You can do pullups practically every day, but this might not be the most effective method to get results. Depending on your goals, you may need a day of rest in between training sessions. Three times a week will give you sufficient training volume to progress but plenty of rest to recover. Consult your physician before beginning any diet or exercise program.
The Pullup
The pullup is a basic exercise that works the wide muscles of your back, the back of your shoulders, your biceps and your forearms. To perform a pullup, grip the bar with your hands slightly wider than your shoulders and your feet off of the ground. Pull yourself smoothly up until your chin is over the bar, and lower yourself under control. Do not bounce out of the bottom and do not kick or use momentum to clear the bar with your chin. As you get stronger, try to touch your upper chest to the bar.
Programming
To increase the number of pullups you can perform on a three-day a week program, you should vary your repetition ranges as well as your intensity. On Monday, do as many as you can for two sets, resting as long as you need in-between sets. On Wednesday, perform sets with 80 percent of the volume you used on Monday for at least four sets. So if you did two sets of 10 repetitions on Monday, on Wednesday do four sets of eight repetitions. On Friday perform chinups with at least 10 percent of your bodyweight added. You can either wear a weighted vest, tie a barbell plate to your belt or hold a dumbbell between your feet. Perform three sets of as many repetitions as you can.
Variations
Chinups can be performed with your palms facing away from you and this version is often referred to as a pullup. A conventional chinup is performed with your palms facing you. Despite gym lore, there is no real difference in the degree of activation of the muscles of your back. Chinups can also be performed using specialized handles such as a close grip handle with your palms facing each other, although this requires special handles that you may not have access to.
Size
One of the factors that determines how well you will do at pullups is your size. If you are tall and have long arms, you must pull yourself up further than someone of shorter stature, which puts you at a comparative disadvantage. If you are carrying extra weight, you will have to work harder than a leaner counterpart, as you are moving your own body mass through a fairly significant range of motion.
References
- "Dynamic Medicine"; Variations in Muscle Activation Levels During Traditional Latissimus Dorsi Weight Training Exercises: an Experimental Study; George J. Lehman, et al., June 2004
- "Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research"; Surface Electromyographic Activation Patterns and Elbow Joint Motion During a Pull-up, Chin-up, or Perfect-pullup™ Rotational Exercise; J. W. Youdas, et al., December 2010
- "Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness"; Chin-up Strength Tests: Does Stature Matter?; R. J. Sekerak, et al., March 2008
- "European Journal of Applied Physiology"; Movement Performance and Body Size: the Relationship for Different Groups of Tests; G. Markovic, et al., June 2002
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