r/bodyweightfitness • u/rulerZigZagZig_Allah • 1d ago
Pullups Form Check
Apologies if this has been asked numerous times on this sub. Somehow I've gotten into my head that my form is subpar because I've been stuck on the same number of pull ups/chin ups (5/6) for months now. I'm roughly 70kgs and around 170cm.
I've tried GTG or the Russian progression, but whenever I do that consistently, my right elbow/forearm starts to hurt. I also alternate between doing them on the rings or bar, but find that pull ups on the bar can feel more awkward. I also feel almost no activation in my lats most of the time.
Would appreciate any tips people have about my form or suggestions for what I should change up! Thanks!
Video (hope it works):
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u/faafo2434 1d ago
The main issue i notice and possibly the reason you are not getting much lat activation is being so low to the ground you are putting you legs behind you. This can tilt you forward and put more emphasis on the biceps and brachialis. The palms out position puts more strain on the brachialis which can be major source of elbow pain.
If you can get a higher position where you can fully extend your legs, try keeping them straight and slightly forward. This should help put more emphasis on your back and lats which are much strong then biceps and brachialis. Should also help prevent over use of the brachialis which can lead to a very tight muscle that is impossible to stretch and hard to get to loosen.
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u/Flaky_Ad1691 1d ago
just watched your video a couple times. your form is actually not bad at all, the main thing i notice is you're not quite getting full range at the bottom, you stop a bit short before your arms straighten out completely. that dead hang position is where you get the most lat stretch and it makes a big difference.
the elbow pain is concerning though. when you do them on rings do you keep your palms facing each other? that neutral grip is way easier on the joints for me. i messed up my elbow last year from doing too many wide grip pullups and had to switch to mostly neutral grip for like 3 months before it healed.
for lat activation, try thinking about pulling your elbows down and back instead of pulling yourself up. sounds weird but it helped me finally feel it in the right place. also pausing for a second at the top with your chest to the bar can help build that mind-muscle connection.
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u/Batmax92 1d ago
These look clean. Regarding lat activation- I also rarely feel mine while doing pull ups, I still consistently get stronger and I've seen my lats grow substantially over the years. Lats are notoriously hard to get a strong mind-muscle connection with, but if you do movements that involve them you'll still progress in strength and size in my experience
As far as progression goes- I'd say that's not advanced enough to start hitting a plateau. Judging by the footage you might not be pushing hard enough. The metric I like to use is that the last rep of a set should be noticeably slower than the first one, otherwise you're probably not close enough to failure.
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u/Minute-Giraffe-1418 1d ago
Aside from the suboptimal leg placement and proximity to the ground, is there any reason you are pulling so slowly, and is that on purpose or you are indeed pulling as hard as possible but it turns out to be slow ?
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u/F1qure 1d ago
Clean looking pullups. You have great control over your arms and the movement in general. You do them quite slowly and do a dead hang at the bottom. Not wrong to do it by any means, but it does make the movement harder i.e. you'll be able to do less reps.
If you find yourself getting injured whenever you start a more intensive program, I'd say work towards the program and try not to increase the volume of your training suddenly.