My gym has one of those assisted pull-up stations with the counter-weight that makes it “easier” to do pull-ups.
If you catch me in a good mood, I’ll grudgingly allow that this contraption has a place for people who can’t yet do an unassisted body-weight pull-up or chin-up.
It can be a useful assistance movement.
But, there’s a but.
Watching really-existing people really use this device leaves much to be desired.
Too much volume. Too many sets. Too many reps in each set.
Body-language cheats creeping in there to complete a rep, which defeats the whole purpose of learning how to move right.
They’re training to get tired, which is exactly NOT what you want.
It’s a perfect example of the junk volume and fatigue that I always warn about. Lots of tiredness to stay busy, with little in the way of a strength-promoting signal.
If you can’t do a pull-up but want to, that’s what the kids today are calling a “skill issue”. Literally. You don’t know how to move your body through space from a dead hang to the top of the movement.
Learning how to move goes hand in hand with having the muscular horse-power to make it happen.
What should you do instead?
I’ve got a plan for hitting your first pull-up. Like all things I preach, it’s dead-stupid simple such that even a dull-witted zombie could do it.
Most folks, usually women who have struggled with pull-ups for a long time, can get there inside of a month, two on the outside, if they follow it to the letter and if there are no mitigating limitations.
It doesn’t involve beating your back, arms, and grip into paste, I can tell you that. Lots of signal, minimal fatigue.
This is but one of many tools in my kit for creating radical transformations in a body with quick, easy, time-saving methods that will leaving you slapping your forehead as to why you hear about all this sooner.
I work with clients over 40 to stop beating yourself up (in the gym and out), cut out all the extra junk in your eating and exercise that keeps you stalled, and fix you up good so you can get that flab off, feel better, and look better.
If you’re interested in working with me for a tune-up, and you’re actually committed to doing it, send me a message and I’ll send over the details.
Matt Perryman