The Power Of Pull-Ups Fitness Meghan Callaway

I might be biased, but I think pull-ups are pretty amazing. In my eyes, pull-ups are one of the most badass, empowering, and beneficial exercises you can do. No matter what I am doing, if I see monkey bars, a soccer goal, a tree, or even a building, I want to do some pull-ups. I know I am not alone in my love for this bodyweight exercise.

The Power Of Pull-Ups

Since I released The Ultimate Pull-Up Program this past October, thousands women and men from over 60 countries worldwide have jumped on board and are performing pull-ups, or other pull-up specific exercises that are part of my extremely comprehensive pull-up program. In fact, very few days go by when I don’t receive a message, or am tagged in a post where someone is performing pull-ups, or is talking about their love for them.

Working Out Should Be A Joyful And Empowering Experience

Seeing people achieving their goals, but most importantly, feeling excited, inspired, and empowered, brings me so much joy. This is absolutely why I created The Ultimate Pull-Up Program.

As many of you know, I am doing a new pull-up challenge, and people worldwide are joining in. It’s ending on Thursday, but I will be doing this again in a few months as so many people are enjoying it!All you need to do to enter is take a picture of a place you’d like to do a pull-up or a picture (or video) of you doing a pull-up. Then post it on Instagram or Facebook with the #picyourpull and tag me. To read more click here. Keep reading to find out 3 common mistakes that are preventing people from excelling at pull-ups.

Here are just a few of the people who have entered and been inspired by my pull-up challenge. Some of the participants have also been following The Ultimate Pull-Up Program.

I could write a novel on how I feel about helping people achieve their pull-up goals. Needing nothing but a bar, you can perform them almost anywhere. There are many different variations you can master, and you can target slightly different muscle groups by using different grips. These two factors make pull-ups a unique bodyweight exercise. No matter where you are in your current fitness journey, more often than not, you can perform specific exercises that will work your way towards achieving your goal of performing pull-ups.

Regarding aesthetics and performance, both of which can be a driving force for many people, pull-ups are incredibly effective in improving upper body strength and muscle hypertrophy/definition. Pull-ups target many different muscle groups in the upper body, including the latissimus dorsi, the biggest and most powerful muscle in the upper body, the rhomboids, trapezius, deltoids, biceps, and serratus. While pull-ups might not develop these muscle groups, the core muscles, glutes, and even lower body play a significant role in your ability to perform pull-ups.

Last, but perhaps most importantly of all, pull-ups are one of the most play-like exercises you can do and produce such feelings of empowerment, freedom, playfulness, and downright badassery.

Getting To The Promise Land Of Pull-Ups

Unfortunately, most people struggle to perform a single pull-up, including people who already possess a significant level of upper body strength. In so many instances, people fail to excel at pull-ups or break through plateaus, not because they are physically incapable, but because they are not training for the exercise correctly.

Here are 3 common mistakes that are preventing people from excelling at pull-ups:

1) All Arms, No Back

Ask yourself the following question. When you are performing pull-ups, do you mainly feel your arms working, or the muscles in your mid to upper back? If you chose the first, you are likely committing this fundamental error. A properly executed pull-up is performed by using the muscles in the mid and upper back and drawing each shoulder blade in towards the spine and down towards the opposite hip, not by pulling with the arms. When you are performing each rep, make sure that you initiate the movement with your shoulder blades, not your arms.

2) Tension Matters

I use this analogy a lot. What do you think would be easier to propel to and from the bar: an equally weighted rigid board or a limp noodle?

Spoiler: Stiff as a…

If you are unable to generate tension in your lumbo-pelvic region, or even your lower body, you will be forced to move deadweight. Pulling deadweight will make each rep significantly tougher. Secondly, if you are not able to stabilize your torso, spine, hips, and legs, you will be much more prone to swinging. The shorter the path your body has to travel to the bar, the easier and more efficient each rep will be. Pull-ups are a full body exercise, and to thrive at them, your entire body must be working in synchronicity.

3) Owning The Movement Of Your Shoulder Blades

Make no mistake, when it comes to excelling at pull-ups, being able to control the movement of the shoulder blades/scapulae will make or break your results. Starting at the ascending portion of the movement, perform the movement by drawing each shoulder blade in towards the spine and down towards the opposite hip. During the descending part of the movement, your shoulder blades should perform the reverse movements as they did on the way up. Many people either fall to the bottom position with reckless abandon or they keep their shoulder blades pinned in the same position. In short, being fluid in the movement of your shoulder blades is imperative.

The Ultimate Pull-Up Program?

When I created The Ultimate Pull-Up Program, I did so with the intention of empowering, educating, and inspiring people of all ages, genders, and abilities. In my pull-up program, I provide in-depth troubleshooting that helps address many different issues that are preventing countless people from performing their first rep ever, or from achieving a new PR. The Ultimate Pull-Up Program over 160 pages in length and leaves no stone unturned. This program is broken into 4 phases (plus a 5th bonus phase) and includes exercises that address pull-up specific technique, upper body strength, shoulder and scapular controlled mobility, lumbo-pelvic stability, and even the lower body. As I want you to feel confident that you are performing all of the exercises correctly, 100% of the exercises come with a video, detailed written description, and photo. My program was designed to meet you where you currently are in your pull-up journey. As I am so passionate about teaching people to perform pull-ups, and I know that countless other coaches are the same, I intentionally designed my program in a way that would be extremely beneficial to other coaches, and many coaches are using my pull-up program as a teaching manual for how to train their clients. The feedback I’ve been receiving from these coaches, and hearing about their client’s progress, has been fantastic, and I couldn’t be more excited so if you haven’t joined thousands women and men in over 60 countries yet to start The Ultimate Pull-Up Program, grab a copy and a bar today.