Every Woman Should Be Able To Do A Pull-Up

Cori Lefkowith, of “Strong At Every Age”, talks us through what’s actually important (and why):

It’s not about the pull-up

The important part here is to challenge self-imposed limits, rather than literally apply to every individual circumstance. If, for example, you do not have arms, then quite possibly pull-ups are indeed not the ideal target exercise for you!

There’s a common mental barrier that applies to [this and] a lot of things: people often treat a single failed attempt as proof they’ll never succeed, instead of recognizing that strength skills (just like most other skills) require progressive training.

And then it gets worse, because avoiding challenging movements over time is (of course!) one of the major things that contributes to declining strength with age.

But let’s say you do want to do pull-ups, specifically. A laudable goal! And an intrinsically worthy one too, because working towards a pull-up can reduce neck, shoulder, elbow, and upper-back discomfort by improving posture and joint function.

With that in mind…

1. Mobility first: improving chest, lat, and spinal mobility through foam rolling, stretching, and movement prep is essential before building strength.
2. Scapular control next: developing the ability to move your shoulder blades (retraction, depression, elevation, and protraction) is key for both strength and injury reduction.
3. Progressive strengthening thereafter: exercises like lat pulldowns, assisted variations, and pull-up holds help build the specific strength needed over time.

This isn’t exactly a detailed how-to, so we’ll link a more detailed “how-to” in the “learn more” section below.

Meanwhile, the most important thing to learn from today’s video is: instead of asking “can I do it now,” the better question is “what can I do to work towards it?”

For more on all of this and surprisingly little in the category of visual demonstrations, enjoy:

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Want to learn more?

You might also like:

How To Get Your First Pull-Up

Take care!