Stronger By The Day: Core Exercises For Pull-up Strength For Women

Achieving the perfect pull up is hard. This still remains unticked in many people’s fitness bucket lists. No matter how long and how often you have been working out, this exercise is still a challenge.

This is especially true for women compared to men. Lifting your own weight can be tricky for women. Women have more weight on their lower body, which means their upper body has to support more. Women who have already given birth experience stretching of their abdominal muscles. This makes it even more difficult to lift their own weight.

Common Reasons Why Pull-ups Are Difficult

You might be wondering what else you need to execute an effective pull-up workout. You have made your way to have a healthy body mass index through regular exercise.

With all exercises, there are reasons why you cannot do it the right way or not at all. Here are common reasons why pulling off pull-ups is becoming a challenge for you.

• You can’t hold on to the bar. A proper grip is important so you can do a full pull-up. Slipping can is easy to avoid with grip strength.
• Certain exercises need a specific group of muscles to work so we can do them. For pull-ups, you need a strong latissimus dorsi (lats for short). Do not forget your biceps, deltoids, rhomboids, and core.
• It’s easy to have muscles and lift weights for some people. This does not mean that they are building strong muscles that can perform key forms. This includes push-ups, lunges, burpees, and pull-ups.
• Injuries like torn biceps, labrum, or other key muscles can hinder effective pull-ups. This makes it not only hard but also painful. SPARTAN RACE, INC suggests that with injuries like this, consult your physician first. Ask about the physical recommendations they have with your specific injury.

A Good Core Makes A Difference

Having a strong core is an important fitness asset. A good core is an effective base that connects your upper and lower body. This also helps you have a good balance and stability. A weak upper body can also mean that your core is not yet ready to support posture and base.

Core muscles are on your trunk and pelvis. Once built, core muscles can help fight fatigue and injuries. This also leads to good posture, mobility, and strength.

For effective pull-ups, a strong core guarantees good posture and lessens injuries. A weak core puts excess stress on your arms, especially on your anterior deltoids. If your power for pull-ups comes from your core, you can engage your lats and rhomboids better. This leads to a better pull up form. Core training can help build and prepare your body

Exercises To Build Your Core

It’s common to think that big, strong arms or broad shoulders will be enough for pull-ups. Arm strength is not all that you should focus on. A powerful pull up comes from your core and back as well. Here are core exercises that can help train you for pull-ups.

Dead Hangs

Dead hangs are great as starting points for building a good pull up form. This assists your body to develop skills like shoulder health and grip strength. Grip strength is the first step for a good pull up form.

The correct dead hang form is to hang on the bar with a hollow position. Make sure that your shoulders stay packed and squeezed in. A tensed body is ideal and avoids unnecessary swinging. Squeezing the pull up bar activates the muscles on your back and makes these muscles easier to use.

Start off your dead hang with a 30-second hang, repeated six times. Follow up immediately with a 60-second rest between reps. You can do this core exercise three times a week.

If this becomes too easy for you after a few weeks, you can increase your difficulty. Try increasing your hanging length or adding weights to your dead hangs.

Negative Pull-ups

The concept of negative pull-ups is that you will reverse the steps to pull-ups. Instead of starting at the dead hang position, you will start every rep in the flex hang. This makes negative pull-ups easier than the regular form. Gravity is more in your favor which means less stress for you.

How often you should do this exercise depends on you. You can do it three times a week or more than that. Using exercise bands can assist you to do negative pull-ups. The key is to start slow. Remember to also rest after every repetition.

High Planks

Regular core exercises like the plank help build the upper body and core. This builds and trains the muscles to support your own body weight. Variations like side planks are also effective for core building. You can challenge yourself to add more time to your high planks each week.

Start with your hand and feet on the ground. Your hands should be below your shoulders and your knees below your hips. Your neck should be in a good position. Push up your toes and straighten your legs. Keep your body in a straight line and avoid curling your back. Hold this position for a few seconds. Try repeating your high plank for 6 reps.

Bent-over row

This core exercise builds your lats and other back muscles. These groups of muscles are key to effective pull-ups. This also helps to strengthen your core. This exercise requires dumbbells and you can increase the weight every week.

Stand with a dumbbell on each hand. Bend your knees and make sure your upper body is at a 45-degree angle with the ground. Once you are in a stable position, begin bending your arms. Pull your arms back and forth and squeeze your shoulders blades. Lower your back and repeat this exercise 10 times.

Building muscles take time and effort. There is no shortcut to a good pull up form or any exercise format. Remember to listen to your body. Having the right equipment can also help as you perform core exercises