Pull-ups are a strength exercise that require an individual to perform the movement that lifts they entire body weight using the muscle in their back and arms. Because performing pull-ups require an individual to have a high level of strength relative to their body weight, many women finds that it is difficult to perform pull-ups. Women tend to have less muscle mass in their bodies relative to men.
On average, women has 40 to 60 percent less muscle mass in the muscles that perform the pull-up movement than men have. Additionally, women also tend to have wider angles to their hips and their joint are more lax, requiring them to use more joint stabilization when performing pull-ups. There is different level of strength in performing pull-ups.
How Women Can Do More Pull-Ups
Individuals who can perform zero to one pull-up is considered beginners. Those who can perform two to four pull-ups are considered to be novice strength in pull-ups. Intermediate strength is define as the ability to perform five to nine pull-ups.
Those with advanced strength can perform ten to 14 pull-ups. Finally, those who can perform fifteen or more pull-ups is considered to be elite athletes in strength relative to body weight. Two factor that may change an individual’s abilities in performing pull-ups are the age and bodyweight of the individual.
Younger women will typically find it easy to reach the numbers necessary to be considered elite in their strength. However, as women age, their strength may decline. Women over the age of 50 who can perform three to six pull-ups is performing above the average number of pull-ups for their age.
Additionally, the bodyweight of an individual will impact their strength in performing pull-ups. Individuals who have a lighter body weight will find that it is easy for them to perform the exercise than individuals who have a higher body weight. The heavier the individual is, the more raw power that they will need to perform the exercise.
Military organizations uses pull-ups to test the physical strength of recruits. For instance, the United States Marine Corps requires recruits to perform three pull-ups to pass the test, with a perfect score of twenty pull-ups. Additionally, the Army and the Navy use different standards for there recruits for pull-ups, but also use the exercise as a means of rewarding recruits for having strong backs.
For those individuals who are not yet able to perform pull-ups, there are a variety of method for increasing the strength of individuals to allow them to perform the exercise. For individuals who can perform zero pull-ups, band assisted exercises can be used to develop the muscles necessary for performing pull-ups without placing any strain on the back. Alternatives to pull-ups that may be used for conditioning of the muscles necessary for performing pull-ups without using their back muscles include lat pulldowns, ring rows, and slow negatives.
Slow negatives involve lowering the body five to eight second. For those individuals who can perform ten pull-ups, additional exercises such as grease the groove sets, dumbbell rows, and face pulls may be used as a supplement to their training. Additionally, all training must be logged and rest day provided between intensive training sessions.
To ensure recovery of the muscles used in performing pull-ups, protein supplements should be consumed between 0.7 and one gram of protein per pound of body weights. In order to perform pull-ups, an individual should start with retraction of the shoulder blade. The individual should also perform a full dead hang while performing pull-ups, and should not use kipping to reduce the required strength of their muscle.
Additionally, individuals should attempt to pull their elbows towards their hip pocket rather than their knees. Should the individual find that their grip begins to fail during the performance of a pull-up, performing dead hang and towel pull may help to develop the grip of their hands and forearms. Pull-ups are a compound exercise because they work various groups of muscle at the same time.
Pull-ups work the lat muscles, the upper back, and the arm muscles. Additionally, because pull-ups work the lat muscles, individuals develops a V-taper in their backs. Finally, because pull-ups work the upper back muscles, the posture of the individual is also improved.
