Pull for Success

Hi I am Daniel O’Donnell, Personal Trainer at T.O.D Coaching, and I am going to tell you how to become stronger with one move.

Do you want a more powerful upper body, a better posture or just to look good and feel more athletic? Well then drop the weights and get pulling! The effective and universal pull up has been around for decades and is a real test of upper body strength and body balance but is often avoided due to it being too hard or because the knowledge of its effectiveness is not known. People often focus on the ‘mirror muscles’ or ‘beach muscles’ when it comes to getting fit and neglect the bigger and more important muscles of the back. These muscles stabilise the spine and shoulder girdle giving you a stronger base to perform other tasks for example a bench press, picking your child up or performing better in your chosen sport or hobby.

The pull up is a bodyweight exercise executed by an overhand grip and pulling the chest up towards the bar, the shoulder blades should be pinched together while keeping the lower body rigid then lower until the arms are fully extended . Breathe in while pulling then out on the lowering phase controlling the movement to prevent locking of the elbows.

The pull up will strengthen the often injured rotator cuff which is essential for stabilising the shoulder and if trained and maintained can help any novice gym goer or athlete push more weight or become more efficient at other exercises or day to day tasks. The pull up is a compound exercise and due to the number of muscles used with this exercise it is a great one for burning fat as it uses the arms, shoulders, chest, upper back and the core which all include the biggest muscle groups within the upper body. Also an added benefit of the pull up is the work out it provides for the shoulder girdle and core which are essential in fixating and stabilising the areas around the spine therefore improving posture.

To improve, increase or just do your first pull up follow these exercises twice a week and you will have success like never before:

Day 1     Chin Up                                3-5 sets                                6-12 reps

                Low Pulley          3-5 sets                                8-12 reps

Day2      Inverted Row    3-5 sets                                6-12 reps

                Dumbbell Row  3-5 sets                                8-12 reps

Perform these exercises with your current workout plan and when you can complete more than 8 chin ups and inverted rows try the next group:

Day1      Pull Up                  3-5 sets                                6-12 reps

                Prone Fly             3-5 sets                                8-12 reps

Day2      Alternate Grip- 3-5 sets                                6-12 reps

                Pull Up

                Single Arm-         3-5 sets                                8-12 reps

                Pulley

Daniel O Donell (much loved by old ladies)
Personal Trainer