SamG's Log

[SamG]

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Chin-up suggestion: make your chins+negatives equal some target for the sets. Say you want 2x6, so do your 1x4, 1x3, then pick up the remainder with 5 good negatives. Maybe alternate between negatives and "assisted" with that strategy.

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Sounds good. Do you think negatives are more beneficial than assisted chins?

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A pull-up bar is a nice piece of equipment for the home or office. The more you do, the more you can do.

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So are chins something I can do on off days? I've been tempted because I really want to get better at these.

[shemp]

I can't argue against the assisted pull-ups. Seems to make sense that you are working both halves of the movement. But I've never used them. I have had success and seen others have success with negatives-- so I "believe" in them. They are very taxing, though, so doing them every time might be a bit much. And I'd stop using them once my numbers get up a bit.

Good article here:
http://www.dragondoor.com/articler/mode3/69/

I think anybody with good pull-up numbers discovered this "training protocol" independently. It's still a great article because it gives some reasonably sounding mumbo-jumbo and hangs a formal name on something that folks might have done without understanding that they were using a strategy and it could be applied to a lot of different things.

You need to protect the lifts, so adding in stuff is risky. Fatigue has a way of slowly accumulating-- part of the reason you need to plan time off. And notice the stress on "sub-maximal" efforts in the article. Bottom line is: yes, I would do more pull/chin-ups. I'd still keep some or most of my rest days sacred, but I'd do a quick 50% of my max set here and there throughout workout days and on (maybe one of) my rest days.

[Efourdee]

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I can't argue against the assisted pull-ups. Seems to make sense that you are working both halves of the movement. But I've never used them. I have had success and seen others have success with negatives-- so I "believe" in them. They are very taxing, though, so doing them every time might be a bit much. And I'd stop using them once my numbers get up a bit.

Good article here:
http://www.dragondoor.com/articler/mode3/69/

I think anybody with good pull-up numbers discovered this "training protocol" independently. It's still a great article because it gives some reasonably sounding mumbo-jumbo and hangs a formal name on something that folks might have done without understanding that they were using a strategy and it could be applied to a lot of different things.

You need to protect the lifts, so adding in stuff is risky. Fatigue has a way of slowly accumulating-- part of the reason you need to plan time off. And notice the stress on "sub-maximal" efforts in the article. Bottom line is: yes, I would do more pull/chin-ups. I'd still keep some or most of my rest days sacred, but I'd do a quick 50% of my max set here and there throughout workout days and on (maybe one of) my rest days.

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Excellent article and advice... If you want to get better at pullups then you should be doing pullups and lots of them.

Pullups > Assisted Pullups > Weighted Negatives > Negatives

Just keep upping the intensity of the few pullups you can do. Even if you can only do one pullup, you should still be doing those before messing around with negatives and assisted.

[SamG]

8/24:

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nipples across lats and back (37 3/4")
navel across waist (36")
right above my dick around ass (38")
thigh (22")
calf (14 1/4")
bicep (10 5/8")

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9/5:

nipples across lats and back (37 1/4")
navel across waist (35 1/2")
right above my dick around ass (38")
thigh (21 1/2")
calf (14 1/2")
bicep (10 3/4")

Wow. Am I nuts or does this look like incredible progress? I wonder how much of this is simply taking the measurements differently. And why is my thigh shrinking, lol

My weight is the same this morning as 8/24. I took these twice and got pretty consistent numbers.

[SamG]

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I can't argue against the assisted pull-ups. Seems to make sense that you are working both halves of the movement.

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I feel like they've helped a lot.

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Good article here:
http://www.dragondoor.com/articler/mode3/69/

I think anybody with good pull-up numbers discovered this "training protocol" independently. It's still a great article because it gives some reasonably sounding mumbo-jumbo and hangs a formal name on something that folks might have done without understanding that they were using a strategy and it could be applied to a lot of different things.

You need to protect the lifts, so adding in stuff is risky. Fatigue has a way of slowly accumulating-- part of the reason you need to plan time off. And notice the stress on "sub-maximal" efforts in the article. Bottom line is: yes, I would do more pull/chin-ups. I'd still keep some or most of my rest days sacred, but I'd do a quick 50% of my max set here and there throughout workout days and on (maybe one of) my rest days.

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I really like that article, and your plan sounds great.

[SamG]

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Just keep upping the intensity of the few pullups you can do. Even if you can only do one pullup, you should still be doing those before messing around with negatives and assisted.

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Noted.

Btw, this forum is awesome. Thanks guys.

[Thremp]

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I can't argue against the assisted pull-ups. Seems to make sense that you are working both halves of the movement. But I've never used them. I have had success and seen others have success with negatives-- so I "believe" in them. They are very taxing, though, so doing them every time might be a bit much. And I'd stop using them once my numbers get up a bit.

Good article here:
http://www.dragondoor.com/articler/mode3/69/

I think anybody with good pull-up numbers discovered this "training protocol" independently. It's still a great article because it gives some reasonably sounding mumbo-jumbo and hangs a formal name on something that folks might have done without understanding that they were using a strategy and it could be applied to a lot of different things.

You need to protect the lifts, so adding in stuff is risky. Fatigue has a way of slowly accumulating-- part of the reason you need to plan time off. And notice the stress on "sub-maximal" efforts in the article. Bottom line is: yes, I would do more pull/chin-ups. I'd still keep some or most of my rest days sacred, but I'd do a quick 50% of my max set here and there throughout workout days and on (maybe one of) my rest days.

[/ QUOTE ]

Excellent article and advice... If you want to get better at pullups then you should be doing pullups and lots of them.

Pullups > Assisted Pullups > Weighted Negatives > Negatives

Just keep upping the intensity of the few pullups you can do. Even if you can only do one pullup, you should still be doing those before messing around with negatives and assisted.

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This bumps into a ton of failure though.

[Efourdee]

Less so then doing negatives to failure.

I wasnt suggesting he do straight pullups then start assisted in the same set.

If he can do some pullups then hes going to get better at them by doing lots of pullups. It will be more efficient then doing assisted or negatives.

[shemp]

Sam's gone from 1-4 in a month. I like going to the high volume when it can represent a lower intensity-- like when he gets to 6-8. In the meantime, negatives 1-2x a week make sense to me. The good news is that however bad my (or even your) advice is-- it will be moot in a couple weeks when he has 6-8 and we turn our sights on 20.

[Thremp]

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Less so then doing negatives to failure.

I wasnt suggesting he do straight pullups then start assisted in the same set.

If he can do some pullups then hes going to get better at them by doing lots of pullups. It will be more efficient then doing assisted or negatives.

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I'm not trying to disagree, nor can I present anything better. But just doing one exercise till you can't do anymore then moving down will really really really tax your CNS. This isn't sustainable for long periods.