Angela Gargano shares her ninja” tips for perfecting your first pull-up

Angela Gargano shares her ninja” tips for perfecting your first pull-up

The pull-up is one of the most popular exercises. There is something very powerful about successfully lifting your chin over the pull-up bar from a dead hang position. And of course, this difficult step to master is not easy - especially for women.

According to Angela Gargano, a fitness trainer and four-time American Ninja Warrior contestant, there are two main reasons why women have more difficulty than men in mastering this milestone: less muscle development in the back area compared to men, and less muscle development at a young age that pull-ups aren't for girls.

"As women, we've been told most of our lives that we can't do pull-ups," Gargamo says. "Starting with the physical fitness test in elementary school, they told the girls to do the 'hang' instead of doing pull-ups like the boys."

Luckily, Gargano didn't listen to that train of thought and has now become a powerhouse of knowledge and strength, empowering women around the world to complete their first pull-up - then their second, third, and so on. One of Gargano's delighted customers told her, "Your program is amazing! I can't believe I can do a pull-up in my 50s!"

Gargano's program lasts six weeks, and while it takes about 30 days or more to master a pull-up, Gargano has seen people achieve their first one in just two weeks.

So if you're struggling to complete a perfect pull-up, don't know where to start or how to train for it, Gargano pulls out all her tips to help you get your chin over the bar.

Pull-ups 101

You may think that the pull-up exercise only works the back muscles, but this powerful move targets a variety of muscle groups. “The pull-up is a full-body movement that utilizes your grip strength, forearms, back, core and glutes,” explains Gargano.

And the benefits go beyond the empowering feeling of being able to pull your entire body weight and get your chin over the bar. "A pull-up increases your grip strength, which correlates with living longer and is a good sign of overall health," she says. “It also helps improve posture and is beneficial for everyone and in all areas of training and life.”

3 things to focus on when working on your first pull-up

When you set out to complete your first pull-up, Gargano focuses her clients on three things: mobility, stability and strength.

mobility– When doing pull-ups, your arms are above your head, right? “So not only do we need to be able to hold our arms above our head, but we also need to be able to function in that area, aka mobility,” she says. Make mobility exercises a must if you want to achieve your first pull-up faster.

Example: Drill Y, T, L, W:

• • Führen Sie 10x von jedem dieser 3x Banded Wall Slides durch:
  • Führen Sie 10 Wiederholungen 3x langsam durch.

stability- Stability ensures you strengthen your shoulders, "Simply because there's a lot of 'stuff' going on there and we want our bodies to be ready," says Gargano.

Example:

Half kneeling SA DB Press:

• • Führen Sie 10 auf jeder Seite mit mittlerem Gewicht durch

Pat on the shoulder:

• • Führen Sie 10 auf jeder Seite aus und konzentrieren Sie sich darauf, die Hüften gerade zu halten

Strength– Gargano explains that strength focuses on the parts where you are weakest, as well as your core and glutes. “It’s all connected,” she says.

Example:

Eccentric pull-ups:

• • Führen Sie 1 Wiederholung durch und machen Sie dann mindestens 30 Sekunden bis eine Minute Pause. Diese Bewegung sollte in einem faultierähnlichen Tempo durchgeführt werden.

Hanging shrug:

• • Führen Sie 10 dieser Bewegungen aus und achten Sie darauf, dass Sie die Spitze mindestens zwei Sekunden lang halten.

Gargano's step-by-step instructions for your first pull-up

Step 1: Stay tuned

Simply grab the bar, hold on to the bar as tightly as you can, and then stay there. “Get comfortable up there, get to know each other—your goal should be to hang for at least 30 seconds,” says Gargano.

Step 2: Mind-Body Connection

The mind is also a muscle that needs to be strengthened, especially when pulling your own body weight. When you practice the mind-body connection during pull-up training, you mentally bring your brain together with your lats.

"Many times you're actually strong enough to do your first pull-up, but your CNS hasn't created a path to your lat to pull you up," she explains.

To improve this connection, Gargano recommends performing one-arm lat pulldowns with shrugs while tapping the lat. “Practice ‘breaking’ the bar with the Mobility Stick Pulldown.” She says. Make sure your sagging shoulders are slow and controlled with a hold at the top.

Step 3: Edit vulnerabilities

Work on the area where you are weakest. "If you get stuck at the bottom of your pull-up, which most people do, focus on strengthening the bottom instead of focusing on getting up," says Gargano. Do things like shrugs to ¼-assisted pull-ups and ¼-bent arm hangs and slow eccentrics that focus on super-slow lowering to the floor

Step 4: Assisted Pull-Ups

If you're trying to get your first pull-up, Gargano warns that while assisted band pull-ups are a great tool, they end up helping you with the hardest part of the pull-up; the underside. "So when you're doing these movements, use a band that only allows you to do about four reps so you're actually using your muscles and not just being thrown up," Gargano recommends.

Step 5: Try the pull-ups often without the band - even if you suck

“Many of my clients get their first pull-ups quicker because I get them to get off the band and try,” Gargano says. Do hard things, this is where you will gain strength and improve with this move.

So, you've done your first pull-up, here's how to get to 10... and then to 20

Luckily, there are so many ways to increase your strength once you've mastered your first pull-up. A popular goal after getting one is to get to ten.

“Weighted pull-ups, towel pull-ups, and also continuing to train the lower part of the pull-up, which is the connector of it, as well as doing movements like flexed arm hangs in all different areas,” says Gargano. Consistency is key when it comes to getting comfortable on the bar and building strength, eventually your pull-ups will increase.

Rest days are important

Gargano recommends resting for at least one to two days (between pull-up workouts) because she believes rest is just as important as your workout. “Your body needs time to heal and build that muscle so you can pull yourself up,” Gargano says.

“Take a whole day to actually do nothing—that means no yoga, no mobility, just relax, let your body rest,” says Gargano. And encouraged to stop eating just because you're resting.

A look inside Gargano's pullup program

In Gargano's program, her clients perform pull-ups five days a week, but some of the exercises include deadlifts (we use our lats during this movement), horizontal core pulls, and more.

Example:Deadlift (focuses on breaking the bar to engage the lats and protect the lower back)

• • Führen Sie drei Sätze mit 10 Wiederholungen durch.

Horizontal shrug and pull:

• • Führen Sie 10 auf jeder Seite durch. Dreimal wiederholen.

Gargano's final thoughts:

Why the typical eccentric supported flexible arm band works for building strength

“Eccentrics and initially flexed arm hangs are intimidating and hard,” says Gargano, and they can also be very daunting the first time you try them. Have you tried these moves? Not as easy as you'd like, but they're great for building strength.

Gargano thinks assisted bands are great, "but if you use a band that's too basic, it will hinder your progress," she explains.

Leave your sports gloves at home:Although gloves have their place in the world of fitness, Gargano believes they should stay away from the bar and opt for liquid chalk. "Just like training barefoot. You have to feel the bar," says Gargano, feeling like you're blocking the bar by using gloves