pull ups

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can you do them?

I can't
I'm reasonably fit but my core, whilst not totally couch potato, is , erm, wobbly.

I would like to ghink I could learn how to. but where do I start? I can do planks and push ups.

maybe middle age me is frustrated that my teenage boys 'just can' do that

I can’t do them and couldn’t even when I was doing weight training.

What equipment do you have? If you do to the gym use the lat pulldown machine and gradually increase the weight until you reach your body weight. The assisted pullup machine is good too.

If you don’t use one of those thick exercise bands around something (climbing frame at park) and hook it under your knee to make them easier.

Upper body is so hard to train as a female so just do loads of different exercises. Rows, bicep curls etc.

I have a fixed bar at home (just above head height) and a park nearby has a workout station with fixed bars at different heights.

and a range of weight at home

Yes, I can do them. I'm 58 now and got my first pull up in 2019. It is hard work for women generally but possible. It took me three months from being able to deadlift and squat my bodyweight to my first pull up but everyone is different and I am a bit bigger top half which may help.

Use inverted rows (sometimes called aussie rows) on the park bars moving your feet gradually further out and then hook them onto the next bar (if you have P bars) . Do negatives (jump or climb up to a high bar and slowly lower) and holds. Use bands as well but they don't help at the top, which is usually the hardest bit.

Look up Meghan Callaway on insta - she has a regular post.

No, i've never been able to do them. Teenage boys have a lot less body fat and higher proportion of muscle to middle aged women so i wouldn't get too upset about it!

I used to be able to. It was hard work though and also I was a LOT lighter than I am now. At the time I could do 100 push ups.

I can. I got my first one about 2.5 years ago and hopefully this month 🤞 I’ll get 10 unbroken. It is quite the project but so worth it! Once you can do 1 or 2 they start to add up quite quickly. Best way to improve once you’ve got them with a band/inverted rows/negatives etc is to work to absolute failure rather than doing what you think you can manage then stopping. I’m 52 btw.

I agree @ConstanceMartensCat ! I worked on volume a couple of years ago and got to 9 by going to failure - and drop sets so bringing bands in or having a spotter help for the last couple. I'm now working on weighted ones, so lower reps with a last unweighted set of 5/6/7.....

The first pull-up is way the hardest, second a bit easier and after that they do add up.....

Nope, only with the elastic band thing. Can do 50 full press ups but the pull ups just aren't happening.

I can do supinated but not pronated. The secret is to pull with your back not your arms, so focus on bringing your scaps together and pushing them upwards. Sounds weird but that's how to do it. I used to be able to do pronated but lost it and got a dodgy shoulder now so probably consigned to the past forever.

I guess having a strong shoulder is a good thing anyway, especially for middle aged slightly deskbound people

Yep. I'm very short, maybe that helps? Started heavy lifting during pandemic and started doing singles a few years into it. Probably can do 5+ unbroken but I'm not working towards any more so haven't counted. Would like to get better at kipping pull ups and at some point might want to try weighted or single arm.
Active hangs, and deficit pull ups would help work towards a full pull up.

I was able to do pushups with a weight plate on my back long before I got a chin up. The chin up/pull up was a goal before abdominal surgery and I got it about a week before. Possibly through adrenaline! After some years of one health issue after another I am not sure I can do a push up right now, let alone a pull up, even though I am back to deadlifting significantly more than my bodyweight.

I agree with advice from others about doing inverted rows, negatives etc. You need decent strength in your core and arms but what really drives the pull ups is your back. As well as inverted rows I would recommend doing lots of dumbbell rows, because the single arm exercise will target your core well. Good luck.