The debate about how to get your first pullup may rage on – bands or no bands, jumping, negatives – but the fact is, there are too many people on a pullup bar who shouldn’t be there to begin with.
Can you do 10 solid pushups? If you can’t do 10 pushups, then why are you on a pullup bar? Do you have enough shoulder strength? Do you have ability to stabilize your trunk with super tight abdominal muscles? If you can’t do 10 beautiful chest-to-deck pushups from your toes, then I simply don’t believe you can control your body enough to be on a pullup bar.
What is so sexy about a pullup versus a pushup? There are 101 variations for pushups, and all of them will eventually make you better at pullups. Get really good at them: Diamond pushups, incline pushups, decline pushup, wide grip pushup, clapping pushups, one-armed pushups. Hell, work on planche progressions. A planche is sexy.
Flailing around on a pullup bar like a fish flopping to its death is not sexy.
So, go forth and do Pushup Nemesis. Do pushups all day long, every day. If your goal is to do pullups, then do pushups and add bicep curls and lat pulldowns. Don’t be the fool who thinks curls and lat pulldowns aren’t functional.
To do pullups, you need a pullup bar. To do pushups, you only need your body. No excuses.
