I did a bunch of pullups today. First in awhile.

I've had a mixed relationship with pullups.

At one time I was doing weighted pullups every week and making huge progress. I could do 20 bodyweight pullups.

Not sure when it happened but I eventually couldn't do them due to a shoulder injury. When I came back to them I could do maybe 10-12 in a set.

For awhile they bothered my elbow. So I took another break from them.

But enough about me.

This is about you. And pullups.

Have you done them lately? Can you do them without pain? In good form?

First off, if it hurts to do them, stop. Shoulders, elbows, wrists.. same goes for any other exercise. Just because so-and-so says you NEED to do them, doesn't mean they are the only way to train.

Find out why they are causing pain and work around it. There are plenty of options.

I won't go into all of them here but if you have questions about pullups you can email me and I will help you out.

You may be able to do a ton of reps without issue. Or you may not be able to do any right now.

But you want to.

There are ways to get stronger that will help you do some pullups. Strengthen your back with rows, deadlifts, pulldowns. 

Hang from a pullup bar and slowly lower yourself from the top position. Do jump pullups- where you jump up and do only some of the exercise with your arms/back and the rest with momentum.

Practice in the top position and the hang. Work on getting stronger.

Soon you will be getting your chest up to the bar.

That's it for today.

Summary- Do pullups! But only if they don't hurt. If you can't do any yet, start getting your back stronger and work on the different aspects of pullups to get your first rep!  Good luck and stay strong.