This is an article I wrote for another site that covers different pull up bar exercises.
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The pullup is one of the classic tests of a person’s strength. Generally if a man can’t do at least one he’s regarded as weak and not a real man. And if a woman can do one or more she’s strong.
Many people write about training to achieve your first pullup. But that’s not what this article is about. Instead I’m going to be discussing what to do next. Where can you go with pullups?
The most common things are to add more reps. This is great. A phenomenal goal to shoot for that puts you at a high level is 20 reps and anything above that is gravy.
The other common route is to add weight. You can use a weight belt or hook a kettlebell in your toes. A common but great goal here is to pullup with an added 50% of your bodyweight hanging onto you.
There’s also lots of articles and training plans to help you achieve those two goals. Here I’m going to show you a bunch of bodyweight only exercises, that make pullups harder.
Read the rest of the article and see all moving beyond the pull exercises here.
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“Generally if a man can’t do at least one he’s regarded as weak and not a real man”
kind of a weird statement. my dad used to say, a “real man” is a man who lives right, sets a good example, contributes to his community, and takes care of his family.
to each his own, i guess.
@sawbuck: I’d say both the statement in this article and your dad’s are valid characteristics of real men.