I'll occassionally get this weird itch to do something. Anything. Challenge myself.
So I up and decided that I wanted to do one pull-up--just one--in good form.
I had tried to do one (or two or three) before and failed brilliantly. Short of an assisted pull-up machine at the gym, I jumped up and grabbed the wide grips that were positioned between the cable machines and swung there, feeling (and looking) like a monkey. My attempt at a pull-up was short lived after I began giggling at how ridiculous I looked.
But then I got serious about it. I made public statements about my goal, and I gave myself 6 months to condition myself enough so I could actually do it. Imagine my surprise when I was able to pull it off in a month.
I recognized my weaknesses--apart from the obvious--and set to work. A little determination will get you to a lot of places. I added more weight to my upper body routine, which included lat pull downs, low rows, bicep curls, chest press, standing cable and machine flys. I knew that in order to pull off a wide armed pull-up my lats had to become much stronger, and that would come in time. But my biceps weren't all that bad.
Using a step to get me high enough to reach up, I gave the close-hand grips a shot and voila! Up I went! I was so surprised that I stayed up there for a few seconds, looking dumbfounded. The view was surprising from up there. I could see lots of possibilities.
Naturally, I tried two. I'll freely admit that two needed work. I discovered that my ability to do a pull-up hinged greatly on when I did them. If I tried them after I had done 3 sets of chest presses I was toast. So I try to get them in right away when I hit the weight room. I'll maybe get two in (right now I can't do more than two in a row), take a break and then try for one or two more. It's plenty of hard work, but I'm committed to keep at it. And if it ever gets to be too much, I can alway get up there and hang like a monkey. I'm pretty good at that!
Pull-up inspiration:
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