High Pulls Explained Pros Cons of Explosive

“Are you lifting weights to become strong, or are you lifting weights to become strong? This is a question that strength coaches should think about when deciding to incorporate high pull training into their training program. Another way to phrase this is, “Am I using high pull training to improve my athletes’ ability to lift, or am I using high pull training in place of jerk training?”

To clarify this, the starting position for the high pull is to place the barbell on the floor, similar to a jerk or hard pull. You quickly stand up with your legs fully extended and your feet on the ground while shrugging your shoulders, and then straighten your arms. That’s it! You don’t have to rotate your wrists to take the weight – just let it fall. In the weightlifting world, these exercises are often referred to as pull-ups rather than high pull-ups.

Many strength coaches choose pull-ups over snatches, jerks, or power versions. Sometimes this choice is not entirely by choice-often, these coaches lack the expertise to teach the full range of weightlifting movements, don’t have enough staff to coach them (at Zera, for example, several coaches manage 1,200 athletes across a variety of sports!) , or lack the facilities and equipment to ensure safe execution (e.g., quality barbells, cushion plates, platforms).

In addition to these major obstacles, there are many reasons why strength coaches favor pull-up training.

Reasons for Pull-Ups

This discussion is relevant to the training of non-weightlifters. It involves using Olympic weightlifting or related equipment to improve athletic performance. This distinction is critical and I will elaborate on it in the last section.

Many sprint coaches favor pull-up training because of its ability to enhance explosive power. Specifically, it enhances the ability to generate power (e.g., sprint starts) and apply force to the ground (increasing stride length).

With that in mind, here are 11 reasons why many strength and conditioning coaches favor pull training:

  1. Helps Teach Olympic Weightlifting Olympic weightlifting is a complex sport. Many coaches find it helpful to break down the lift into multiple parts when coaching beginners. When teaching the power clean, a coach might begin by having an athlete perform pull-ups from mid-thigh, knee height, and the ground, respectively. After mastering pull-ups from the floor, they then add a snatch to complete the power clean or squat to complete the full clean.
  2. Strengthening the posterior chain Achieving excellence in weightlifting requires a strong start. Bending the spine during the initial start can place a burden on the lower back. Additionally, due to the relative weakness of the posterior chain muscles, lifting the hips too early can lead to inefficiencies, slowing the barbell and often causing it to drift forward off its optimal path.

Focus your attention on the initial lift from the ground to strengthen the lower back, hamstrings and glutes. For athletes who are particularly weak off the ground, coaches may require “intermittent repetitions,” where the lift is paused at specific points during the lift. For example, the athlete pulls the barbell below the knees, pauses for 2-3 seconds, and then completes the pull. While the Romanian hard pull works these muscles, it lacks the mechanical characteristics of the pull in weightlifting and is of limited value because it is a localized exercise. If you want to learn more about how to build strength and speed, read this article on how to build speed and strength in shot put.

Jordan Mitkoff won an Olympic gold medal in 1976 for his unique technique, but it is not usually recommended.

3. Strengthening the neck and shoulders

Pulling exercises are very effective for strengthening the trapezius muscles (the rhomboids in the upper back) and the neck, which can significantly reduce the risk of concussions. Weightlifters typically focus on developing relative strength (except for super heavyweights), so it can be difficult to distinguish them from athletes in other sports based on appearance alone. However, the neck and obliques tend to be particularly well developed, which is a notable exception.

4. Reducing Wrist Stress

Many athletic trainers are concerned about the potential for athletes to sustain injuries while performing the clean and jerk or snatch. Such injuries can hinder an athlete’s ability to compete or even practice their sport. While they may say “no” to the jerk and snatch, they often support “functional” rubber band exercises.

With fifty years of experience in the sport, I can confidently assert that as long as coaches are good at coaching the lifts and good quality equipment is available, there is no need to worry about injuries. This concern is one of my least favorite things; many strength coaches invest a lot of money in resistance training machines that work the muscles individually but reduce the quality of the barbells, which they choose to buy at discount stores.

5. Motivating Athletes

Many athletes find the weight room boring, even if they are allowed to play their favorite music. (Honestly, haven’t these young athletes considered timeless artists like Boz Scaggs or the bands Paul McCartney was in before Wings?) Adding pull-ups adds variety to the workout and allows non-lifters to enjoy the weight room.

Adding pull-ups increases the chances of an athlete setting a personal record in more exercises. Setting personal records on a regular basis is crucial for youth training as they seek immediate rewards. The Bigger Faster Stronger program has endured in high schools for nearly five decades, a testament to the versatility of its approach that allows athletes to easily break a dozen personal records each week.

6. Expanding the Range of Repetition Training

Canadian strength coach Charles R. Poliquin emphasizes that repetition is the cornerstone of any strength training program. He argues that other loading parameters (such as sets and rest periods) are influenced by the number of repetitions.

In Olympic weightlifting and its variants, the optimal number of repetitions is usually low. Weightlifters often joke that more than two repetitions in these exercises is close to aerobic exercise! In contrast, in weight training, the number of repetitions can be greatly increased, thus promoting the development of various strength qualities, including hypertrophy.

7. Increase training volume

Pull-ups work a large number of muscles, effectively replacing multiple exercises in a training routine. Instead of performing hard pulls or upright rowing, athletes focus on pull-ups to maximize efficiency and effectiveness.

