Building Blocks: The Body Weight Pullup Progression

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. 

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