Welcome to the final installation of the pullup progression in the BridgeAthletic Building Blocks series.
It’s time to conquer the pullup! Don’t forget to show us what you’ve got.
You are about to master the Pullup. If you have followed the progression to this point, you are in a good place to perform pullups without any help. That said, if you have not, I would recomend referencing the rest of the progression, Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, Day 4, in order to best prepare for the pullup!
Initially, it might be beneficial to stand on a box or bench under the pullup bar to help setup for each set. Place hands, knuckles up, just wider than shoulder-width on the pullup bar.
In a controlled movement, pull your body toward the bar. Squeeze your elbows in to your side as you pull to get your chin above the bar. Pause. Slowly return to the start position. Pause. Without a big jerking movement, repeat the movement for the prescribed reps.
Stretch your lats and shoulders in-between sets for best performance.
Exercise 5: The Pullup
With the added load of the bar on your back, focus on your balance, especially on the downward movement of the squat. Feet are slightly wider than hip width apart, toes slightly rotated out. Hands are placed a comfortable distance apart on either side of the bar.
Work initially on a tempo of 2 to 3 seconds down, a slight pause and a controlled return to the start position. Do not lock your knees out at the top. Pause and repeat.
More Building Blocks:
Miss any of the progression or want to review? Check out the other building blocks below.
Day 1: Band Bent-Over Neck Pull
Day 2: Supine Row Hold
Day 3: Supine Row
Day 4: Assisted Chinup
Want more Building Blocks?
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Want Feedback?
We’re here to help. We highly encourage you and your athletes to share videos and pictures performing the exercises. Use #BuildBetterAtheltes in order to receive feedback and guidance from one of our elite coaches on the BridgeAthletic Performance Team.
Be sure to check back tomorrow for more Building Blocks!
About BridgeAthletic
BridgeAthletic works with elite professional, collegiate, and club swimming programs to provide a turnkey solution for dryland training. Led by Nick Folker, the top swimming strength and conditioning coach in the world, our team builds stroke-specific, custom-optimized dryland programs for each of our clients. The individualized workouts are delivered directly to athletes via our state of the art technology platform and mobile applications. Check Nick and BridgeAthletic out as recently featured in SwimSwam.
About Nick Folker
Nick Folker is the Co-Founder and Director of Elite Performance at BridgeAthletic. Nick’s athletes have won 22 Olympic Medals, 7 team NCAA Championships and over 170 individual and relay NCAA championships. Megan Fischer-Colbrie works as the Sports Science Editor at BridgeAthletic. Megan was a four-year varsity swimmer at Stanford, where she recently graduated with a degree in Human Biology.
The Championship Series by BridgeAthletic is designed to empower athletes with tips from the pros that will help them reach peak performance come race day. We will be covering competition-focused topics such as nutrition, recovery, stretching, and mental preparation.
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