Posted: 8/7/2025 7:53:47 PM EDT
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I used to be able to do endless reps. Now, I can maybe get 4 strict ones. Is it just keep at it and add 1 every so often, or is there a secret sauce? 53yo 5' 8" 155. |
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Originally Posted By Cooper1: I used to be able to do endless reps. Now, I can maybe get 4 strict ones. Is it just keep at it and add 1 every so often, or is there a secret sauce? 53yo 5' 8" 155. Yep. Gotta do ‘em. I alternate every week between bodyweight for volume, and with a weighted vest. Current maximum is 27 reps in a row with bodyweight. Doing 7 reps for 5 sets with a 40lb vest. If I can get to 10 reps, I’ll add another 10lbs to the vest. Assisted reps can help increase your unassisted count faster. That’s what I did when I decided at 12 y/o that not being able to do a single pull up was pathetic. I just placed a chair below the bar, and used my legs to provide only as much assistance as necessary to get my chin over the bar. After several weeks, I got my first rep without assistance. I would do 10 reps, using assistance as necessary. When I could do 10 reps without assistance, I’d do 5 more assisted. Kept going from there. Maximum I ever got to unassisted was 37, but by then I was also working on building muscle, and began doing lat pulldowns with more than bodyweight, with lower reps. Never got back to that kind of rep count, since. |
| At 62 I’ve spent a significant amount of time recovering from “golfer’s elbow” (FWIW, I don’t even play golf). If there’s a way to get back into pull-ups without pissing off my tendons, I’d love to hear it. |
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Originally Posted By Frog_Legs: At 62 I've spent a significant amount of time recovering from "golfer's elbow" (FWIW, I don't even play golf). If there's a way to get back into pull-ups without pissing off my tendons, I'd love to hear it. "A little, consistently, over a long time." |
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Originally Posted By Frog_Legs: At 62 I've spent a significant amount of time recovering from "golfer's elbow" (FWIW, I don't even play golf). If there's a way to get back into pull-ups without pissing off my tendons, I'd love to hear it. 52, and standard grip (in the fingers) inflames my forearm tendons to no end. A "false grip" helps for me - rotating the hand more over the top of the bar so your knuckles are nearly on the top of the bar - seems to mitigate it for me. No idea if that would help at the elbow as well. I have to do the same with farmer carry/bar pull exercises. |
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| I just kept at it and did some light assistance to increase reps once I tapped out on straight pullups. I would go until I couldn’t like 10-15 then add a small weight resistance band for like a 10-15lb assist and then do that until I couldn’t. I made it to 15 unassisted and wanted to get to 20 but pissed off my elbow and back a bit so I backed off to sets of 5, but something in my mid-back area is still irritated so I have been taking it easy. |
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working out. Due to...things, I followed a friend's advice and hit the gym, hard. Not for my body, but for what it does for your mind. On my own, I did meh. I joined a coach based training gym, and in about 2 months I'm now banging out pull-ups no problem. They are fun, I feel like I'm flying or something- hard to put into words. I haven't been able to do a full pull-up in probably 2 decades. Now they are easy. It wasnt that hard, just get on a coach based gym program. One that has coaches that actually do their job, that is. I can't exact do them non-stop, but going from zero to 6 in a row, is pretty great. I'm going to keep going and see how far I can up that. |
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Originally Posted By EamonnWright: I started doing them when I was around 52 or 53, and after a couple months was able to bang 20. But that's after years of weight training, just very few pullups. I also developed Golfers or Tennis elbow from them, so I stopped and it went away. I had similar doing 100 pushups in 100 days last year including the wrist. |
| To do more pullups you have to do pullups. A good way to accomplish this is called "greasing the groove" and has you doing sets throughout the day. If you can do 4 or 5 good pullups then you'll do sets of 2 or 3 on the hour throughout the day to get your volume up. So if you're training now and do 3 sets of 3 for 9 total reps, you could instead do 8 sets of 2 that gets your total volume to 16 over the course of the day. Bump up those numbers as you can. |
Like everybody said, repetition. Make sure you warm up and stretch adequately, especially for you guys over 50. I got sidelined a while back with shoulder and elbow injuries, and it took me over a year to be able to do pullups again. Went from doing multiple sets of 20s to struggling to do 10. 
