I got my first unassisted pull up at the age of 71. That's right. Never before in my life had I been able to do a single pull up. Today, the pull up is my favorite exercise at the gym. If you're reading this, you might be stuck in doing a pull up. In this blog post I will talk about different variations that will help you get your first unassisted pull up.
The first exercise that helped me to get my first pull up was the dead hang. All you do is passively hang from the bar. This helps your wrists and arms begin to adjust to the movements involved in the pull up. Next comes scapula pull ups. All you do is retract your scapula while hanging. Then comes the negative pull up. This is where you use a stool to get your chin up and over the bar. Then you simply go back down in a slow, controlled tempo. You are basically already doing a pull up, just starting out at the top. At this point, you will transition to a jumping pull up. It's basically the same thing as the negative pull up but you jump until your chin reaches over the bar. From there you slowly lower yourself in a controlled fashion. Finally, I found assisted pull ups to be the key to getting my first pull up. The resistance band decreases your weight slightly in doing the pull up. Once you master two or three band assisted pull ups, you're ready for your first unassisted pull up.
Of course, don't forget to work your arms and back. The best exercises here are the latt pulldown and the dumbbell curl.
God bless!