Follow the Steps: Don’t be too Eager to Progress
Written by Michele Vieux
It’s hard to believe that Pull-Up Awareness Month is already halfway over! Hopefully you’ve been practicing your progressions, which are KEY to not only getting your first pull-up but also to making sure you’re strong enough to perform strict reps, efficient enough to perform high volumes of pull-ups in workouts and stay injury free while doing so.
Always learn the strict movement before the kipping, even though strict movements are usually much harder to achieve. Why are strict reps important? Being able to do them ensures that your shoulders have the strength base necessary to support kipping pull-ups. Since there is no momentum involved, you are relying on your shoulder muscles to move the load (in this case, you) versus the inertia you create by kipping. Working towards your first kipping pull-up without a strength base (even with bands) can do some serious damage if you aren’t at your strongest. Nobody wants a torn rotator cuff, labrum, biceps, slap tear, or shoulder dislocation because they cut corners to kip.
Premature kipping, even with a band, will likely lead to overuse and other shoulder-related injuries. Strict pull-ups prep large muscles such as the latissimus dorsi, serratus anterior, lower trapezius, and also the smaller muscle groups – teres major, supraspinatus, teres minor, infraspinatus, levator scapula, and subscapularis – that protect your shoulder girdle from the intense movement of the kip. The small muscle groups are essential to keeping the shoulder supported and mobile.
It is recommended by Invictus that men be able to perform six unbroken strict pull-ups and for women, three unbroken strict pull-ups, before they attempt kipping. Want to make the jump from kipping to butterfly pull-ups or chest-to-bar? Shoot for 15-20 perfect, unbroken kipping-pull-ups first. Eyeing those bar and ring muscle-ups? Make those 15-20 pull-ups chest-to-bar and then a strict muscle-up! Those are just our recommendations and we realize that we can’t stop you from practicing and wanting to achieve the next level but we can recommend that you continue to follow your progressions until you get there.
From Marta – Now that we have the Gravitron, you can work on pull up development there. I would recommend using the Gravitron 3 to 4 times per week. Do 4 x 5 sets – lower the resistance weight as you progress. Make sure you do a full hang and get your chin over the bar.
30 Burpees
150 Double Unders
10 Rounds of Cindy
crossfitpickering.com 