As a personal trainer and fitness instructor there was one motion that haunts many of my clients, the pull up.
One major thing I learned: You can use an assistance band or machine. In all of my years of training individuals, professional athletes. I have seen rapid progression from a band or an assisted pull-up machine to an actual pull up or chin up.
These assistance exercises will provide you with a more linear strength curve so that you will get stronger quicker. However you have to learn to let go and push yourself (correctly) to do the motion on your own. Here’s how it works: You need to use positive strength to contract your muscles, static strength to hold yourself up and negative strength to extend the muscle, or lower your body from the bar with complete muscle control. You need to build these individual strengths in unison to build up your pullup strength. Follow these steps to strengthen your muscles so you can finally do a pull up:
Step 1
Get yourself over the pull-up bar — you may need to have a friend help you, use the wall to walk up or step into it from a workout bench. Hold yourself over the bar, strong and steady, for as long as you can. This is called an isometric hold, your muscles are contracting with as much force as possible but not moving.
Step 2
Begin to lower yourself down. Hold yourself in that spot for a count of five to ten seconds. Next, lower your body a bit further and hold yourself in that position for five to ten seconds. These are called negatives, lengthening the muscle under control and§ tension.