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Easy. 4 sets every other day. Do as many conventional, strict pull-ups you can per set. Do 4 of these sets. Now, do 4 sets of eccentric pull-ups, as many as you can. *An eccentric pull-up is the "lowering" portion of the pull-up. Step on a box and then jump "to the top". Slowly lower yourself down. Wash,rinse,repeat. A more conventional approach is progressive overload on the lat-pull down machine. Standing and bent-over rows will also engage the lats, traps, and rear deltoids (all used in pull-ups). |
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At 42yo, I could do more pull-ups than I could at 22. The last time I tried to do a lot of pull-up work, I got tendinitis in my elbow. There are some good programs online that follow a similar approach. Something like: Day 1: Fixed sets with rest Day 2: Every minute on the minute Day 3: Increasing and decreasing sets Day 4: Maximum rep repeats. Day 5: Weighted reps At 155, you should be banging them out. At 190, I’m not as strong as I look anymore. 
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Originally Posted By Frog_Legs: At 62 I’ve spent a significant amount of time recovering from “golfer’s elbow” (FWIW, I don’t even play golf). If there’s a way to get back into pull-ups without pissing off my tendons, I’d love to hear it. Deadlifting straps might help. It’s kind of a PITA, but not as bad as tendinitis. |
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Originally Posted By Frog_Legs: At 62 I’ve spent a significant amount of time recovering from “golfer’s elbow” (FWIW, I don’t even play golf). If there’s a way to get back into pull-ups without pissing off my tendons, I’d love to hear it. BPC-157/TB-500 
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Nonne delectaimini? Nonne hoc est quare adsitis?
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I wish I could do pullups as a regular part of my workouts. They're such a good exercise. They just destroy my elbows and I haven't been able to find a grip the sufficiently reduces that to where I can do more than a set or two w/o issue. |
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Originally Posted By chibajoe: BPC-157/TB-500 Originally Posted By chibajoe: Originally Posted By Frog_Legs: At 62 I’ve spent a significant amount of time recovering from “golfer’s elbow” (FWIW, I don’t even play golf). If there’s a way to get back into pull-ups without pissing off my tendons, I’d love to hear it. BPC-157/TB-500 I'm always hesitant about the unforseen long-term effects of taking ANYTHING but at 62 y/o I say go for it. |
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What worked for me was just do 2 sets to failure (3-5 minute rest in-between) . You can do them 2x-3x per week depending on other exercises/volumes. But as little as once a week has been fine for me as well. A complete back workout can be as simple as 2xf with pullups then 2x-8-12 with a row variation (preferably Barbell or Dumbell). For me after 2 sets to failure on pullups I'll need to rest 8-10 minutes to get the same number of reps again. The juice isn't worth the squeeze for one additional set in my opinion. |
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More is more with pullups. When I was 30 I spent a winter doing 100 every other day. As many sets as it took. After that I could do 20 with a neutral grip, although the last one or two got ugly. Naturally, once I dialed back the practice with them, I couldn't do as many. My max right now is 12. |
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I'm on the downhill side of 60 and have a doorway chin up bar that I use each day for regular and wide grip chin ups and pull ups, and currently try to do 4-5 sets with 15 reps per. It's definitely helped my back and shoulders with the wide grip pull ups and hits my chest a bit. Plus I use those rotating handles with the nice fat grips to do several sets of 40 reps each of pushups for my chest and triceps. That and being on my feet all day at work in a hot work area, and lifting and moving metal parts and boxes of parts are helping to keep me thin and in decent shape for my age. |
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I’m in the same boat OP I’m actually close in age (49) and exactly same size I used to be able to do 20+ all day and even 1-3 legit one arm pull ups. I could do a legit 10 with 50lbs if weight on me until probably 45 years old. between USMC and decades of rock climbing Then in my 40’s I got corporate office jobs and now yesterday I did 6 and probably could have done 10 if my wife was watching Strange feeling for something so effortless to be a challenge now 2023 https://youtube.com/shorts/FL5YFRHIjxY  Homestead workout flexin for the goats #mybarn #barnlife #homesteading #goats |
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as you get older -- it definitely gets harder. the joints, cartilage, tendons etc -- plus inflammation and nagging soreness / injuries -- it's not the same as your 20s-30s you likely need to adjust your benchmark. don't give in / give up. but setting a goal worthy of the 30 year-old you ?? not realistic |
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Other than just getting at it and adding more, grip strength and exercises that focus on the lats, traps, and biceps will get you on yer way. I do forearm rolls for additional grip exercise. |
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I could never do pull-ups until my 40’s. Now I can do a full Murph (without the vest). I never realized out much technique went into it. It’s largely core exercise. Go From 0 to 10 Pull-Ups In A Row (FAST!) |
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Originally Posted By Cooper1: I used to be able to do endless reps. Now, I can maybe get 4 strict ones. Is it just keep at it and add 1 every so often, or is there a secret sauce? 53yo 5' 8" 155. Welcome to age. Wait until your elbow tendons start screaming because you are doing them. |
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