Negative Pull Ups and Leveling Up

[yougotnick]

Hi Everyone,

I'm in Week 2 of Simple Fit and I'm on Level 1. After Week 1/Day 2, I realized I wasn't doing the full range of motion for my pull ups. After trying, and failing, to do a pull up from a dead hang, I'm now doing negative pull ups until I can do a complete one. I've noticed that I'm getting better; I can get 3/4 of the way up from a dead hang at this point.

After finishing Week 2/Day 2 in 4:26, it's looking like I'll make it to Level 2 after Day 3. My question is: should I move up to Level 2, or should I stick with Level 1 until I can do it with normal pull ups?

Thanks for the advice!

Nick

[scumdogg]

When I first started, I just subbed body rows for pull ups and progressed through levels as normal. But each workout I tested my pullups before and after the workout. Once I was able to do a full pullup, I went back to L1 and started over. By that point I was able to breeze through squats and pushups so they kept my time short even though I struggled with pullups. This way I was still able to reap the benefits of squats and pushups without pullups holding me back.

[ButtSmack]

Another option is to change the style of push-ups and squats to variations which are just as challenging as the pull-ups.

[cheapo]

scummdogg's advice is spot on.