Lately I’ve been using the assisted dip/chin machine to do an assisted version of one arm pullups.
I don’t care about the stabilizers.
I figure being capable of between 4 and 8 good real pullups at any given time at roughly 265lbs walk around bodyweight is enough to allow me some leeway in how I go about training the movement pattern.
It’s multiple progression mostly by feel. Thus far I like going long sets alternating left arm, right arm, back and forth.
Progression by upping the total reps per extended set, by matching total reps in less mini sets, PRs for first mini set, or as one normal set, and by lowering the amount of assistance.
An idea struck me :
Fuck the stabilizers, they’ll be fine by everything else I do.
People using the assistance for low rep sets is something of a travesty.
Why stop at 8? The assistance is greater than bodyweight for a lot of people. They could up the assistance and push the reps way higher.
I’ve written before that a base of very high reps is superior to low rep training, especially while starting out.
I’ve never actually hit 20+ pullups.
PR is 18 or 19 off of a tree branch around my 21st birthday weighing between 205 and 215.
I’ve hit about 15 at around 255, but only 9 or 10 around the current 265-270 bodyweight.
I’ve said before that you’d be superior in both strength and development coming up with 50 rep sets as your primary rep range.
I’d been doing giant sets with a resistance of 90lbs or 105lbs each side back and forth.
(The stack at full assistance is 175lbs, I’m assuming bodyweight is at 265lbs for calculating purposes.)
Instead of, or in addition to the one arm work I could go very high rep with both hands working my way down in resistance as I go.
I know how much strength endurance pushups have built me, and how massive strength endurance does build top and strength.
This could be my way of getting pushup style stimulus for upper body pull.
(I could also make the movement equal in percentage of bodyweight to pushups, .6bw-.7bw, and try to hit light pullup rep PRs.)
It’d carryover everywhere, and most likely would get me not only to, but past 20 reps on pullups.
Strength endurance training is the way. High reps are superior to low reps.
Persistence & Tenacity