights I used were basically for lower body (deadlifts and one arm cleans), so every upper body workout was basically just bodyweight.

This is the first time I attempted a 5/2 schedule (Mon-Fri workouts with Sat-Sun rest) when I had previously been only doing 3 or 4 days a week most commonly M,W,F routine. I had the additional benefit of benchmarking my weighted pullups at the end of every week to see the progress I obtainted (no doubt they probably helped some though). Anyway, here's the results (keep in mind I am 5'8" 135 lbs.. probably a bit underweight):

results said:

~1 week DB cleans 80 -> 90

~3 weeks DL 4x3 245 lbs to 1x3 for 285 lbs

~4 weeks OAP negatives much stronger & can do with +10 lbs about the same as when started

~6 weeks rings HSPUs went from 5x5 to 1x15 which is a nice 10 rep increase (~2 reps/week).

~6 weeks weighted pullups from 4x3 50 lbs -> 6x3 55 lbs (previous PR 4x3 55 lbs) -> 4x3 70 lbs -> 6x3 75 lbs -> 4x3 85 lbs -> 4x3 90 lbs

workouts said:

Week 1

Mon:

rings HSPUs: 5x5

front lever (FL) eccentrics: 5x3 @ 5s lower per rep to hold

straddle FL pullups: 3x5

Tues:

rings HSPUs: 6x5

straddle FL pullups: 4x5

Wed:

rings HSPUs: 5x6

straddle FL pullups: 5x5

Thurs:

rings HSPUs: 5x6

straddle FL pullups: 5x5

Fri:

rings HSPUs: 5x6

OA DB cleans: 1x5 40 lbs, 1x5 55 lbs, 1x3 70 lbs, 1x3 80,85,90 lbs

weighted pullups: 1x5 25 lbs, 1x3 40 lbs, 4x3 50 lbs

ring flys: 5x5

ring pseudo PL pushups: 3x5

straddle FL pullups: 5x5

Week 2

Mon:

rings HSPUs: 5x7

FL negatives: 3x3 5s lower (inverted hang slow eccentric to front lever or hang)

straddle FL pullups: 3x5

Tues:

rings HSPUs: 5x8

OA rings rows: 3x5

straddle FL pullups: 3x5

Wed:

rings HSPUs: 5x8

OA rings rows: 3x5

straddle FL pullups: 3x5

Thurs:

rings HSPUs: 5x8

FL negatives: 3x3 5s each

straddle FL pullups: 3x5

OA rings rows: 2x5

Fri:

rings HSPUs: 6x8

deadlifts: 1x6 135 lbs, 5x5 225 lbs

weighted pullups: 1x5 25 lbs, 1x3 45 lbs, 6x3 55 lbs

straddle FL pullups: 3x5 +20 lbs

Week 3 - Notably, I started one arm chinup work this week.

Mon:

rings HSPUs: 5x9

OA pullups negatives: 5x2 5s per rep

OA ring rows: 3x5

Tues:

rings HSPUs: 5x9

OA pullups negatives: 3x3 5s per rep

Wed:

rings HSPUs: 3x9

OA pullups negatives: 4x3 5s per rep

Thurs:

rings HSPUs: 5x9

OA pullups negatives: 5x3 5s per rep

straddle FL pullups: 5x3 @ 45 deg

Fri:

rings HSPUs: 3x10

DL: 1x10 45 lbs, 1x5 135 lbs, 1x5 225 lbs, 1x3 235 lbs, 4x3 245 lbs

arched back extensions: 3x5

3 pullup negatives +100 lbs for 8s each

weighted pullups: 1x3 50 lbs, 1x3 65 lbs, 5x3 70 lbs (PR by 15 lbs)

Week 4

Mon:

rings HSPUs: 4x10

pullup negatives: 5x3 for 5s each rep

L-sit straddle press: 3x3

DL (home): 1x8 60 lbs, 1x3 160 lbs, 1x3 215 lbs, 2x3 245 lbs

Tues:

rings HSPUs: 1x10,11,11

straddle FL pullups: 3x3 @ 30 deg

OAP negs: 2x3

Wed:

rings HSPUs: 4x11

OAP negatives: 1x3 for 5s each rep

straddle FL pullups: 3x3 @ 40ish degrees

DL (home): 1x6 110 lbs, 1x5 160 lbs, 1x4 215 lbs, 6x3 225 lbs

Thurs:

rings HSPUs: 3x12

OAP negatives: 3x3 for 5s each rep

assisted OAP: 3x3

Fri:

rings HSPUs (full range): 1x8,9,9

DL: 1x5 135 lbs, 1x4 185 lbs, 3x5 235 lbs

3 pullup negatives +100 lbs for 8s each

weighted pullups: 1x3 60 lbs, 6x3 75 lbs (PR by 5 lbs)

