5 Complete Pullup and Chinup Workouts to Help You Build Muscle, Increase Your Strength, and Skyrocket Your Numbers
I’ve written about pullup training many times before (see links below), and even published a complete 3 month pullup training program that I’ve used with my clients quite successfully over the years. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t more fun to be had from this great exercise. And so, I present to you five of my personal favorite pullup and chinup workouts. These are just too much fun to NOT share with you! And get this – they actually work!
I’ve used each and every one of these to build both my and my clients pullup numbers and increase strength and hypertrophy when the goal has been there. And if probability is on my side, these can work for you, too.
Once you've learned these workouts, zounds of people will gather around you - just begging for a turn!
Have you ever seen those guys or gals at the gym doing an exercise with a partial range of motion? Maybe they were doing 1/4 squats or even the dreaded half pullups (I call them “sissy pullups”). If you’re like me, then this probably drives you crazy. There have been times when I just wanted to grab someone by the scruff of their sweaty tank top and yell, “you’re doing it wrong!” But are they really? Do they know something that we don’t, and is there something to partial rep training that we could all do well to draw on? Well, a new study shines some light on this issue, and we’re going to take a quick peek in a minute.
But first, let me be clear that there are two kinds of people who use partial reps in their programs. First, you have the advanced weightlifters – the guys who may or may not be competitive strength athletes, but at the very least, have been at the iron game for years. These are the guys who will plug some partial rep training into their routines – usually to help improve a weak portion of a lift (like the rock bottom position of the squat, or the lockout portion of the deadlift). For example, you might see one of these guys doing deadlifts with an barbell that is elevated on pins in the power rack so that he’s only doing the top half of the range of motion, or he may be using resistance bands to make the very last portion of the ROM the toughest. So, that’s your first category of partial rep trainees. These guys are the elites and they know what they’re doing.
Then you have the next category, which is just some person who knows hardly anything about training and generally uses sloppy technique in all of their lifting exercises, usually because they are trying to lift with way too much weight. You thought 1/4 squats were bad? Try watching someone do 1/8 squats with twice their bodyweight on the bar! Needless to say, it doesn’t take a strength and conditioning coach to tell the two categories of trainees apart.
If you want to strengthen your arm and back muscles, spread your wings (lats) to create that V-tapered back appearance, and increase that critical vertical pulling strength that everyone needs, AND if you want a laser-focused pullups program that was created exactly for improving your pullup numbers, then you’ve come to the right place. Below, you’ll find a complete workout program with several pullup workouts that you can use to accomplish these goals.
How I Went From 6 Deadhang Pullups to Over 30 in Only 3 Months
Back when I was in high school, I followed a 52-week workout program right out of the book Maximum Fitness : The Complete Guide to Navy SEAL Cross Training. Over the next three months, while following the first training cycle, I increased my pullup numbers from a maximum of 6-7 reps to an astonishing 31 reps – my all-time record. I was pretty happy when I hit 20 reps for the first time, but when I crossed that big 30, well, it was pretty cool.
Now, 30 pullups might not seem all that impressive with some fitness trainees regularly nailing sets of 50 or even 100 kipping pullups in a row. But here’s the thing. These were deadhang pullups, and being able to perform 30 deadhang pullups is almost unheard of – even today. I studied up on basic pullup technique, and while I didn’t understand the nuances of this movement at the time, I did make sure to follow the basic recommendations outlined in most exercise textbooks.
It’s one of the most infamous questions that personal trainers and fitness coaches receive from women again and again:
Will strength training build large muscles and make me look bulky?
Well, the answer to that question is that it depends – on a lot of things. However, in almost all cases – no, strength training does not build large, bulky muscles in women. That might be enough of an answer to satisfy some, but there’s more to the story, and we’re going to cover all of the main considerations in this article.
Mirror Mirror on the wall, who is the fairest one of all?
Note: I had my wife help me select these models to help me get a better perspective of what would be considered desirable versus undesirable. Click each image for larger version (if you dare).
Before we get started, let’s clear up some confusion concerning those photos.
On the left, we have the drugged diva, whom is clearly taking some form of steroid drugs, probably lives at the gym, and definitely eats like a horse. This is an example of a female professional bodybuilder. This type of physique is NOT the norm, and incredibly difficult to develop. Is it impressive? Absolutely. Is it admirable? Not-so-much. Is it horrifying, disgusting and utterly repulsive? No comment.
