ASSISTIVE EXERCISES

Part 1. Techniques For Improving the Pullup

That's right, I threw in a picture of Chuck Norris in a sweet jacket just because.. What you gonna do about it.. NOTHIN..................

What is an assistive exercise?:
An assistive exercise helps you to develop the musculature, and technique, required to perform a certain movement or movements.
What are they?:
They are movements focuses on specific muscle groups, or movements that help you either learn or improve upon a lift or crossfit movement.
How often should I do them?:
It will vary depending on the movement or lift but a good habit is to try these 2-3 times a week at the end of your normal WOD or on your rest day as they dont usually wear you out like a normal WOD, but again it really depends on what you are doing.


PART 1- Assistive Exercises for Strengthening the Pullup or Improving the Kipping Pullup

If you do crossfit for any amount of time you will come to quickly learn that the pullup is not only an integral part of crossfit, but its an extremely important movement for building strength, especially in your back and shoulders. Now the exercises Im going to go over will help you to build necessary strength in your shoulders and lats to aid in the pullup, they will also help you to develop kipping form which is crucial to performing well in a Crossfit WOD.


Exercise1: Hanging LAT Pulls. This will help build the necessary musculature to perform a pullup. Perform this exercise by hanging in a pullup position, start with no weights, and simply pull your body up a couple inches, : NOTE: your not doing a deadhang pullup::::::::::::: you should feel your LATS contract hold for a second then release. Do 5 , then start adding weight. I like to hold a Dumbell between my feet. Perform 5 more reps and keep increasing the weight until you can no longer do 5 reps. A good rep scheme is 5 set sof 5

Exercise 2.MORE DIFFICULT ( Hand releases). :: NOTE::: this requires some introduction to the Kipping Pullup swing, if you do not know what this is please watch the attached video for a demonstration,::: In this exercise you will start the kipping swing then simply let the momentum carry your hands off the bar, this help you to get used to the PULL portion and the SWING portion of the kipping pullup. 5 sets of 5 again. You will have to pull slightly at the top to release your hands but you should let the momentum of the swing really drive the hands up, NOTE this will be on the BACK portion of the swing.

Exercise 3. GRIP strength. If you cant hold the bar you wont be able to do pullups well.                         Standing Dumbell- Hold. Nice and simple. Grab a dumbell in each hand and hold on as long as you can. Increase the wight if you can hold it for more than 2 minutes. This will strengthen the forearms and you grip so that youl be able to grasp the bar and not fatigue as quickly.

Try these out let me know if you have any questions. Also Im always open to new training ideas if you have some exercises that you like let me know. Peace out.. Go do something Awesome today

Pullup Tutorial


http://journal.crossfit.com/2011/02/tuckerkip1.tpl