Week 5

Mon:

rings HSPUs: 5x10

OAP negatives: 3x3 for 5s each rep

straddle FL pullups: 3x3 @ 45ish deg

DL (home): 1x5 110 lbs, 1x5 160 lbs, 1x4 215 lbs, 1x3 245 lbs, 2x3 260 lbs

Tues:

rings HSPUs: 2x12

OAP negatives: 1x2 +5 lbs, 5s lower

assisted OAP (ring finger): 4x3

Wed:

rings HSPUs: 3x12

OAP negatives: 2x3 @ 5s lower

assisted OAP (ring finger): 2x3

DL (home): 1x5 160 lbs, 1x5 215 lbs, 2x5 245 lbs

Thurs:

rings HSPUs: 2x13

OAP negatives: 1x3 @ 5s lower

assisted OAP (ring finger): 2x5

Fri:

rings HSPUs: 2x13, 1x12

DL: 1x5 135 lbs, 1x5 225 lbs, 1x3 255 lbs, 1x3 275 lbs (PR), 1x3 285 lbs (PR by 20 lbs)

3 pullup negatives +100 lbs for 5s each

weighted pullups: 1x3 70 lbs, 4x3 85 lbs (PR by 10 lbs)

Week 6

Mon:

rings HSPUs: 3x14

OAP negatives: 1x3 +21 lbs, 3x3 +15 lbs

DL (home): 1x5 160 lbs, 1x5 215 lbs, 2x5 260 lbs

Tues:

rings HSPUs: 1x15, 2x13

OAP negatives: 1x3 +10, +5, +0 lbs

Wed:

rings HSPUs: 1x15, 1x14

explosive pullups: 1x5

straddle FL pullups: 3x3 @ 30 degrees

pistols: 5x5 each leg

Thurs:

rings HSPUs: 1x15, 1x14

OAP negatives: 2x3

assisted OAP: 2x3

Fri:

rings HSPUs: 2x12

DL: 1x5 135 lbs, 1x5 235 lbs, 1x3 255 lbs, 1x3 275 lbs

2 pullup negatives +100 lbs for 5s each

weighted pullups: 1x3 75 lbs, 4x3 90 lbs (PR by 5 lbs)

pistols: 2x8

Basically what I noticed is that I was making personal records at the END of almost every week in weighted pullups work which is phenominal considering I had done 4 workouts in a row the day before that. I tested my 1 RM a couple months after this, and it was at 110 lbs for a single which is my current personal record (which I am working on busting now).

I didn't really do any isometric holds at the top like Coach Sommer although my program mainly consisted of negatives with some assisted concentrics. These (negatives) are VERY rough on the elbows so I would not suggest doing something with this high frequency at least unless your elbows are very strong. I had obtained the cross previously which puts a lot of stress on the elbows and had been sufficiently conditioned to elbow stress to allow me not to develop tendonitis during this time. Even so, the volume is kept very low per day to minimize excessive stress on the elbows much like Coach Sommer did with very few reps (6-15 per day).

Front lever progression pullups do help gain strength for weighted pullups although much slower as evidenced by the first two weeks of this program where I brought up my strength from 50 -> 55 lbs (even though I was fatigued by the end of the week). So these will definitely help as long as you're progressining with them, but the core of making weighted pullup gains definitely lies with one arm chinup/pullup work.

The one thing I noticed with DLs is that if you do them 3x a week you will burn out pretty quickly. I hit a big PR in my second week and then fizzled out in the third. If you are going to train with weights and do exercises like DL which have a very heavy CNS (central nervous system) component I would only suggest you do them 2x a week or less.

Steven's posts is interesting and demonstrates some excellent progress, it does however miss the main point of my post; that the improvement in my weighted pull-ups was achieved without doing any sort of weighted pull-up work at all.

Yours in Fitness,

Coach Sommer

True, I noted that. That's generally the biggest problem with trying to benchmark because the benchmarks can have that helping effect on the exercise you're trying to improve in the first place.

Speculatively though I do wonder how it would've turned out had I not benchmarked at the end of each week and it's effect on weighted pullups at the end. Maybe it would've been similar, maybe it wouldn't have. Undoubtedly , I do think it did help some in that my body got used to weighted pullups somewhat although I wonder if the benefit of extra one arm work would've improved it more than doing the exercise itself.

Anyone up for an experiment? 8)

A question on the holds:

Assuming that my strength levels aren't anywhere near doing a 1 arm hold, would doing 2 arm holds provide similar benefits to improving numbers for pull-ups? This is also assuming that I do not do any weighted pull ups whatsover, and do not do any progression exercises for the 1 arm chin, Front levers, etc..

I should think doing 2 arm holds would have some benefit. I know you mentioned not doing the front lever progressions but they have a lot of carry over to pullups. I don't do any pullups at all but I do a fair bit of work on the front lever progressions and I can crank out an easy 14 pullups if called upon. I can also do an easy arms only rope climb. You could work the front lever progressions from a pullup bar as well as doing the two arms holds.

Paul.

The guy of bestskills has in his tutorial of OAC (one arm chin) the Frenchies, that is a similar aproach to what coach summer said but combining the static holds in three position (up, mid, low) for five seconds. He also used others exercises (weighted), but i remember of that article when i read the coach post.

http://www.beastskills.com/OneArmPull.htm

I have attained my best pullup performance by NOT doing pullups or chins but car pulling with my heavy duty rope. I have a Honda Civic and just attach an s-hook to my thick rpe and do several pulls with my car.

Mark

I've always found one arm come downs to be the best for helping my weighted chin. I went from barely able to do reps with 45lbs to sets of 5 with 90lbs, all without truly working on weighted pullups