Pull ups.

What do you think is the bast way to really ‘finish your self off’ at the end of a pull up session – i.e. when you just cant do any more full ones.

dead hang for as long as you can?
dead hang and do short lifts from the bottom?
do short lifts at the top?

No best way – variety of all mentioned & static holds at various points of the range of movement

You could use bands (quite cheap) to assist if you can’t do them unaided or want to do more volume etc. https://www.strengthshop.co.uk/bands.html

Usually in powerlifting deadlift and benchpress scores are similar, never mind rowing

Interesting, I’d have assumed that DL would be close to BS and both >> Bench Press.

Usually in powerlifting deadlift and benchpress scores are similar, never mind rowing

you sure that’s right? a google on raw powerlifting records suggests bench be around 70% of dead.

squat
SHW 934 Don Reinhoudt USA 1975 AAU
bench
SHW 710 James Henderson USA 1997 USPF
dead
SHW 1015 Benedikt Magnusson ISL 04/02/11 HARDCORE

I know, that’s only superheavies.

I’ve seen quite a few guys who squat more than they dead. Never (personally) seen any serious powerlifters benching more than they dead though. YMMV and all that.

As for rows, I guess they start becoming too awkward when the weight gets very heavy.

The standard variation for climbing is “frenchies” = pullups with a five second lock-off on the way down at different angles each time (full lock, 45°, 90°, 270°).

Also horizontal pullups (body straight & level with feet propped on whatever’s convenient) which are arguably more specific by training you to pull *in* rather than down.

[As a couple of people have already said though, for climbing they’re not that big a deal, if you can do ten with decent form then they’re probably not what’s holding you back…]

Since this thread seems to be mainly willy waving, when I was younger and a lot lighter I could do 5 or 6 with 50% more than bodyweight (was training to try and do a single arm pull up, only got as close as doing 1 with +75%). Recently (at age 44) I was doing sets of 10/8/6 just bodyweight as suggested above – as part of a session mainly aimed at kayaking, but have got into climbing again in the last year, so looking at doing some training for that. Need to get a fingerboard, as clearly it’s finger strength rather than shoulder strength which is my limit (as when I last climbed, for the same grade I find overhangs with bigger holds easier than slabs with little ones).

Rubbish as in they can only do 10 or 15? I’d be very surprised if they couldn’t do any, but as I suggest above, once you get up above 6a there isn’t a big difference in the amount of shoulder strength required, it’s all about finger strength. If you can’t do any then I’d expect you to struggle on 6a (or even 5+/5c) on an overhang, and at my level it’s useful training with them even without a fingerboard as it’s got to help to decrease fatigue.

When I came back to climbing a few years ago, I was onsighting 6cs and the odd 7a outside again within three or four months but I could only do two or three pull-ups tops (and didn’t bother trying mostly, shoulders complained too much).

That said, I can manage a few more now and the type of route does make a difference, crimpy vertical outdoor routes vs. burly indoor overhanging jug-fests. But even so it’s quite an education watching the more talented women at my local wall (UCR) style their way up those burly overhanging lines with backsteps, body twisting and *straight arms*. It weren’t like that when I were a lad… 😉

…there’s women who climb vastly harder than that who can’t do a single pullup. Conversely I’m shite at climbing having rarely operated above hvs, but can still bang out 25 or so pullups of a variety of sorts. I used top be able to do and a really poor one-armer on one arm, lockoff and pull up a bit on the other. Before elbow pain took me out of the game for a year…

Climbing aside, one armers are an intrinsically worthwhile achievement and a life tick every man should have… I kind of got there(ish) via offsets – pull hard with one arm, assisted by one or two fingers on the other arm for four or so reps, switch arms and repeat.

ou sure that’s right? a google on raw powerlifting records suggests bench be around 70% of dead.

squat
SHW 934 Don Reinhoudt USA 1975 AAU
bench
SHW 710 James Henderson USA 1997 USPF
dead
SHW 1015 Benedikt Magnusson ISL 04/02/11 HARDCORE

I know, that’s only superheavies.

Yeah, you’re right, similar doesn’t equate to 70%. I could bench 85% of my deadlift which is guess what I had in my head.

The original suggestion was you should be able to row more than you can bench. That would reasonably describe deadlifts from the above. You wouldn’t expect to row anything like that. My lower back would explode 😉

there’s women who climb vastly harder than that who can’t do a single pullup.

Yup, I know of at least one woman who can climb in the mid 8s and has flashed E7 who can’t do a pull up.

Climbing aside, one armers are an intrinsically worthwhile achievement and a life tick every man should have… I kind of got there(ish) via offsets – pull hard with one arm, assisted by one or two fingers on the other arm for four or so reps, switch arms and repeat.

Another way to work towards them is by one-arming on a lat pull machine. Doing that in my early twenties I got to about 10 lbs under my (then) bodyweight, which means I was pulling down about what I weigh now. Does that count, kinda? 😉

I could bench 85% of my deadlift which is guess what I had in my head.

That’s quite a big chunk of deadlift, although I reckon you’re a bit of an outlier in that case. My bench is more like 60% of deadlift. But I have long(ish) arms & fairly shallow ribcage – all wrong for bench, but all right deadlift.

Interesting article on Bench/Squat/DL ratios

http://breakingmuscle.com/olympic-weightlifting/what-your-deadlift-to-squat-ratio-can-tell-you-about-your-olympic-lifts

That’s quite a big chunk of deadlift, although I reckon you’re a bit of an outlier in that case. My bench is more like 60% of deadlift. But I have long(ish) arms & fairly shallow ribcage – all wrong for bench, but all right deadlift.

Probably. I was never very enthusiastic about going for one-rep-max lifts on deadlifts.

Well Twinwall, you’ve ruined my life.

Finished a brick tonight, feeling ‘pumped’ and having read this thread thought I’d see what I’ve got in me, which is, apparently……2. And the second one might not have passed an independant adjudication. 😥

Used to be able to do half a dozen or so, not anymore. 38. More core work for me then.

Thought i’d just do an update on the pull ups progress, well it’s getting serious i’ve now got it in my head to do 50 consecutive, strict form.
I’ve also enlisted the help of a personal trainer and on Friday i did 37, 😯 got to say amazed myself and the trainer! and now think 50 is a possibility.
Just to recap, i’m 52 and i even gave up my beloved ale to assist progress. 😥

Surely your target should be 52 then? Big kudos if you can do as many pull ups as your age (though less so if you’re only 18)!

37! That is phenomenal. Good luck for 50! Get a vid up on youtube.