Wednesday, May 23, 2012

The joys and pains of towel pull ups



The maximum amount of pull-ups I could do was absolutely zero before I started hitting the gym. Initially, these bastards were the bane of my existence…not literally. The pain to worth ratio just wasn’t there, plus I felt like there was no isolation type of routines with this exercise. And how I was wrong. I am still using the assisted lift machine with the towel routine simply because my lats are not strong enough to do this without assistance…one day.

So while searching through some YouTube videos about battling ropes I saw a warm up with towel pull-ups. There are 3 variations that I use. The close grip, regular grip and a one hand regular grip pull up. I am using two kitchen towels bought at a big box store. Just remember to use a towel you can get a good grip on.

Close Grip

This is a good in between major exercises routine.  On my chest day, I will run this after my bench press and triceps press burnout. To perform, put the towels about eight inches apart on the bar and grip with palms facing inward. As you pull yourself upwards, turn your hand and wrist inwards (the motion similar to the pump at the end of a bicep curl). Aim for a set of ten at least three times during your entire routine.

This will put one big hurt on your forearms and wrists. If you suffer from weak wrists that become sore after Skull Crushers then I would highly recommend giving these a shot to prevent that strain on your wrist.

Regular Grip

I was having a tough time seeing any changes with my pull-up routine. Finally I had reached my goal of my own body weight and to be honest I saw no change and really felt no change in my back. Now there is a huge difference. This is a great exercise to hit the muscles in between your shoulder blades, side lats rounding around to your seratius muscle. To perform, put the towels on the bar shoulder length apart.  Pull yourself up using a grip with palms facing inward. Regular routine would be three sets of ten.

On the assisted lift machine I am currently working my way up from the easiest setting to the hardest. If you are using this method, to kick the routine up a bit I would start your base weight and do the first set of ten.

Then for the second set I would  bump it up to the a slightly more difficult wieght and push myself to make it to ten, repeat for set three and then I push a set four that is back to the original weight to go as far as possible. If you do this then on the next gym day skip running through this exercise.

One Hand Regular Grip

A strong word of warning, take this slow. If you feel any pulling or pain then stop. If on an assist machine then start at the lowest level until you are absolutely sure you can move up in weight.

These are ridiculously addictive. I found myself last night doing a burn out set on these and my biceps, and serratus muscles are so very sore. Keep the towels on the bar, push one aside and use a regular grip on the bar, then use the other to grab the towel. The goal is to not use the bar hand and only the towel hand, this is hard to do so don’t beat yourself up if you can’t attain that at first. As you pull with your towel hand you will notice a lot of strain on the bicep and if you are doing it right you will feel your core engage a bit in the upper oblique. Repeat for the left side. Three sets of ten on each side.

This one will burn you out. I normally run this between my running circuit or sit-up routine.

Just remember to go slow especially if this is new territory for you. There is nothing more deterring to the gym as a pulled muscle; even cardio can be a chore. So go slow and listen to when your body is saying to push a little bit harder.

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