# 20 Pullups



## CD1221 (Jun 25, 2011)

Finally hit my goal of 20 pullups today. A long time coming.

very chuffed.

That is all.


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## Harry (Jun 25, 2011)

Nice!
Got a vid?


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## Origin (Jun 25, 2011)

Jesus, I can barely do 10. Nice work dude.


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## jymellis (Jun 25, 2011)

over hand or under hand? far apart or shoulder length away? also, arms totally extended or a little bend left in them?


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## MastrXploder (Jun 25, 2011)

Just tried. I can do 4......

K I'm going to go practice


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## anthonyferguson (Jun 25, 2011)

I tried to set myself a goal of 50 a while ago, and got to 34 wide grip overhand pullups and gave up. Mind you I am only like 64kg and 5'10 and have a bit of a climber's physique (all my muscle mass is in forearms and my back) so I sort of cheat.


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## CD1221 (Jun 25, 2011)

jymellis said:


> over hand or under hand? far apart or shoulder length away? also, arms totally extended or a little bend left in them?



Hand grip half way between, I have a squat rack with an awesome pullup bar setup that allows heaps of different hand positions. arms straight, approx shoulder width apart.

The next goal is to be able to knock 20 out repeatedly any day of the week. Now I need to make 30 the new 20.

For the record I am 6' and only 82kg, so that probably helps.


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## JohnIce (Jun 25, 2011)

Fun, I should try that now to see how much I've deteriorated... I remember doing 50-something when I was in my early teens, but then I've always had a very light bone structure and worked out my biceps obsessively while doing hardly any leg training. Now I'm a shadow of that  Still pretty light though.


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## TRENCHLORD (Jun 25, 2011)

Would you guys knock it off with the kilogram shit(jokin of coarse), we don't do algebra in corncountry. 20 pullups is great for anyone. I've always prefered to do them with my palms facing eachother(inward), as it recruits more total body muscle. Obviously that makes it easier to get more reps and/or pull more weight. Not all gyms/home setups have that option at slightly wider then shoulder width though. If you have a regular straight bar, then you can make rope handles and use duck tape to secure them so they don't slide around while your hanging. Also, when I take my boy to the playground I often make use of the monkey bars by turning opposite(perpendicular) to the thing so that I get that just beyond shoulder width and palms facing each other grip. Make sure and arch your back and stick your chest out for added benifit.


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## gunshow86de (Jun 25, 2011)

Damn, and here I thought I was doing good working my way up to 8. 

But hey, I started only being able to do 2 (this is wide grip, no kipping). 

My goal is 15. I went from sets of 2 to sets 8 in a month, so that's good progress. I think my big problem was grip strength. I used to use straps for nearly every pulling lift I did, and, consequently, I had terrible grip strength. It's pretty sad when I can deadlift just under 600lb but only do 2 pullups.  Also doesn't help that I was (still kind of am) a fatass (working on that too, down from 280lbs in February to 235lbs as of this past Monday). Anyway, lesson learned. No more straps. Ever.


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## trb (Jun 25, 2011)

Congrats on hitting 20. I started to get in shape a few months ago and have gone from 0 to 4. I can't imagine doing 20.


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## kung_fu (Jun 25, 2011)

Cool stuff. I had the record for the most pullups in my grade 9 gym class (can't recall how many....somewhere between 25 and 35). Haven't had the opportunity to do any since then, but i'm in considerably better shape then i was then. Does anybody use one of those bars that you can fit in a door jam? Are they any good? I work out at home so I can't really do them otherwise.


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## gunshow86de (Jun 25, 2011)

kung_fu said:


> Does anybody use one of those bars that you can fit in a door jam? Are they any good? I work out at home so I can't really do them otherwise.



I have the Iron Gym one. It's pretty good. And by that I mean it supports my bodyweight at 235lbs (most say they will only handle 200lbs or less). It's not quite as wide as I'd like, but, if I put the outside edges of my hand against the sides of the door frame, I can get just outside shoulder width. 

If you live near a playground, I would just jog over there and use the monkey bars.


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## Stealthdjentstic (Jun 25, 2011)

gunshow86de said:


> I have the Iron Gym one. It's pretty good. And by that I mean it supports my bodyweight at 235lbs (most say they will only handle 200lbs or less). It's not quite as wide as I'd like, but, if I put the outside edges of my hand against the sides of the door frame, I can get just outside shoulder width.
> 
> If you live near a playground, I would just jog over there and use the monkey bars.



But what about the children?


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## Customisbetter (Jun 25, 2011)

Damn thats awesome! I can do a dozen overhand or underhand but 20 would be hard as shit. 

Congrats.


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## MABGuitar (Jun 25, 2011)

Last time I tried I couldn't do 2 haha, but that was before I started working. If I had a pull up bar I'd check right now but alas I don't .

Congrats on getting to 20 though, must feel good!


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## gunshow86de (Jun 25, 2011)

Stealthtastic said:


> But what about the children?









I guess I should have specified _not_ to go during school hours (also assuming you are allowed within 200 yards of a school zone ).


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## kung_fu (Jun 25, 2011)

gunshow86de said:


> If you live near a playground, I would just jog over there and use the monkey bars.





Stealthtastic said:


> But what about the children?



Either of you watch "it's always sunny in Philadelphia"? There is an episode that covers this exact scenario (working out at a playground -> people thinking you're a pedo) :





Dennis Reynolds giving the local kids a "fitness demo"


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## avenger (Jun 27, 2011)

underhand i can do enough, overhand though is fail LOL.


