I often
receive questions from people who are trying to substitute pull-ups with other
similar exercises that work the same muscle groups. This gentleman asks:
I am always trying to add muscle and do not have access to a pull up bar
or lat pull down machine. I work out at home and have dumbbells. What is an
alternative exercise to pull-ups in your opinion.
First of all, one thing I always do no matter whether I am traveling or at
home is to go for a jog near a school district and search for any playground
that is open to the public. There you will find monkey bars and maybe even
pull-up bars where you can do pull-up workouts such as the
PT Pyramid.
When discussing alternative exercises for a challenging calisthenics exercise
such as pull-ups, simply break down the pull-up into muscle groups used. They
are...
Biceps – These are your pulling muscles that enable your
arms to bend and lift your weight over the pull-up bar. The exercise recommended
to develop biceps is, of course, bicep curls.
A good workout for this muscle is what I call a superset where you select
three dumbbell weights (For instance 15lbs, 20lbs, and 25lbs). This is a
non-stop workout where you only rest to change the weights after each series of
repetitions. Do the 15lbs for 20 reps, the 20 lbs for 10 reps, and the 25 lbs
for 5 reps. Select the weight for you that will make it challenging to do a set
of 20,15,10 reps non-stop.
Back and Grip Muscles - Another great exercise that can work
the same muscle groups as pull-ups is the Bent over Dumbbell Row and Assisted
Pullups.
Concentrate on pulling the dumbbell as if you were
starting a pull-start lawnmower. Let the heavy dumbbell hang and stretch your
back and shoulder connection and then pull the dumbbell to the outside of your
chest – hold for 1-2 seconds at the top of the lift.
Stomach and lower back – It never hurts to workout your
torso, as pull-ups cause you to flex your abs and back during the lift and hang.
See the following link for ideas on abs and lower back exercises and workouts:
Rest with
Crunches or the
Lower Back Plan
Keep the emails coming! You can contact me at
stew@stewsmith.com.
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