August 17, 2015 By Nick Folker

Building Blocks: The Body Weight Pullup Progression

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Welcome to the third week of #BuildingBlocks powered by BridgeAthletic. This week we will be working through the Body Weight Pullup Progression created by Nick Folker. The pullup is one of the cornerstones of any strength program. It is very important that an athlete can pull their own body weight. There is no doubt the pullup is difficult, but its difficulty should be no reason for athletes to give up on learning good form. Our pullup progressions is intended to help your athletes conquer the challenge of the pullup. 

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Exercise Introduction:

Today we are introducing the Band-Bent Over Neck Pull. This is a good starting point in the body weight pullup progression as it negates the effect of gravity.
The focus points with this movement are in scapula mobility and stability and thoracic extension.

In this position the athlete is able to emphasize scapula depression, which is tough to achieve in a regular pullup when just starting out. Work on a slight pause and squeeze at the bottom of the movement, bringing your elbows close to your side, then return slowly to the start position overhead, pause and repeat.
Keep a slight bend in your knees, hinge at the hips, back with a slight natural curvature of the spine and elongate your neck while looking down at the floor.


Exercise 1: Band-Bent Over Neck Pull
 

 

 

More Building Blocks:

Check out more from our building Blocks Series.

Day 2: Supine Row Hold
Day 3: Supine Row
Day 4: Assisted Chinup
Day 5: Pullup

Download our e-book to receive an in-depth look at our full August Building Blocks!

Summary:

Thanks for joining us on the first stage of the BW Pullup progression. Follow us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/BridgeAthletic, Twitter at https://twitter.com/BridgeAthletic or on Instagram using the handle BridgeAthletic in order to see the rest of the progression.
 
Want Feedback? We're here to help. We highly encourage you and your athletes to share videos and pictures performing the exercises. Use #BuildBetterAtheltes in order to receive feedback and guidance from one of our elite coaches on the BridgeAthletic Performance Team. 
 
Be sure to check back tomorrow for more Building Blocks!
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About the Author

Nick Folker

Nick Folker is the Co-Founder and Director of Elite Performance at BridgeAthletic. Nick’s roster of athletes includes 35 Olympians winning 22 Olympic Medals, 7 team NCAA Championships and over 170 individual and relay NCAA championships.

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