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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The TRX is good to learn the engagement of muscles. I have also put a band over the bar and sat on the floor pulling down on the band and engaging muscles.

Please keep the tips coming. I’ve been working on getting a pull up and a handstand. Haha

Hahaha I have the same goal. If you have time/money to train regularly @shelleyflex on Instagram is a great local handstand coach. I made a ton of progress in the year I was able to go to her classes regularly. Currently I have young kids so my exercise routine is like. 10-15 increments at the playground so I can’t justify paying for her membership this year but I still follow her on Instagram and sometimes she posts free tips and drills.

That should be @shellyflex sorry

Anonymous wrote:The TRX is good to learn the engagement of muscles. I have also put a band over the bar and sat on the floor pulling down on the band and engaging muscles.

Please keep the tips coming. I’ve been working on getting a pull up and a handstand. Haha

Hahaha I have the same goal. If you have time/money to train regularly @shelleyflex on Instagram is a great local handstand coach. I made a ton of progress in the year I was able to go to her classes regularly. Currently I have young kids so my exercise routine is like. 10-15 increments at the playground so I can’t justify paying for her membership this year but I still follow her on Instagram and sometimes she posts free tips and drills.

The TRX is good to learn the engagement of muscles. I have also put a band over the bar and sat on the floor pulling down on the band and engaging muscles.

Please keep the tips coming. I’ve been working on getting a pull up and a handstand. Haha

Band assisted are great. Also do lots of negative pull-ups (jump up to a flexed arm hang and lower yourself as slow as you can) to get a sense of the muscle engagement throughout the motion. Pay close attention at the end when you send are almost straight — this is the beginning so it’s important and with band assisted pull-ups it’s where you get the most help so negatives are a good way to figure it that engagement.

I started with chin ups. I could do one of those way before I could do a pull up.

I also want to do one. I use a band and can do 12 on the easiest band so I work on the next one but can only do about 5. I probably weigh too much. But I watch a lot of videos on progression and form.

I am coming back to pull ups now. Grip is important, hence doing dead hangs. I read once if you can dead hang for 60 sec you should be able to do one pull up. Negatives with a stool/chair another good technique. Get some weight off obviously. The older you are.... the harder they are. And you have to do this gradually, too fast with a lot of soreness is not the answer. Could develop an elbow or shoulder issue if you rush things.

There are a lot of good online guides - e.g., https://www.setforset.com/blogs/news/pull-up-progression (scroll about halfway down to skip all the background) or just search for "pull up progression."

Thanks everyone! This is great advice.

Anonymous wrote:Have a trainer show you how to to assisted pull-ups. Not the machine kind, the kind where you wrap a band around the bar and your foot (or knee or shin).

And then you gradually do it with less and less assisting and voila, you get your first push up.

+1, the band-assisted pull-ups are how I got it. There are a bunch of ways to lessen the assistance as you go. I think I started by standing inside the circle band, then moved to knees, then switched to a band with less resistance, then could do it on my own.

It's also good to follow a pull up challenge routine which will help you specifically build strength and endurance. Many years ago I used the 20 pull up challenge and it worked well. You can google it.

You will find that once you have 1 pull up, it's actually pretty easy to build up to 5 or so. I hit a wall again around 10 and never made it to 20, but I should start up again!

Have a trainer show you how to to assisted pull-ups. Not the machine kind, the kind where you wrap a band around the bar and your foot (or knee or shin).

And then you gradually do it with less and less assisting and voila, you get your first push up.

I have a pull up bar that goes on the door frame. I used to use a folding chair and put a foot on the edge to help me a little while doing the pull up. It's pretty low rent, but it worked.

I'm part of Syatt Fitness Inner Circle - $27/month - they have pullup program

Do both. Pull-ups are easier the lighter you are but you also need strength in the appropriate muscles. I would suggest a balanced upper body routine rather than just focusing on your back and biceps, but obviously the latter too are what matters the most for being able to do pull-ups. Lat pull downs and various row variations should be part of your program. You should also practice deadhangs and once you are strong enough to not just fall straight down, I found doing negatives pretty helpful too. They are hard but with some work any woman can do them, including at your age. I am 42 and can rep them out with a 25lbs plate strapped on me.

46F. I always wanted to be able to do pull ups, so I've committed to doing one pull-up by the end of the year.

What's the best way to approach this? Lose excess weight first? Build up muscles that are used in pull-ups?