How do you do pull-ups with an elastic? The pull is an exercise that requires full body control and challenges even top athletes.
Very popular with beginners, the chin-ups with rubber band will help you progress towards your first complete chin-ups using only body weight, without assistance, whether it's chin-ups in supination, in pronation or even in a neutral grip.
This article gives you all the keys to start your pull-up training with a rubber band.
Why do elastic pull-ups?
- Using a rubber band to do pull-ups allows you to offload and thus lift a lower percentage of your body weight. Because you are somewhat lighter, the rubber band makes the rising phase of the exercise easier, during which you have to pull yourself up to the pull-up bar at the back and arm strength.
- For this reason, assisted pull-ups with elastic are particularly interesting for people who are new to this exercise and who later want to succeed in doing pul-ups unattended. If you still can't pull yourself up to the bar, due to lack of strength and/or heavy weight, the elastic will allow you to get used to the complete movement of the pull-ups.
- However, keep in mind that elastic pull-ups will only be truly effective if you incorporate them into a comprehensive program that works pul-ups from all angles . It would be better to combine them with other exercises, such as active suspensions and isometric and eccentric work, rather than doing only chin-ups with elastic.
- If the chin-ups with rubber band are mainly intended for beginners, they can also be interesting for people already initiated to chin-ups. Indeed, in the event that you no longer manage to do a single pull with body weight, you can use the elastic to grab some additional repetitions.
- The downside is that these repetitions will not have the same value as those performed strictly at bodyweight. Therefore, if you already know how to do chin-ups and want to progress, it may be more advantageous to move towards weighted pull-ups than pull-ups assisted.
Also read: Neutral grip pull-up: 7 tips for performing it perfectly
Which elastic for doing pull-ups?
- The resistance of the elastic must be adapted to the level of the practitioner. A person who is just starting pull-ups will prefer to use a relatively resistant elastic, while a person with a little experience can afford to orient themselves towards lower resistance.
- In general, it is preferable to avoid resistances that are too low, below 7 kg, which do not help enough, and resistances that are too large, beyond 40 to 50 kg, which support too much.
- If you are close to doing bodyweight pull-ups, a single elastic with low resistance may be enough.
- On the other hand, if you are still far from the objective, opt for at least 2 rubber bands in order to have a good margin of progress; when you can do 5 pull-ups with the strongest elastic, switch to the lower resistance and repeat the process until you no longer use any elastic
Find out more: Top 7 pull-up bar exercises to gain mass
Which grip for elastic pull-ups?
The part of the body to be worked on undoubtedly depends on how the practitioner approaches the pull-up bar.
You can work the 3 grips with the elastic, it's up to you to see what you want to solicit.
Supinated grip
- The chin-up or the traction in supination consists of grasping the bar with the palms of the hands facing you. You have to lift the body by bringing the chest to the height of the hand. The gap between the two palms must be equivalent to the width of the shoulders, and the grip must be tight.
- The supinated traction works several muscles, namely the back muscles, the pectorals, the trapezius muscles and the rhomboids.
Overhand grip
- The pull-up in pronation is also called pull-up. It is an exercise that consists of lifting the weight of the body in such a way as to raise the chest to the level of the bar. This time, the backs of the hands should face the practitioner.
- During a pull-up session, the gap between the hands should be greater than shoulder width. When the distance between the two hands is twice the width of the shoulders, the exercise makes it possible to work the muscles of the back.
- On the other hand, if it is tighter, it is the pectoral muscles, the biceps, and the trapezius muscles that gain in volume.
Neutral grip
- This hold is not possible with any type of barbell, but weight rooms generally have the appropriate equipment to perform the neutral grip as well.
- In pull-ups, you adopt a neutral grip when the palms of the hands face each other. It is called “neutral” because it is the natural orientation of the hands when the arms are relaxed, alongside the body.
- The main muscles used by pull-ups in a neutral grip are the latissimus dorsi, the teres major, the biceps brachii and the brachioradialis.
Also read: 5 steps to learn how to do pull-ups
Before starting pull-ups with a rubber band
Before diving into pull-ups training with resistance bands, you should first review some basic safety precautions. As always, the most important aspect of exercise is maintaining a healthy and capable body.
You train to be functional in your everyday life and injuries are not conducive to functionality. Be sure to consider the following before doing a pull-up with rubber band.
Use appropriate equipment
- The pull up bars are the most obvious component of the exercise, and you need to make sure you have a setup that's right for you
- Not all tensile bars are created equal. You may be familiar with the pull style tension rod bars that you can twist to fit into a doorway. They are not recommended. Indeed, if you do not fix the bar with screws, it may fall out of the frame, which makes it dangerous.
- Instead, make sure the bar you're using either screws into the walls on either side of it or into the ceiling above, or is part of a freestanding bracket. Make sure it's really sturdy and doesn't weaken during use.
Start slow
- While using resistance bands for pull-ups is a great training tool, there are a number of steps that are extremely important to focus on before you even get started. 'get there.
- It is essential for your safety and muscle development to master each of these beginner exercises before incorporating resistance bands into your workout.
- Once your muscles know how to properly engage without thinking, you can move on to assisted pull-ups.
To know: 6 steps to do pull-ups with a rubber band
How to use a rubber band to help with pull-ups?
Here's how to put on the elastic for your pull-ups:
- Place the elastic over the pull-up bar.
- Pass one end of the elastic through the other end to form a loop.
- Pull the loose end to tighten the loop.
To perform this exercise, you can either put a foot or a knee in the bottom loop. The variant with the foot in the loop is a priori easier because the elastic will be tighter.
To be read in parallel: How to do bodybuilding with a rubber band in mass gain?
How to do pull-ups with rubber band?
Supinated and in a neutral grip, grasp the bar with your hands shoulder-width apart. While pronating, spread your hands wider than your shoulders.
Position
At the start, respect the following instructions:
- Your arms should be very slightly bent, do not lock your elbows.
- Core your abs and contract your glutes.
- If you put your feet in the elastic, straighten your legs.
- Bring the shoulders back and down, then lock them.
- Look straight ahead.
Execution
Here's how to pull up with a rubber band:
- From the starting position and without swinging the legs, bring your chin for the supine and neutral grips or your eyes for the overhand grip to the pull-up bar .
- Hold the up position for 1 second.
- Breathing in, return to the low position controlling the descent with the elastic.
- Keeping the arms slightly bent, hold the down position for 1 second.
- Repeat to complete your set
An article to read also: Which elastic to choose for bodybuilding?
Superhuman Fit rubber bands for your pull-ups
Since the pattern of elastic you use will play a big part in your progress, we recommend the Elastic Resistance Bands Fit Superhuman, especially because they offer 5 different levels of resistance.
The variable straps range from 5 to 75 kg and have a door anchor that is easy and quick to install. This is ideal for progressing and tailoring each workout to your fitness level for the day. Best of all, you don't even need a pull-up bar at first!
It is an excellent alternative to improve muscle definition and strength. Super compact and portable, these resistance bands follow you everywhere. You can train very well at home, in the office, outdoors, on vacation...
Guaranteed for 1 year and versatile, these elastics can also be used to intensify all your other bodyweight exercises.
For more information: 10 exercises to do with a rubber band
In conclusion
The elastics are a pleasant support to help you perform your pull-ups, especially if you are a beginner. Progress step by step until you can perform your pull-ups without elastic.
The Superhuman Fit elastics are ideal to help you do this and thanks to them, you will become an expert in chin-ups!
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