Close grip chins are the least unique of all the variations.
You should always rest between the rounds.
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slizzardman pull-ups routine question
Started by Warrior'sSuite, October 18, 2011 · 47 Replies · 18,082 Views
I just wanted to ask, generally, how much time it takes to progress with this routine, for example how much time it takes to add another rep to all sets?
Impossible to say. This depends extremely heavily on individual nutrition and lifestyle. Of course genetics play a role, but compared to the other two factors it is a relatively minor one.
With proper nutrition, there is a fair chance that you will see one rep added on a single set each workout, which makes 10 workouts to make the gains you asked about. At 3 workouts per week, assuming you aren't doing much other difficult pulling work, that's 3 weeks and 1 day of the 4th week. It is entirely possible progress will be faster... I went from sets of 7 to sets of 12 in 12 weeks, using full ROM and a tempo of 1s up and 1s down on all reps. This corresponded with an increase from a max of 9 good pull ups and 2 crappy ones (11 total, by my count at the time) to 18 good pull ups.
slizzardman said:Impossible to say. This depends extremely heavily on individual nutrition and lifestyle. Of course genetics play a role, but compared to the other two factors it is a relatively minor one.With proper nutrition, there is a fair chance that you will see one rep added on a single set each workout, which makes 10 workouts to make the gains you asked about. At 3 workouts per week, assuming you aren't doing much other difficult pulling work, that's 3 weeks and 1 day of the 4th week. It is entirely possible progress will be faster... I went from sets of 7 to sets of 12 in 12 weeks, using full ROM and a tempo of 1s up and 1s down on all reps. This corresponded with an increase from a max of 9 good pull ups and 2 crappy ones (11 total, by my count at the time) to 18 good pull ups.
1s up 1 down is too fast, im doing 2 up 3 down to supposedly "work" the muscles more as opposed to using momentum.
Do you think I should wait until i feel like i can add 1 rep on all sets in both rounds at once? I certainly feel like i can add 1 rep on almost all the sets right now but im not sure about 1 rep on all sets at once.
No, go ahead and add a rep per set as possible, going set by set until 5 reps become 6 on all sets.
6,6,6,6,5,5,5,5,6,5
6,6,6,6,6,6,5,5,5,5
6,6,6,6,6,6,6,5,5,4
6,6,6,6,6,6,6,6,5,5
That is, more or less, the typical shape of improvements from one workout to the next or every other workout, depending on the person and their lifestyle.
slizzardman said:No, go ahead and add a rep per set as possible, going set by set until 5 reps become 6 on all sets.6,6,6,6,5,5,5,5,6,5
6,6,6,6,6,6,5,5,5,5
6,6,6,6,6,6,6,5,5,4
6,6,6,6,6,6,6,6,5,5
That is, more or less, the typical shape of improvements from one workout to the next or every other workout, depending on the person and their lifestyle.
Ok, but im a little bit confused now.
I started with 3 reps on all of them because 3 is the most i could do on all sets, of course i could do more on the first few sets but it wouldve been for example, if i started with 4, like, 4,4,4,4,3,3,3,3,3,3 or something like that. I couldn't have 4 reps on all sets then.
So with how many reps should i start? With a 5s tempo my max was 10-12 when i tested but that was a long time ago.
Warrior said:slizzardman said:No, go ahead and add a rep per set as possible, going set by set until 5 reps become 6 on all sets.6,6,6,6,5,5,5,5,6,5
6,6,6,6,6,6,5,5,5,5
6,6,6,6,6,6,6,5,5,4
6,6,6,6,6,6,6,6,5,5
That is, more or less, the typical shape of improvements from one workout to the next or every other workout, depending on the person and their lifestyle.
Ok, but im a little bit confused now.
I started with 3 reps on all of them because 3 is the most i could do on all sets, of course i could do more on the first few sets but it wouldve been for example, if i started with 4, like, 4,4,4,4,3,3,3,3,3,3 or something like that. I couldn't have 4 reps on all sets then.
So with how many reps should i start? With a 5s tempo my max was 10-12 when i tested but that was a long time ago.
If youc an do 4 reps on the first 3 sets, do so. When you think you may not be able to do more than 3, stop at 3. Try your best to control the effort you put into the first few sets so that you don't drop below the 3 rep mark. As you do this, you will see consistent improvement one set at a time.
slizzardman said:If you an do 4 reps on the first 3 sets, do so. When you think you may not be able to do more than 3, stop at 3. Try your best to control the effort you put into the first few sets so that you don't drop below the 3 rep mark. As you do this, you will see consistent improvement one set at a time.
Ok. Is this the same with any other exercise?
Like, for example, im doing 5 sets of 5 weighted pushups, this is just 1 exercise. I just took a week off (i was sick). The first workout felt a bit shaky for not doing anything for some time, but now i know the next feels a bit better, then after a few workouts it starts feeling good and you get to a point where you start feeling stronger and it feels like you could add/do 1 more rep easily for the 3 first sets at least but maybe not the last 2; so here i should add the rep for the first 3 sets if i feel i could or should i wait until i feel i could add 1 more on all sets at once? I dont know if the latter would be considered as waiting too much and being too slow, it takes some time but i was nearly at the point where i was going to add 1 more rep on all sets at once doing the same # of reps every workout because i felt stronger and like i could but then i missed some workouts and then i got sick and now im back to wait till i get used to what i was doing.
