Do You Even Lift, Bro? One Girl, One Pull-Up, and Finding Some Answers

From what I can remember, the fitness test standard for high school girls is one, unassisted pull-up. Seems simple, right?

Apparently not. 

I would say in terms of physical fitness and athletic ability, I am fairly average. Despite being in decent shape, I’ve just never been able to do a pull-up. Call it sad, because, well, it really is. How is that possible? One pull-up doesn’t seem like too much to ask for. 

I feel like every PE class I’ve been in, the ratio of girls to boys able to complete this one pull-up was always really small, despite many of the girls being in good shape or being athletes. Here they were, struggling, while guys who worked out half as often could just effortlessly do it. 

However, after stumbling up a Buzzfeed video, “Women Train To Do 1 Pull-Up in 60 Days” (that is sadly blocked), I felt a little more understood. Here were three women, all in good shape, but they all took almost the entire 60 days to complete their challenge. 60 whole days??! For one pull up??! Hell no.

So, to justify my own inability, I did a little research. To quote Sarah Weir, “I love when science proves that I’m not a wimp”. Here’s what I found

1. Less Upper Body Mass

One study done at Ohio State shows that “women have about 40 percent less upper-body mass than men do, […] this means that, in general, a woman’s natural upper body is only about 50 to 60 percent as strong as a man’s”.

2. More Lower Body Mass

While women’s lower bodies are fairly comparable in strength, they tend to hold more weight particularly in their hips, which also inhibits their pull-up ability. So not only do they tend to carry less upper body strength, but they have (at least proportionately so) more weight they need to pull upwards.

3. Higher Body Fat Percentage

Finally, to add salt to the wound, women naturally hold a much higher percentage of body fat than men. The healthy range for women is roughly 20-25% compared to 10-15% for men, and it’s not crazy for men to be able to reach around 5% body fat while women generally bottom out at around 10%. 

Beyond differences in men and women, there are certain physiques that simply make it easier for people to do a pull-up. Those with shorter arms and smaller builds just have a “slightly more naturally-efficient-for-pull-ups build”. 

All this to say; I feel like my inability to do such a seemingly basic skill should be rationalized. But it still bothers me. 

Science-wise, I know that it will take training (one study showed that after specially training 17 women 3 times a week for 3 months, only 4 were able to complete a pull up). But that’s okay–after all, science doesn’t tell me I can’t do it, just that it will take a lot more effort on my part. 

Soooo, of course, to prove it to myself, I’m going to be trying to do a pull-up. Tentatively, my goal is to be able to do it by the end of senior year. And I know that a pull-up is kind of an arbitrary goal, and they aren’t necessarily an accurate assessor of overall fitness, but I like that it’s really clear: you can either do it, or you can’t. Yes, it’s about the pull up, but also discipline, empowerment, and maybe improving my chances of survival if I’m hanging off the edge of a cliff. I want to feel the sense of accomplishment when I finally do my first real pull up, and remind myself that I am capable.

After a little more research, I found something that may work.

This video basically outlines 6 levels of pull-ups to go through before you get a full pull-up.

1. Passive Hang (be able to comfortably hang from the bar for 20 seconds)
2. Active Hang (be able to comfortably hang from the bar with engaged back/shoulders for 20 seconds)
3. Chin Over Bar Hold (be able to hold your a pull up position where your chin is over the bar for 20 seconds)
4. Pull-Up Negatives (start at the top of the pull-up and lower yourself down with control, 4-5 reps)
5. Segmented Negative (hold at different points as you lower yourself to gain strength during those portions of the pull up)
6. Partial Pull Ups (top, medium, and bottom, moving a few inches at a time during those areas)

Whatever step I’m struggling with, I’ll add strength exercises (*lifting*) or use a resistance band to assist me until I can do it on my own.

Here are the guidelines for my one pull-up:

1. Start from a dead hang
2. Overhand grip
3. Chin to or above bar

I would definitely appreciate any advice, tips or tricks you have to offer (especially from the kickass ladies who can already do a pull-up)!

For now, I’m just a girl with her pull-up bar and a dream. But give it 3 months; hell yeah.