In my last article I discussed a few of the tension and muscle
recruitment techniques that one can use to considerably increase
their pullup power. With just a few minor tweaks in form to an
already simple exercise, you can easily increase your pullup numbers
by 10-20+ pounds after just a couple of workouts. And if you combine
these high-tension techniques with sensible set and rep schemes
and several months of consistent training, you will be pleasantly
surprised at your strength gains.
Within a few months to a year, you should come to a point where
you can do a minimum of a couple of sets of 5 pullups with a 50
pound plate hanging between your legs. You now have two options.
Option 1: continue on your path of standard pullups. For many
people, this is a perfectly acceptable path. You can develop tremendous
strength and a huge wingspan using good old fashioned pullups,
a weight belt, and a heap of weight. However, if your pullup ambitions
are on the obsessive compulsive side, I would suggest Option 2:
Develop absurd pullup power. How do you do this? The MonkeyMaker.
Yes, I realize its a ridiculous name, but its also an appropriate
name, because a lot of hard work on the MonkeyMaker will give
you the pullup power of a Chimpanzee.
The MonkeyMaker
The idea behind this system is simple. Alternate two heavy pullup
days with a day or two of rest between them. On one pullup day,
perform heavy weighted pullups or chins for 3-5 sets of 3-5 reps.
Make them heavy and close to failure, but do not hit failure.
I highly recommend switching your grips around on the heavy pullups.
Each heavy workout switch between curl grip chins, regular pullups,
parallel grip chins, and towel chins.
The other pullup workout is where things get interesting. On these
days you will perform a pullup movement designed to increase speed
and explosive power. As the weeks go by these special pullups
will become increasingly more difficult, and of course more fun.
Don't make the mistake of trying to progress at a set pace, take
your time and really master each exercise before moving on to
the next one.
Special pullups
1. Speed pullups: Using a regular pullup grip, pull yourself
up to the bar as fast as humanly possible. Perform a fast but
controlled negative, and at the bottom of the pullup switch gears
like a flash and pull yourself up again. Pausing at the bottom
of the exercise will defeat the purpose, so really try to explode
out of the bottom as quickly as possible. Perform 8-10 sets of
2-3 reps, 45 seconds between sets, BODYWEIGHT ONLY. When you feel
that your pullup speed has improved significantly, try the next
exercise.
2. Ballistic pullups: Same idea as the Speed pullups,
except that at the top of the pullup you will actually release
the bar for a split second, catch it, perform a fast but controlled
negative and explode out of the bottom for your next repetition.
If you do it right, the shock of catching the bar will prime your
muscles in a big way for your next rep, making it even more explosive
than the first. As with the speed pullups, perform 8-10 sets of
2-3 reps, 45 seconds rest between sets. CAUTION: If you do not
have enough speed and explosion yet to release the bar at the
top, you will know it! Don't kid yourself by doing the movement
half-assed. Go back to Speed pullups for a while and improve your
speed and explosiveness before attempting the Ballistics again.
When you are a master of Ballistics, move on to...
3. Muscle ups on the pullup bar. This movement is an ugly
beast! Pull yourself up as fast as possible, and as your chin
goes over the bar, give a quick flip of the elbows, a quick push
up, and you will be in the finished position. Your bodyweight
will be supported by your palms pushing into the bar, just like
the finished position of a parallel bar dip, only on a pullup
bar. Unlike the muscle up on rings (a tremendous exercise in its
own right), which is an exercise in tension, the muscle up on
pullup bars is all about a huge explosive pull and a quick flip
of the elbows. When you can do 8 sets of 3 muscle ups with 45
seconds rest between sets, your pullup strength will have increased
tremendously, and it will be time to attempt one of the toughest
and most result producing exercises you will ever do.
4. Monkey Jumps. This is the King. The end all be all.
Master these and you will have developed more upperbody pulling
power than is necessary for virtually any life situation. First,
you will need the proper apparatus, a set of inclining monkey
bars. The exercise itself is simple: Facing away from the bars,
you pull yourself up with such an explosion that you literally
leap to the next bar and catch it. Then leap to the next bar,
then the next one, etc. Try 8-10 sets, terminating each set before
you miss a rung on the Monkey Bars.
I first read about this idea in a book by Alan Calvert, in which
he describes a professional strongman who used Monkey Jumps to
develop the most phenomenal pulling power Calvert had ever come
across; eventually this man got to the point where he could leap
up several rungs of the Monkey bars at one time..... and he finally
developed the ability to leap up them with EITHER HAND!! When
you can do that, give me a call. I've always wanted to meet a
real live mutant.
To Sum it all Up
Minimum pullup ability of bodweight+50lbs for 2 sets of 5 reps.
One heavy day, 3-5 sets of 3-5 reps. One special pullup day, 8-10
sets of 2-3 reps, 45 seconds rest between sets. Rest one or two
days between pullup sessions. And that is it. Welcome to the MonkeyMaker!
