Name: Playbook - Jess St John - Pull up workout!
Uploaded: 2024-02-22T03:31:00.980Z
Duration: 50 min
Description: Pull up workout!

If your goal is an unassisted pull up, don’t skip this workout!

And don’t skip the hollow body work at the end! Being able to hold a strong hollow body position will help you be able to squeeze tightly in a pull up, therefore minimizing movement and making the skill easier. This will also come in handy when you start to work muscle ups!

*note, the upper body engages in quite a bit of movement once the pull begins. Work on holding a hollow body in your dead hang and at the top of your pull up and just keeping the glutes and legs tight during the rest of the movement.

Start with the barbell pull up while keeping feet on the floor and progress to banded pull ups in week 2 and onward 

- Grip the bar (or barbell) with hands shoulder width apart and fully extend arms
- Engage the lats by dropping shoulders away from ears (think of pulling armpits toward hips
- Drive elbows down toward hips
- Keep shoulders back and down and chest in front as you pull yourself to the bar (think of pinching the shoulder blades at the top)
- Raise collarbone to bar
- Briefly pause
- Slowly lower back into a dead hang 

Pro-tip: keep the rest of your body squeezed tight to minimize movement.

Pro-tip: when using the band, it is easiest to start standing on a bench or box, place one foot in the band, and slowly lower yourself into a dead hang

Assisted Pull-Ups

- Stand on a box high enough for you to line up your collarbone with the pull up bar
- Slowly shift yourself into the top portion of the pull up and step off the box in a controlled way to avoid swinging 
- Hold this position for 5 seconds (5 Mississippi !!!) and lower yourself into a dead hang as slowly as possible 
- Jump down and start again from on top of the box

5 second ISO pull up with slow negative

Start with the barbell pull up while keeping feet on the floor and progress to banded pull ups in week 2 and onward 

- Grip the bar (or barbell) with hands shoulder width apart in a reverse grip
- Fully extend arms
- Engage the lats by dropping shoulders away from ears (think of pulling armpits toward hips
- Drive elbows down toward hips
- Keep shoulders back and down and chest in front as you pull yourself to the bar (think of pinching the shoulder blades at the top)
- Raise collarbone to bar
- Briefly pause
- Slowly lower back into a dead hang 

Pro-tip: keep the rest of your body squeezed tight to minimize movement.

Pro-tip: when using the band, it is easiest to start standing on a bench or box, place one foot in the band, and slowly lower yourself into a dead hang

Assisted Chin Up

- Hold on to a barbell about shoulder width apart and extend your arms so you are underneath it
- Bend knees to about 90° or extend legs if the barbell is higher
- Pull your chest towards the bar, retract your shoulder blades (pinch them and open your chest to the bar)
- Pause at the top then return yourself to starting position

Inverted barbell row

- Hang on a bar in a hollow body position
- Drop shoulders away from the ears 
- Think of pulling armpits into hips
- Keep chest open in front of shoulders
- Do not bend arms

If you can do the dead hang bar regression but not scapular depression, try it with a resistance band

Scapular Depression

- Place heels on an elevated surface
- Extend arms overhead
- Squeeze glutes and core so that only your upper back, shoulders, arms, head are on the floor
- Tilt pelvis inward (think dog tucking tail between legs)
- Pull ribs and hips toward each other so you do not arch your back
-Lower back should be rounded down

Pull up workout!

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