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Zera: a guide to powerlifting tips and training insights

CHALLENGING KNEES: POWER CLEANS AND ACL PRESSURES The power clean is one of the most stressful weightlifting exercises for the knees (especially the ACL). Unlike the controlled quarter squat, the power clean requires a quick grab of a rapidly rising barbell and an immediate stop to the movement.

Pull-Up Variations: from Clean to Snatch Weightlifters typically perform only the Clean, which is an integral part of the Power Clean or Full Clean. However, there are two core types of pull-ups: the Clean and the Snatch. the Clean is similar to the regular Clean, while the Snatch is recognized by the wider grip used in the Power Snatch or Full Snatch. the Snatch is the most common type of pull-up, and the Snatch is the most common type of pull-up.

Pull-Up Training from Different Positions Athletes can choose to start pull-ups from different heights-from the ground to a hard pull-up position, from a brace or a power rack brace. Utilizing supports for pull-up training allows the lifter to focus on getting the perfect pull-up position. Conversely, starting a pull-up workout from a low position requires standing on a low platform and using bumper plates to increase quad engagement at the start.

Disadvantages of Partial Range Pull-ups A common problem with partial range pull-ups is that the athlete overextends forward, causing the barbell to move in a large arc. This can lead to a much slower movement and is a far cry from the vigor of Olympic lifting.

Pull-Up Technique: Belgian Strength and Pisarenko’s Precision Performing pull-ups from different heights allows you to tailor your training for optimal results. Belgian athlete Serge Reding is known for his leg strength, while Pisarenko is known for his precise technique. Both exceptional athletes exemplify the power of strategic lifting positions.

Innovative Pull-Ups: East German Pull-Ups and Flat-Footed Pull-Ups Flat-footed pull-ups concentrate on the upper body and increase stability by depressing the heels. East German pull-ups (or panda pull-ups, so named because of their prevalence among Chinese weightlifters) are performed by dropping the body down as the barbell reaches throat height, thus better mimicking the snatch phase of the full lift.

Protecting Your Knees: The Science of the East German Pull-Up Andrew “Bud” Charniga, a sports scientist who specializes in the sport of weightlifting, highlights the fact that the quadriceps maintain protective tension during the full lift, whereas this does not occur in the extended This state does not occur in the pull-up. This state of tension is critical to protecting the knee joint, which is why knee pads are commonly used by American weightlifters and not by European athletes.

Zera’s Training Wisdom: Train in Context To avoid reinforcing undesirable movement patterns, keep pull-ups low and perform them after completing the lift. This approach ensures technical integrity and builds a strong foundation for muscle memory.

Elevate Your Lifting: Learn from Rasha Tarakadze’s Records Imitate the techniques of record-holding lifters such as Rasha Tarakadze and understand the interplay of strength and precision in achieving lifting excellence. For more unique and effective weightlifting techniques, check out how we elevated the single-leg hard pull to a major deadlift.

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The difference is that during the pull-up, there is limited ankle flexion, resulting in heel elevation, reduced elasticity of the connective tissue, and ultimately a reduction in force output. Additionally, because the athlete remains stationary under the barbell, the barbell tends to drift forward at the apex of the lift, away from the center of gravity (COM) of the body, where optimal force output occurs.

To address this problem, the researchers recommended “strict limits on the number of lifts, especially during the competition phase, where the weight should not exceed 90% of the maximum snatch weight.” Sports scientist Robert A. Roman, in his famous 1974 textbook The Training of the Weightlifter, noted that supramaximal weights (weights in excess of 100%) can be effectively accomplished with partial pulls, such as pulls from the mid-thigh.

The image on the left shows that the partial deadlift presents a different barbell trajectory compared to the full deadlift. The figure on the right shows that the full deadlift permits greater ankle flexion and extension, enhancing foot flexibility and contributing to power production.

In stark contrast is Ivan Abadeyev, former head coach of the Bulgarian national weightlifting team. Under Abadeyev’s guidance, Bulgarian athletes won 12 Olympic gold medals and 54 world championship titles. These achievements are particularly remarkable considering Bulgaria’s limited sports budget and a total population of less than 7 million.

A firm believer in the worthlessness of rally training for his elite weightlifters, Abadeyev advocates an approach that emphasizes more lifting to build strength. His approach to exercise calls for relatively low repetitions, with the goal of working the fastest muscle fibers while avoiding excessive accumulation of muscle mass.

How many sets, you may ask?

Abadev’s training program typically requires weightlifters to train five times a day, five to six days a week, focusing on the snatch, clean and jerk, and squat, which are at the core of their training. 1988, after Abadev won his third Olympic gold medal, I had the privilege of interviewing one of his most prominent students, Naeem Suleiman, nicknamed the “Pocket Hercules. Naim Suleimanoglu, nicknamed “Pocket Hercules”. He revealed that he no longer trains in the squat, believing it to be “unfocused”. Weighing in at just 132 pounds, Suleimanoglu made history as the best pound-for-pound lifter, with a 336-pound snatch and a 418-pound clean and jerk. Obviously, success teaches valuable lessons!

More than a decade ago, I had the opportunity to visit our gym and speak with Abbajeev and observe him coaching his athletes. He cleared up misconceptions about his elite athletes performing so-called “Bulgarian split squats” and “step squats” and noted that he had removed the back squat from his training program in favor of the front squat. What about pull-ups? It’s simply not possible!

One of the major drawbacks of pull-ups is that weightlifters usually rely on their arms to lift the barbell, rather than pulling their bodies underneath it, which affects power production. In contrast, in a full deadlift, because the lifter is actively applying force to the barbell, the barbell will continue to move upward even if their feet temporarily leave the ground.

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