19 May 2011

re: 82

Ok. Something I neglected to address (admit? it's easy to deny sensitive ideas about weight): even though I claim to be all naturally powerful, more so than the average female, explained because I'm not a small or short or average-sized person, the fact of the matter is that my strength:weight has always been, well, not so great. Which is probably why I've never been able to do a pull-up. And since I've never been able to do one, they automatically have become The Enemy. Nobody wants to admit that gravity defeats them EVERY TIME they challenge it with such a simple body-weight exercise; nobody wants to face their weaknesses, the ongoing reminders that they're still not strong enough to move their own personal body weight with nothing holding them down except the planet's pull. Except when they do, so then they can finally beat it. Finally. 

A few months ago, I made the decision to get over it: stop making excuses ("My shoulder might come out of its socket." (not if you use correct technique, you big baby!) "This gym is a piece of junk! It doesn't even have bands, how can I ever practice pull-ups in this country! (middle finger to YOU, pull-ups!!!)," etc.). Show some humility. Swallow my pride. Do what I gotta do to beat this gravity bastard. And now, I can pull myself back up from what I estimate to be about 28% depth, from my crown to my clavicles. Starting from a jump to the top of #1, then going down as low as I can and then pulling myself back up. I can do that six times without stopping, and jumping only on the first one. And then 5, 4, 3, 2, 2. Or sometimes 5 x 5. Or 5 x 4. It's true, consistency is key. Three times a week, these bitches make their way into my combos. 

NONETHELESS, I'm still very irritated by you XYs, being all strong and able to defeat The Enemy with one fell swoop, (seemingly) without effort. I just needed to admit some things to the interwebs after that previous display of annoyance.

Ok! Now that that's taken care of...back to school for this gravity hater.

Have a lovely weekend, yall^^

1 comment:

The Amazing Mike Brana said...

How is your lat strength? Developing your lats is key to being able to do a pull-up. When I first walked into the gym, I couldn't get anywhere near a successful pull-up. I started with bands. I couldn't even do a 12lb overhead press.

When you are pulling yourself up to the meet the bar, make sure you aren't just pulling from your arms and shoulders, you want to pack your shoulders and pull from your lats as well. I started off doing negative pull-up's with a jump start. It helps if you look up at the bar the entire time, in doing so you'll be more likely to make your chest meet the bar and target your lats more.

Over time my muscles developed enough to do a regular pull up.

Keep at it! Those mofo's ain't easy. I'd also bet money that the average able bodied male isn't using good form when he runs in there to pop off 10 or 20 pulls, or push-ups for that matter. He is most likely using only his upper body... and that my friend, is what you call WEAK.