stuck on my max effort

Steve Kaspar · 05-23-2009, 04:43 PM

is it possible to never be able to get past your max reps? (pullups)? my pr for deadhang pullups is 28. been that way a year now.
a few times a year, for a few month blocks, i'll hit the pullup training pretty hard, with either gtg, or weighted pullups, or sets of as many as i can with short rests, or 5-6 sets a day with almost max reps, etc.., but i still get stuck at 28..
could it be that thats all the stronger i am? and will get?
in previous posts, i mentioned i do pullups 1-2 days a week. when i go for a pr a few months down the road, i go to 2-3 days a week training.

plenty training/ not enough?

gtg maybe monday.
thursday, maybe weighted pullups .sets of 4-5 with as much weight as i can.
then maybe a few sets a few days later..
too much training or not enough??
just a personal test..
thanks
steve kaspar

Júlíus G. Magnússon · 05-23-2009, 05:09 PM

Why do you want more than 28 deadhangs?

I think 28 deadhang pull-ups is a very respectable number. Maybe your time would be better spent working on something else?

Steve Kaspar · 05-23-2009, 06:55 PM

julius
thanks for the kind words on your comment..
i did work on other things, not its time to work on this personal thing. then it'll be pushups, then dips etc...
use to run, so i worked on that a ton, then played ice hockey, worked on that a ton, currently i cycle, working on that a ton, and the strength pr stuff, i always try to work a ton on and improve on. just wondering if this is the strongest i am. is there a max, on ones strength, no matter how you try to improve it?
thanks
steve kaspar

Patrick Donnelly · 05-23-2009, 07:13 PM

There's definitely diminishing returns for all things exercise related, whether it's strength (like weighted pull-ups), muscular endurance (like bodyweight pull-ups), or cardiovascular endurance (like marathoning). As an example, it's really easy to go from a 100lb deadlift to a 200lb one, but it's near impossible to go from 700lbs to 800lbs. Each is just a 100lb increase, and in the first it's actually a 100% increase whereas in the second it's "merely" a 14% increase, but since one is so much closer to your absolute maximum, it's going to take a load of work to get there.

I doubt 28 is really your absolute potential maximum though. It's a damn high number, but you could get many more reps... Each additional one will just be several times harder than the last.

Júlíus G. Magnússon · 05-23-2009, 10:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steve Kaspar

julius
thanks for the kind words on your comment..
i did work on other things, not its time to work on this personal thing. then it'll be pushups, then dips etc...
use to run, so i worked on that a ton, then played ice hockey, worked on that a ton, currently i cycle, working on that a ton, and the strength pr stuff, i always try to work a ton on and improve on. just wondering if this is the strongest i am. is there a max, on ones strength, no matter how you try to improve it?
thanks
steve kaspar

You're confusing strength with strength endurance. Doing a bodyweight weighted pull-up is a feat of strength. Doing a one-arm pull-up is a feat of strength. - Doing 28 deadhangs (or more) is a feat of muscular endurance.

In order for us to be able to help you, though, we'll need to know what exactly you've been doing up until now.

Steve Kaspar · 05-24-2009, 05:43 AM

julius, hers your reply to me...

You're confusing strength with strength endurance. Doing a bodyweight weighted pull-up is a feat of strength. Doing a one-arm pull-up is a feat of strength. - Doing 28 deadhangs (or more) is a feat of muscular endurance.

In order for us to be able to help you, though, we'll need to know what exactly you've been doing up until now.

julius, heres my pullup training schedule...mondays i do the GTG. sets of 15-18 thru the day. normally 8 sets..
fridays i do weighted pullups. 25# for 8 reps. 35# for 6 reps 45 # for 3 reps. 45# for 3 reps. 60# 1 rep. 60# 1 rep. 60# 1 rep.
thats my usual pullup training for the week.
now, if i decide to try and set a pr, say july 1st, i do the same, but maybe add wednesday on, doing a few( 2-3) sets of 18-19.
just a challenge for myself.
last year, and like i normally still do, i do pushups 1 day a week. then i read they had a national 20 minute pushup challenge in the month of june.
so i increased my pushup training from 1 day a week to 2 days a week. i got 451 in 20 minutes.. one friend told me great job on the pushups. another friend told me i could have got more if i trained more than 2 days a week.
where's the recovery when you go at it more than a few days a week for that muscle part?
so, weather its pushups or pullups, thats how i train. 1-2-3 days a week. per a lot of guys on the board, i'm a stick, @ 6' 145#..... been this way since i weigehed in freshman year in high school in 1970. plus, gaining 20# i dont think will make me do more pushups or pullups.
anyway, thanks for anymore tips.
it be nice to get 30 pullups.
why 30?, why not .its a challenge. why do i still race bikes at the pro 1-2 level, cause its a challenge. whay do the top guys in crossfit compete at xfit games, cause its a challenge.
i had some guys ask me why worry about a pr , 28 is plenty. well, its a challenge to work out hard and achieve your goal.
thanks again
steve kaspar

Garrett Smith · 05-24-2009, 05:51 AM

My short suggestion would be to start adding some harder pullup variations in sets of 5 to your workout schedule (and then drop some normal pullup sets). See Coach Sommer's book for the progressions.

George Mounce · 05-24-2009, 07:27 AM

Still at 145.....more muscle, more muscle. Didn't we have this conversation like...6 months ago?

Steve Kaspar · 05-24-2009, 10:03 AM

yes we did george, and i remember me telling you its kinda hard to train my
balls off on the bike burning thousands of calories, and gain weight. not every good athlete has to be huge. remember mark spitz? he was 6' 161# and won 7 gold medals... not huge by most of the weight and muscle guys, but one hell of a "stick" athlete..
all i'm asking for is a few pointers on pullups. not to be made fun of cause i'm not a big muscle guy.. and if you remember, i said my main goal is cycling, but i do challenge myself on a few exercises..
steve kaspar

Dave Van Skike · 05-24-2009, 10:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by George Mounce

Still at 145.....more muscle, more muscle. Didn't we have this conversation like...6 months ago?

George, He's a cyclist, a fairly good one at that. 6' 145# is pretty supportive of that goal, especially if he's a climber.