Only pull ups = muscle imbalance?

[CBB]

Hi there,

I am not a gymnast and probably not going to be. However, I've picked up an obsession with various gymnastic strength exercises - pull ups, dips, and (in theory - can't do any yet) muscle ups.

I do a bunch of pull ups every day. I have a bar at home and am trying to "grease the groove", which seems to be working well so far.

Now I am concerned that I may be building up a muscle imbalance which may cause injuries and need for physiotherapy later on. For example, I read (here among other places) that if you only do push ups every day and nothing else, then you'll probably end up with an under-developed back which is no good.

I had been hoping that pull ups are such a "complete" upper body exercise that they are somewhat safe to do exclusively. Is this assertion true or do I have to add some other "opposing" exercises like push ups to the mix?

Do dips also count as "opposite" enough, such that I can just do pull ups and dips (and later combine both into muscle ups) and I'll be fine? To be honest I'd prefer to avoid push ups, so if you guys say I can use dips for

balance then I'll be happy, but I'm also going to take your advice if you say that 1.) pull ups exclusively will do harm and 2.) I do need push ups and maybe even some other exercises.

Right now I don't really have any training goals apart from doing lots of pull ups and eventually proceeding to the muscle up. I hope that this will build considerable strength and good-looking physique in the process (this seems to be happening already).

Thanks a lot for your time & I hope this is the right forum

[Neal Winkler]

It's an injury risk just to do one motion. The body needs variety. Eventually you will stagnate and meet none of your goals. Also, dips are not different enough since they both involve scapular depression.

[Nic Scheelings]

I don't see why you would want to avoid pushups. There are heaps of variations of pushups that you can do that are great for training both your strength and overall upperlimb stability. Don't discount the pushup, when done properly it is a great exercise and there are heaps of variations from beginner to advanced.

[CBB]

Thanks for your replies!

I noticed that you both didn't complain about the suggestion that push ups might be "the" opposing exercise to pull ups.

Does this mean that only push ups will be enough to avoid upper body muscle imbalance from pull ups, or will I also need other exercises, and if so, which ones?

Like I said, my goal for now is primarily to do pull ups and muscle ups, and my goal is simply to do so in a "responsible" manner which will not damage my body too much.

I disapprove of push ups because I'm tired of them and I hate the feeling, but if that's what it takes, then I'll give it a try.

[Neal Winkler]

Pushups are not really the opposite of pullups either. The exact opposite of pullups are handstand pushups or barbell/dumbbell presses.

But if you are concerned about muscular balance, then you should really work your body in all planes of motion.

Whether nor not pullups/dips or pullups/pushups will be healthy for you really depends on your current muscle balance.

It could be the case that either is ok, or either is not ok.