WOD
5 Rounds
3 Minutes
60 Double-Unders,
10 Hang Cleans 155/110,
Max Calorie With Remaining Time
of Bike/Ski/Row. Athlete Can Choose.
2 Minutes Rest Between Rounds.
Score Is Total Calories Completed.
Tuesday Night Musings by Coach Kris.
Got pull-ups?
As I banded way up for our 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 pull-ups before yesterday’s wod, I thought to myself “I really need to get my pull-ups.” I am sure this is something many of us have thought as the Open creeps up. However, before I can get them, I have to work on them. Like really work on them, not just think about working on them during every wod that pull-ups show up. Pull-ups are one of those movements that don’t come easily for a lot of us but given the right amount of attention and consistency they are within reach. So for tonight’s blog I thought I would break the pull-up down to some actionable steps you can take to work on them if, like me, you need to. These tips will be geared toward the strict pull-up but will by default benefit your kipping pull-up as well.
Tip #1- Strengthen your PULL (build those lat muscles). There are a bunch of exercises you can focus on to achieve this but one program that I have liked and can easily be completed in 10-15 minutes before or after a wod, aiming for 3x a week is as follows –
3 sets of ten of:
*bent over db rows (as heavy as possible for ten, moving up in weight as you are able
*ring rows (again as tough as you can make them but still get through ten)
*negative pull-ups (use a box or jump to the top of the pull-up position, slow and controlled lower yourself down, being careful not to drop the last few inches). If you can’t perform the full negative rep, do what you can until you build enough strength to complete it too to bottom. If you can easily complete negatives, do them even slower.
The last 2-3 reps of each of these sets should be HARD, if they aren’t then adjust accordingly.
Tip #2- Engage and strengthen your CORE.
First up, engagement- Strict pull-ups require a lot of core engagement (try doing them pregnant if you don’t believe me ). Being aware of your breath and being able to properly engage your core and have it work with you during the rep can make for easier as well as smoother pull-ups. We use and coordinate our core and our breath when we set up for lifts and guess what a pull-up is? Yep, a body weight lift. Would you set up for a body weight clean or deadlift without some focus on your core and breath? I hope not! To practice this start from the dead hang, take a deep breath in and slowly exhale as you exert your pulling effort, continue a controlled exhale as you pull your chin over the bar and inhale again as you lower. This may take some getting used to at first but it will become automatic the more you practice.
Next, strengthen- pick any core focused exercises you enjoy (you’re more likely to stick to doing them if you enjoy them) and create a little ab burner to add on before or after a wod or even at home a few times a week. My favorites are planks, weighted Russian twists, strict leg raises, and lemon squeezes. Just pick something you’ll want to do and then do it, consistently every week. Ask any coach and I bet they would love to give you ideas for this.
Tip #3- Variety!!!
We all have our go to band or number of reps we do at a time or our set spot on rings that we know we can knock out in a WOD. It is very easy to get stuck in that familiar scale. Oh hey green band But listen you’re not doing your pull-ups or progress any favors sticking with what’s comfortable. Yes, sometimes the wod will call for using the scale that you are most comfortable with because we want to maintain intensity and you can’t do that eeeking out one or two reps and then staring at the bar for minutes at a time, but try to push yourself to try new ways of practicing pull-ups when possible. Maybe it’s jumping into them to help build that pull at the top, maybe it’s negatives to strengthen you to get passed that sticky point at the bottom, maybe it’s using a smaller band and cutting the reps, maybe it’s doing one more rep in the set then you think you can do, maybe it’s lowering yourself closer to parallel for ring rows…you get the point. When pull-ups come up in a wod, before you go walking over to grab that same band, ask a coach if there’s a way you can challenge yourself and still maintain the intention of the workout, I’m guessing there is.
Feel free to hit me up for more ideas or if you need a pull-up accountability partner and hopefully we will all be a little stronger by our next 10 to 1 pull-up day. Have a great week everyone!
Thanks for reading.
Sincerely,
Coach Kris
