Why is it so hard to start a pull-up from a dead hang???
If you have already tried to perform a pull-up, you have noticed that the most difficult part is right in the beginning. It's not just you! It turns out that there is a perfectly good reason for the initiation of this exercise.
In order to explain this phenomenon I'll have to dig into the biology of a muscle fiber.
The Nitty Gritty
The basic unit of a muscle fiber is a sarcomere. This basic unit is displayed surrounding the graph below. Sarcomeres are made up of two components, Actin in red and Myosin in blue. These two filaments come together through the contraction of the muscle and the amount of cross-bridges they create is relative to the amount of force the muscle produces. Notice the different types of compressions of the sarcomere displayed in the graph. Hundreds and hundreds of sarcomeres are put together to make up your muscle. The graph displays the amount of force a sarcomere can produce in relation to its length.
If you have already tried to perform a pull-up, you have noticed that the most difficult part is right in the beginning. It's not just you! It turns out that there is a perfectly good reason for the initiation of this exercise.
In order to explain this phenomenon I'll have to dig into the biology of a muscle fiber.
The Nitty Gritty
The basic unit of a muscle fiber is a sarcomere. This basic unit is displayed surrounding the graph below. Sarcomeres are made up of two components, Actin in red and Myosin in blue. These two filaments come together through the contraction of the muscle and the amount of cross-bridges they create is relative to the amount of force the muscle produces. Notice the different types of compressions of the sarcomere displayed in the graph. Hundreds and hundreds of sarcomeres are put together to make up your muscle. The graph displays the amount of force a sarcomere can produce in relation to its length.
**image provided by http://www.speedmatrix.ca/bike-fitting-in-calgary/science-of-biomechanic
How This Relates to the Pull-Up...
Because of the relation of the sarcomere to the entire muscle, we can roughly relate this phenomenon to the length of the muscle and the range of motion that the muscle produces. For example, as displayed in the graph above, the sarcomere (and entire muscle) produce the least amount of force at the extremes of length. This is why the beginning of a pull-up is so difficult.
How This Relates to the Pull-Up...
Because of the relation of the sarcomere to the entire muscle, we can roughly relate this phenomenon to the length of the muscle and the range of motion that the muscle produces. For example, as displayed in the graph above, the sarcomere (and entire muscle) produce the least amount of force at the extremes of length. This is why the beginning of a pull-up is so difficult.
The Start At a dead hang, your muscles to perform a pull-up are extended to their maximum, as displayed in the sarcomere in the lower right-hand corner of the graph. Notice that there are little cross-bridges of the Actin and Myosin filaments. Therefore, your muscles are incapable of producing high amounts of forces. |
How do we overcome this???
The best way to overcome this challenging aspect of the exercise you need to use momentum. Creating momentum will assist you through the difficult moments of the exercise. At a dead hang, you begin by contracting your scapulas and abs. This motion draws your hips and chest up, which creates an upward momentum to push you into the stronger middle phase. Once in the middle of the exercise, you need to use the ideal length of the muscle to create as much momentum as you can to carry you up and over the bar. This is better explained visually in our PULL-UP TUTORIAL.
The best way to overcome this challenging aspect of the exercise you need to use momentum. Creating momentum will assist you through the difficult moments of the exercise. At a dead hang, you begin by contracting your scapulas and abs. This motion draws your hips and chest up, which creates an upward momentum to push you into the stronger middle phase. Once in the middle of the exercise, you need to use the ideal length of the muscle to create as much momentum as you can to carry you up and over the bar. This is better explained visually in our PULL-UP TUTORIAL.