Tip Pull-Ups for the Advanced Lifter Search Skip to content Menu Menu follow us Store Articles Community Loyal-T Club Loyal-T Points Rewards Subscribe to Save Search Search The World s Trusted Source & Community for Elite Fitness Training Tip Pull-Ups for the Advanced Lifter If you can crank out pull-ups like a pro already here' s what to do next by TJ Kuster July 22, 2020August 17, 2020 Tags Training If you can do 12-15 solid pull-ups like it's nothing, here's a simple exercise to add to your arsenal to develop more strength and power. Eccentric Overload Explosive Pull-Up Why This Works The function of this exercise will be different than that of your typical weighted pull-up, which moves relatively slowly on both the eccentric (lowering) and concentric (lifting) portion of the movement. The eccentric portion of this variation works as a strength-developer by overloading the lengthening phase of the pull-up. This recruits more motor units due to the added weight, which will be of huge benefit to the concentric (shortening) phase of the pull-up. This is essentially "revving up" your nervous system to explosively pull yourself back to the top. For you science buffs, this is known as "post-activation potentiation" or PAP. Once you drop the dumbbell at the bottom of the pull-up, your body will feel significantly lighter. You can then use the increased motor unit recruitment to explode back up. This makes for an incredibly powerful pull-up. Tips To do the eccentric portion properly, take about three seconds to lower yourself to a dead hang. This increases time under tension and will aid in the motor unit recruitment. After you drop the dumbbell, pause for about a second at the bottom to make sure your shoulders are in the right position. To do this, retract your shoulder blades, squeeze your lats, and tighten your core. During the lifting portion, squeeze the pull-up bar as hard as possible. Think "grip it and rip it" as you pull yourself up with everything you can muster. Do NOT be slow pulling yourself back up. Aim to touch your chest to the bar. Weight and Rep Recommendations You don't need to go crazy with the weight. Pick a weight that you could do for a 3-rep pull-up max with good form. If you're swinging back and forth, you're using too much weight. Aim for 3-5 reps to develop explosive power. Generally speaking, doing more than 5 reps will compromise the speed at which you can pull yourself back to the top of the bar. That defeats the purpose. Note: Thanks to coach Tyler Ziemer for helping out. Get The T Nation Newsletters Don' t Miss Out Expert Insights To Get Stronger, Gain Muscle Faster, And Take Your Lifting To The Next Level related posts Training Master the Muscle-Up The One Tip You Need The muscle-up might just be the best overall upper-body exercise. So why can't you do one? Here's the most common problem and how to fix it. Challenge Training, Exercise Coaching Tanner Shuck December 26 Training The New 40-30-5 Method Increase time under tension, create an enormous pump, and make gains... if you can take the pain. Here's how. Bodybuilding, Training Christian Thibaudeau July 26 Training The New High Frequency Training Choose an exercise, do it daily, add a rep every day. Yes, it can be done. And yes, it will lead to shocking new muscle growth. Get the details here. Bodybuilding, Training Chad Waterbury November 14 Training Tip Standing Cable Row with Stretch A good variation to use if you're already hitting the lower back hard on barbell lifts and want to take a break from traditional rows. Back, Bodybuilding, Exercise Coaching, Tips Paul Carter March 31