This is the everlasting competition between men and women (at least in Western society) especially when it comes to competitive sports and working out. So when I told a buddy that I was working on pull-ups, I was a bit annoyed when the look of shock flashed across his face and he asked, "You can do pull-ups?" I was equally annoyed while watching a movie, where the lead female was using her upper body strength to get herself out of a crisis, and a friend (female) commented that that could never happen because "girls can't do pull-ups."
Since when are pull-ups a male-exclusive workout? And why can't we do them? Because we'll look like men? Because we've always ben told that we can't? Because we're scared of them? It cannot be because we are weak. In fact women are naturally internally stronger than men, males just have more testosterone and a different distribution of weight which makes it easier for them to outperform women on traditional strength tests. But women are strong. And we can do pull-ups. And we don't have enough natural testosterone in our bodies to bulk up. And it doesn't matter what size/ shape you are...
Basically, ladies, you have no excuse. You can do pull-ups, and do them well. Depending on your current fitness level, it may take you longer to complete a full dead-weight set, but your bodies can handle it!!!
Ok, so obviously the next question would be how in the heck do I get started? If you have a gym membership, there is no doubt a pull-up bar or machine located somewhere, and for everyone else, your brother, friend or boyfriend may have a pull-up bar lying around or installed in the house. Step to the plate and take advantage of the opportunity.
Before doing any exercise you do need to warm up and stretch out the muscles. a pre-workout stretch for pull-ups should not be the traditional static stretching. Instead you should do some arm circles, shoulder shrugs, and neck rolls to get the muscles ready. Once you've done that you should gauge just how much you are already capable of doing. Grab the bar with an overhand grip, hands shoulder width apart, and without jumping or kipping (pulling your knees up to assist) attempt to pull yourself up as close to the bar as possible. If you can do a full pull up, try to see how many more you can do. If you are unable to complete a pull-up in this form, try pulling up with your palms facing you (deadweight of course). This tends to be easier for women as this uses more of your bicep and chest muscles as opposed to the targeting of your back muscles with the overhand grip. Try to see how many you can do.
If you are unable to do either of these, don't be discouraged!! You can quickly work your way up to doing pull ups. Many workout instructors recommend trying chin-ups and negative pull ups to build up the muscle, and luckily you can get some assistance from a box or stepping stool to get you over the bar. For a chin-up, stand on a box and grip the bar, hands shoulder width apart, pull your body up until your chin is above the bar, take your feet off the box and attempt to pull your chin right above and below the bar as many times as you can. This helps build the smaller muscles that give you the final thrust up over the bar. As you get better you can start to drop your chin lower below the bar and work your way towards a full pull-up. Be sure to vary the grips you use so that you build all of the muscle groups proportionately.
Negative pull-ups are for building up the larger muscles in your back and arms. Get up on a box and get your chin above the bar, then, as slowly as possible, lower your body down until your arms are fully extended. Try and increase the amount of time that it takes you to lower your body all the way and do this more than once each time. Aim for 5 attempts at 5 seconds the first time and increase the time if you feel you can handle it.
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| Photo: mybodybeats.com |
Ladies I want to see you doing pull ups!!! Not shying away from them. They are perfect for toning all of the typical problem areas, like flabby arms, your core, and your back. And the best thing is, because you are using your natural bodyweight, you won't look like a scary body builder, just really well defined and strong! Of course a healthy diet and lifestyle will help you achieve your goals more quickly, so be sure to make smart choices.
I hope this helps someone out there. I know it's a bit rant-ish, but I seriously am tired of the stereotype. It also took me a very long time to decide on a topic to write on thanks to being unmotivated to blog haha, so I kind of went all out. In other news! I have some exciting things to blog about in the near future, be sure to stay tuned and be blessed.
-Educated & Unemployed
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