Coach Shawna is a believer in the Power of the Pull Up for all Athletes. Here’s why:
1) Strengthen Your Grip. Stronger hands mean stronger forearms, better coordination and control when lifting weights, controlling a bike or even typing. You also never know when you might fall over the side of a cliff and need to pull yourself back up :)
2) Improve Posture. Keeping your body upright and neutral keeps lungs open, helps you breathe better, keeps shoulders from rounding/hunching and reduces soreness in upper back and neck.
3) Build Core Strength. Your core is what keeps you upright when your body is in motion. Remember that first marathon where your lower back hurt so badly you thought it would break? That's because your core wasn't strong enough to hold you upright, and the progressive slouch overloaded your trunk.
4) Boost Cardio. Yup, you read that right. Pull ups can improve cardio if done in multiple sets with short rests – ultimately boosting your heart’s ability to bring fuel to the muscles. Better cardio during strength means that those threshold training repeats are going to hurt just a little bit less.
5) Save Time. Pull Ups are a Compound Exercise that work multiple muscles and joints and once, so you can do other workouts in the same day without a time crunch.
6) Save Money. Pull ups can be done almost anywhere – you just need your bodyweight and a bar. Buy a bar and install it at home, or head to a playground and use the monkey bars (just try and avoid going during recess).
7) Get Faster. When muscles work together better they produce and control force more efficiently. The trunk and arms act as a counterbalance to your legs, and also provide much needed power transfer down the kinetic chain. If you can gain strength in your upper body without gaining appreciable mass, you will be faster walking, running, swimming, climbing, cycling…you get the idea. A stronger upper body means a faster you.
ONE MORE THING: Stay tuned for How to do a Correct Pull Up coming soon!