In the middle, we have a lady who is most likely not on steroids, but extremely regimented with training, nutrition, and lifestyle choices. Honestly, I couldn’t tell the difference between figure competitors and natural female bodybuilders, but I would imagine that this lady is one or the other. She certainly has some distinct muscle definition, but not nearly as much as the pro bodybuilder. For the record, my wife thinks she looks like a man from the shoulders down.
On the right, we have plain Jane who represents what a balanced diet and active lifestyle can probably do for most women (obviously dependent on body type).
Below, you’ll find an interview with my friend, Shane Heins, who is a CST Head Coach and an expert in clubbell training. I had hoped to get him on the phone for 20-30 minutes to answer the most common questions about clubbell training for building muscle. What actually [...]
The Clubbell Mass Evolution is the premier clubbell-based, muscle building program. There are other clubbell training programs out there, but this is the first one that is exclusively for building lean muscle mass.
My friend, Shane Heins, the creator of The Clubbell Mass Evolution
The Clubbell Mass Evolution was created by CST Head Coach, Shane Heins. I met Shane at a CST Certification seminar in 2009 and was impressed with his passion and knowledge. Don’t let the down-to-earth, “nice guy” shtick fool you. Shane is hardcore, but he balances that intensity with a sophisticated and intelligent approach in training. Shane walks the talk in his own training, and is a superb coach. He trains clients one-on-one, in small groups, and leads TACFIT group fitness classes in and around the Vancouver, BC area.
Shane claims that the Clubbell Mass Evolution (CME) will help you transform your body through the building of lean muscle tissue. He’s also very transparent about the results you should expect. This is not a maximal hypertrophy program that could pass for bodybuilding training. This is a program for developing functional, athletic muscle – a “hard body” physique, rather than a bodybuilder’s physique.
What’s makes the CME unique is the three dimensional nature of training with clubbells, and the development of strength through full ranges of complex movements. This is a systemic mass building program that is far superior to any bodybuilding, isolation, or split routine for the purposes of functional hypertrophy. You aren’t just training individual muscle groups, but stimulating the entire body to add muscle, which is how our physiology works. Not only that, but the entire program is periodized to have you progress from simple to complex movements while cycling training variables in order to maximize the potential muscle gain. The CME program is extremely well laid out and can be adapted and used by anyone with clubbells and a desire to pack on some functional muscle. Continue reading The Clubbell Mass Evolution – Complete Review
My friend Shane Heins (before clubbell mass evolution)
The Clubbell Mass Evolution is a new muscle building workout program by CST Head Coach, Shane Heins. Shane is a personal friend of mine and he was very kind to let me beta-test his upcoming program this past summer. I spent 6 weeks test-driving it, and was quite happy with the results (more on that later).
Fast-forward a few months and the Clubbell Mass Evolution just went for sale today. I just finished downloading my copy this morning (took a couple hours even with my lightning-fast, fiber optics internet connection) and will be pouring over the materials later tonight. From the results I got after only 6 weeks and from the brief look I gave the program materials this morning, this is a real treasure folks.
If you’ve got clubbells (or have been considering some), and you have a goal to pack on the mass, then I can tell you with no hesitation that this is the best clubbell-based mass building program currently available.
This is a lower-body intensive workout right out of the Clubbell Mass Evolution, and is just a teaser for what’s to come. There’s a whole lot more…
But first, let me be clear that there are two kinds of people who use partial reps in their programs. First, you have the advanced weightlifters – the guys who may or may not be competitive strength athletes, but at the very least, have been at the iron game for years. These are the guys who will plug some partial rep training into their routines – usually to help improve a weak portion of a lift (like the rock bottom position of the squat, or the lockout portion of the deadlift). For example, you might see one of these guys doing deadlifts with an barbell that is elevated on pins in the power rack so that he’s only doing the top half of the range of motion, or he may be using resistance bands to make the very last portion of the ROM the toughest. So, that’s your first category of partial rep trainees. These guys are the elites and they know what they’re doing.
. Over the next three months, while following the first training cycle, I increased my pullup numbers from a maximum of 6-7 reps to an astonishing 31 reps – my all-time record. I was pretty happy when I hit 20 reps for the first time, but when I crossed that big 30, well, it was pretty cool.
