Pull-ups. The bread and butter of fitness. But add some weight onto them, and you've got yourself a real tasty one!
They are not easy at the best of times. Without training them it's unlikely you will be able to do many, if any at all.
If you can get yourself to a stage where you can do a few, then you might want to start thinking about adding weight to them.
All you need is a weight belt, and some weights/kettlebells to add some weight. Perhaps start off small at first, 5kg is a good start, then you can gradually start to build up your weight, moving up to 8kg, then 12kg, etc.
Crazy, I know. You've only just mastered being able to string a few of them together, but once you're able to start adding some extra weight to them, your regular body weight pull-ups will improve tenfold.
Pull-ups mainly target the latissimus dorsi, the back muscle that runs from your armpit down to your waist. In addition, they also target the biceps, traps, and forearms.
Body weight pull-ups are a great exercise. Once you become proficient at them however, they become more about training endurance. Adding weight however turns them into a strength exercise, and activates a range of different muscle fibres which otherwise neglected by regular pull-up training.
The advice for weighted pull-ups is fairly simple.
- Don't attempt weighted pull-ups until you are ready and are comfortable doing regular body-weight pull-ups
- Roll your shoulders back and down
- Keep your core engaged at all times
Like I say, give them a try. They're a great exercise to build up strength and muscular endurance, a pull-up is very transferable to lots of different exercises.
Happy training!