Don't wait until you think you can add 1 on ALL sets, that won't work out very well. You have to make many frequent and small increases, trying to make big jumps at one time like that just doesn't work out very well by comparison.
slizzardman said:Don't wait until you think you can add 1 on ALL sets, that won't work out very well. You have to make many frequent and small increases, trying to make big jumps at one time like that just doesn't work out very well by comparison.
Ok, its clear now. I was doing it wrong all the time then.
This may be a dumb question, but can the pullup workout be done with L pullup variations once 10-15 pullups per set are done with 30 seconds of rest? Or would I be able to start off with a low number of L pullup variations, then build up?
I used to do the pullup workout in Stew Smith's Navy Seal book which had sets of 2,4,6,8,10 for 5 different pullup variations when I was in HS, and my goal is to do that workout again with an L in all the pullups with 20 seconds rest between sets
This is essentially the same routine, just the hardest version. And yes, you can absolutely start working L pull ups into the sets. I would start by replacing one or two pull ups per set with L variations and every so often switching another rep into an L, and keep doing that until you are doing all sets with 1 L, and then set by set get to 2 Ls, and so on.
But SSC is a lot different than this right? There you do stick with the exact same amount of reps/time for a month+ and then make changes at once right?
Yes, but that applies best to low-leverage work. With high leverage work you will want to get to a target volume and THEN run a 4-6 week steady state, and THEN increase the intensity. That is more of a modified steady state, for use when connective tissues are not yet the limiting factor in a movement. Eventually we all reach a point where the tendons and ligaments ARE the limiting factor in any given movement if we stick with it and slowly/steadily build our strength, and that is when a true SSC really shines.
Having said that, SSC works well but for higher leverage movements like regular push ups and regular dips, pull ups, etc. I wouldn't worry about running a true 8-12 week SSC for a while. Eventually, yes, but your body will let you know when that is necessary. For things like PPP I would run 4-6 week SSC at minimum.
Do you pick the biggest number of reps that you think you can do for 10 sets to start? Or is there another method of determining that number?
Not really. I started with something I was sure I could do. I failed 
I think I started with 7 reps, and I got 7 reps for the first round and by the last set of the second round I only got 3 good reps.
Since I was getting 7 reps, my goal, for at least the first whole round I decided to stay with that and try to do better each time. Didn't take but a few weeks to be doing 7 reps on all rounds, and then I went for 8. Took 10 weeks to build up to 10 reps per round for me, but these were not tempo pull ups. They were all the way down, all the way up as fast as I could without shortening the ROM. I'd say it was 1 second down, 1 second up.
When you start talking about reps, sets, blah blah people like big numbers and that is the only way to get them... by moving fast.
Right on, thanks for the clarification Naterman. At first, I was only progressing when I can do all the reps for all 10 sets, I had to struggle to get 4 reps for 10 sets. It seemed like it would take a lifetime to get to 10 reps for 10 sets.
Maybe if we're lucky, one day you'll put up a routine on how to strengthen your hands and grip to the point we can pop an apple in half. I tried doing it with an organic apple and failed miserably. 
Presently, I am following the Kilroy template which consists of a 4 day workout week, Mon., Tues, Thurs. and Fri. How might I incorporate this pull-up program into the workout week? Thanks for any guidance you may share.-Joe
Can someone please link me to the silzzardman pull up thread?
Hi garyyyyt, it was in the first page of this thread. I suggest reading the thread before asking next time.
Link: https://www.gymnasticbodies.com/forum/topic/6096-pull-ups-stoppped-progressing/
garyyyyt said:Can someone please link me to the silzzardman pull up thread?
I'm sorry! I saw it. Thanks though.Patrick Smith said:Hi garyyyyt, it was in the first page of this thread. I suggest reading the thread before asking next time.Link: https://www.gymnasticbodies.com/forum/topic/6096-pull-ups-stoppped-progressing/
garyyyyt said:I'm sorry! I saw it. Thanks though.
No problem! It was just a suggestion.
I've got a little question too, I'd like to increase my ROM and I've done reps with holds at the top for 3s when I started and now I can do all sets without wide pull-ups to chest touching bar/hand when they are in the way like on close grip. I'm still not very strong in top position but I don't want to start with negatives and top holds during the program that I do 3 times a week. I can do the first 3 sets of 4 reps and the rest with 3 reps without hitting failure and I increase the reps slowly (like 1 every week or every other workout). I take 30s btw sets and 1 min btw rounds.
How can I increase my strength in upper position without doing it during the program? Just continue what I'm doing? Also I find the top holds hurting in my elbows. I can't do wide pull-ups to the chest and only normal pull-ups to chest if I do tempo reps 1s up and 1s down.
Help here?