AboutRich Ruffing Expertise I can answer to questions to all aspects of exercise: strength training, flexibility, cardiovascular, body composition, etc.. The questions can be general or they can be more specific or individualized. I can help you with workout design, exercise selection, recovery methods and any other aspects that are part of your program. Visit my website, www.richruffing.com, for more information.
Experience I have been training since 2000, working in health clubs and studios and working with a variety of clients.
Education/Credentials I have a Bachelors Degree in Sports Biology and am certified by the National Strength and Conditioning Association. Currently, I am working towards my licensure as a massage therapist.
Question I was wondering what's the best way to incorporate pull-ups/chinups into a workout routine, especially if you can only do a few reps. Say for example, you're doing upper body. You pick to do pull-ups/chinups for your back exercise. Say your workout calls for doing something in the 6-12 repetition range for all exercises, but on the pull-up/chinup you can only do 1-3 reps. How do you incorporate this, especially if you are doing higher reps with "all other" exercises? Will you still build muscle if you can only do 1-3 reps? I thought pull-ups/chinups are supposed to be one of the best all-around upper body exercises for building muscle.
One other issue I have is with shoulder exercises. In my upper body workout I do bench presses first in my workout. Then I do a back exercise. Then I do a shoulder exercise, usually overhead presses. Problem is, when I get to that shoulder exercise, I can't do a lot of weight, or as many repetitions as I'm supposed to be doing. My shoulders are either weak, or they are too fatigued. I get so mad at myself because I can't crank out the repetitions that I'm supposed to be doing. It's not like I'm not trying. What's going on here and how do I correct this? Is this normal? Thanks very much for your help.
Answer Hi Dave. You're not the only one who has problems building up their chin-up reps. One technique I've used is band assisted chin-ups. Here is a link to show you what I mean:
Once you can perform the desired number of reps, move on to a lighter band. These bands are called superbands and can be found at performbetter.com. They're relatively inexpensive. And yes, chin-ups/pull-ups are the king of upperbody exercises.
Your issue with your shoulder exercises is easy to fix. You're shoulders are most likely fatigued by the time you get to overhead presses. I would do one of two things here. One, perform just one pressing exercise and vary your pressing exercises (bench press, overhead press, incline press, etc.) every 3-4 weeks. Or two, perform your overhead presses first in your workout. From a mechanical advantage standpoint, the overhead press is a harder exercise than the bench press, so why are you performing it after bench pressing?
