Pull Ups...How Many? (muscle, legs, arms, waist)

[Snort]

Many macho men (and women) on the exercise forum. Just wondering how many good pull-ups you have done or currently can do.
And another question: what happened to the chin-up? Is that an exercise that's currently out of favor?

[TXboomerang]

I could probably do 10-12 right now, have had lots of problems with my neck and back so my strength isn't that great for now. At my strongest, I could do 4 sets of 8 reps with 50 pounds hanging from a belt, at that time I weighed around 260.

[Snort]

That sounds pretty good to me!

[Rggr]

About two months ago, I could do about 15, but I injured a shoulder and am just getting back into it. Right now, I can do about 8.

[Jason28]

Chin ups, and various kinds of pull ups are all good but it depends on what muscle(s) you are working on. You can target different groups depending on how you have your arms hanging on and how far apart they are. Chin ups where your hands are real close together works your bicep muslces real well whereas pull ups with your hands maybe two feet apart will work your shoulders and upper back more. They all work your forearms, biceps, shoulders, and upper back but depending on how you hold the bar it shifts the focus around.

If you are just starting I would only aim for maybe three sets of five. Work your way up to three sets of twelve over time. If you are trying to add muscle you can chain weight to your waist and lower your repetitions to start. I'm not sure what more reps would do with no weight, probably just increase tone and your strength but no mass...same as with weights generally. A lot of people cant do pull ups because they arent strong enough to tug their own weight around so just being able to do a few is a great accomplishment.

[Crustedfilth]

I do mine in sets and I alternate chin ups and pull ups.

My first set I'm up to 16. I do a total of 6 sets for as many as I can do.

[mg420]

i just started doing them again around 6 months ago & am up to 22. i also do them with my legs parallel to the ground to work my abs at the same time.

[Snort]

22? That's a lot of endurance! Good for you!

[dmarie123]

Wow, I'm female and I thought it was amazing that I could do 5, with small rests (2 seconds or so) in between.... not straight

[LaoTzuMindFu]

I normally do kipping pullups with overhand grip wider than shoulder range.

YouTube - CrossFit - Kipping Pull-Ups

There are some Crossfit workouts where I do a sets of 21, 18 and 9 pullups with each set followed by 90pound squat overhead thrusters. I havent checked my max pullups in a while but I think Im at about 25-35 or so without stopping. My hands tend to give out (rip and/or bleed) before my muscle do.