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## Origin (Jun 27, 2011)

Isn't a pullup only overhand, and chinup being underhand? Underhand's easy as shit so I assumed pullup, 20 of those is a bitch


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## kung_fu (Jun 27, 2011)

Origin said:


> Isn't a pullup only overhand, and chinup being underhand? Underhand's easy as shit so I assumed pullup, 20 of those is a bitch



Not sure about that, but ya, overhand definitely seems the harder of the two.

wiki: Pull-up (exercise) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia , ya you seem to be right

Edit: upon further reading, yes that is the general definition, but it isn't universal. The US marines take them (grips) to be the same thing, and those dudes is in shape.


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## Korg (Jun 27, 2011)

Origin said:


> Isn't a pullup only overhand, and chinup being underhand? Underhand's easy as shit so I assumed pullup, 20 of those is a bitch



Ya whenever you talk in fitness terms it's that way, since they are quite different exercises as the pullup focus your lats and the chinup will focus your biceps more, and then you usually do pullups wide-grip where chinups are closegrip..


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## TRENCHLORD (Jun 27, 2011)

Palms facing each other best by far. Sure it's easier, but that is because it's recruiting more total body mucsle. Like regular grip bench is easier then close grip with a given weight. Close grip bench is definetly harder with a given weight (say 200 lbs), but we all know you should choose regular grip if you only had time for one.


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## CD1221 (Jun 28, 2011)

I mostly follow convention and use the term pullup for any grip that is not palms facing, ie a chinup.


btw, I just did 20 authentic pullups, shoulder width, palms facing away. 
Got to 17 ok, the last 3 weren't pretty, with some hang time in between each rep.


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## TRENCHLORD (Jun 28, 2011)

Has anyone here ever tried turning hands opposite (one palm forward, one palm backward like on a heavy deadlift? It of coarse becomes some what like a unilateral excersise in which you must do seperate sets for the left and right.


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## TRENCHLORD (Jun 28, 2011)

Also, If you get a V-grip handle (like the ones at all gyms for pulldown machine close grip neutral) you can hang it over your pullup bar or off to one side of squat rack pullup bars that are in the middle. Or even off one side of monkey bars so you don't have to move your head out of the way on each rep. Close and medium width neutral grip pulls are unbeatable for mass.


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## CD1221 (Jun 28, 2011)

I have done a similar thing by throwing a doubled-up towel over the bar, great grip workout as well.

Don't try playing guitar after doing several sets of those.


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## TRENCHLORD (Jun 28, 2011)

I can only work out 2 or 3 times a week or my left hand turns into "THE CLAW".


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## Korg (Jun 28, 2011)

TRENCHLORD said:


> I can only work out 2 or 3 times a week or my left hand turns into "THE CLAW".


Meh, it's like when you first start playing guitar and it hurts, you'll get over it


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## anthonyferguson (Jul 16, 2011)

TRENCHLORD said:


> Has anyone here ever tried turning hands opposite (one palm forward, one palm backward like on a heavy deadlift? It of coarse becomes some what like a unilateral excersise in which you must do seperate sets for the left and right.



I have done unbalanced sets, i.e. shifting my body weight so it's based almost entirely under my right/left arm and using only a couple of fingers on the other arm, while training one arm pullups. I did get to a point where i could do a couple but I haven't done it for ages and have slipped since then. REALLY NEED TO GET BACK AWN IT


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## IB-studjent- (Jul 16, 2011)

I used to do( before I cut my fingers) 3 sets of 10 with a 40lb weight attached. But 20 are pritty tough though you're lifting your body 20 times


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## mhenson42 (Jul 16, 2011)

I need to see how many I can do. I usually do six sets of 10 as part of my back workout. Dips and pullups are my favorite training exercises. I like exercises where you move your own body weight.


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## highlordmugfug (Jul 20, 2011)

I didn't read this thread all the way through, but OP: 



Congrats man, I used to be able to do like 25, but then I got a hernia and had it repaired and couldn't lift over 8 pounds for like 6 months, now I can do like 7 maximum.

Keep it up man!


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## Dwellingers (Jul 21, 2011)

Grads man - 20 are tough shit

been following this : 7 Weeks to 50 Pull-Ups | Official Site it is awesome.

Look the test between level 4 and 5 today and should have hit 20 - but only got 17. Probably because I helped a buddy move yesterday and only had two 48 hrs break for last exercise sesseion. Will try it again monday when I start the Smolov jr. 4 weeks program


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## Lothar (Jul 22, 2011)

Congrats bro. I've done 22 pullups @ 194lbs bodyweight after 2 years of weightlifting...


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## Stealthdjentstic (Jul 22, 2011)

highlordmugfug said:


> I didn't read this thread all the way through, but OP:
> 
> 
> 
> ...




I know how you feel 


Haven't been able to lift more than 10-12lb in a year almost now


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## Guitarmiester (Jul 24, 2011)

I've had a pull-up bar for years and can knock out quite a few. Then again, I'm not a big guy and don't have a whole lot of body weight to be pulling. Maybe later when I get my workout out in I'll see how many I can do in one shot.


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## Sofos (Jul 25, 2011)

my neighbor had me do 10 to see if i could, did it in no sweat, not sure how many i can do total, ill check tomorrow if dad still has his As Seen on TV Pull-up bar thing. i remember in 9th grade I was able to do more than the entire football team. and at the time i weighed about 100 lbs or less, 5'5" and had the body structure of Michael Cera. the human body is an amazing thing


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