Comments on Cranky Fitness: Pull Ups and Push Ups: For Women Too?

Not liking being a woman in general (no pregnancy ...

2009-11-02T15:08:27.064-05:00

Not liking being a woman in general (no pregnancy for me, no pregnancy weight, no toddlers, no pink PLEASE) I hated the distinction between female push ups and male ones. It's just socializing girls to think that push ups are impossible. It is true that for the sake of popping out one or two we as women lack upper body strength and muscle-it's all fat fat fat but one can work against this trend.
I started off with being able to do about 25 push ups and one unassited pull up. I've been doing P90X for a while(not to sound like an advertisement) and discovered that finally I can do unassisted pull ups-both wide hands and narrow hands and about 7-8 chin ups. I can only do one pull up at a time, true. It's a start. Not sure how many push ups I can do in a row now..hopefully more than 25.
Granted I have the 'petite' advantage (5 4 114 lbs) so I don't have much to lift-but then again, my arms aren't long as arm span pretty much matches height.
Go for it girls. Show them boys we are not all about babies and gossip!

Are you saying its unfair to ask someone regardles...

2009-02-28T02:06:00.000-05:00

Are you saying its unfair to ask someone regardless of gender to be able to efficiently move there own body weight? The fact of the matter is that if you can't do dips, pull ups, and push ups you are out of balance physically.

Late to the conversation, but just stumbled upon i...

2009-01-05T01:09:00.000-05:00

Late to the conversation, but just stumbled upon it. I just had my third child (2 months old) and have entered a local "biggest loser" competition for the next three months to get rid of the 50 pounds I gained pg.

I found out today at registration that one of the mandatory events is a monthly team push-up, sit-up, pull-up comptetition. I guess I shouldn't have been surprised..my hubby is Active Duty and the event is being held at the base gym. I've had years of being in great shape and years where I really let myself go.

I am motivated and dedicated to succeeding at this...but I don't know how realistic it will be in the three month time frame to be doing pull-ups. I'm 35 and didn't workout much during the last pregnancy. I've been back on the treadmill and eating healthier for about a month....any suggestions and "friendly" comments how to reach my goals would be greatly appreciated!

And 'd,' there is no way you were in great physica...

2008-11-11T19:10:00.000-05:00

And 'd,' there is no way you were in great physical shape and couldn't do a push-up, that is ridiculous. How you said you have been lifting weights since you were 15, what is your point? Push-ups are not the same. Do push-ups if you want to get better at them.

How can you call these exercises arbitrary? They a...

2008-11-11T18:48:00.000-05:00

How can you call these exercises arbitrary? They are probably the most fundamental and natural upper body exercises, or at least among them. And they are not benchmarks of absolute strength, but of relative strength, which many find more indicative of one's fitness level. So I disagree that women can be extremely fit and not be able to do these because of metabolism.

Hey thanks anon!I'm getting closer, but hitting a ...

2008-11-03T20:49:00.000-05:00

Hey thanks anon!

I'm getting closer, but hitting a plateau with the negatives and the gravitron.

Hadn't thought of the hanging leg raises, great idea!

Really fun to read these posts! I've been working...

2008-11-03T19:59:00.000-05:00

Really fun to read these posts! I've been working towards doing a pullup since February of this year (Nov 3 today!). When I started I could not even hang from the bar. I started out just getting strong enough to do hanging leg raises unassisted on the bar. Also I've been using the assisted pullup machine, working more on negatives with less and less weight. I can do 10 negatives unassisted from the "real" bar now - and every time I do them they feel stronger and slower! My goal is to do my first unassisted pullup on December 1 - which will be my 50th birthday. NOTHING has EVER toned up my upper body like this process has! So even if you never make it to a pullup - just start HANGING from the bar unassisted, start doing some HANGING LEG RAISES, and things will really start shaping up!

Thanks Billychick!Appreciate your stopping by and ...

2008-10-13T14:18:00.000-04:00

Thanks Billychick!

Appreciate your stopping by and sharing your thoughts and providing great balance about the issue over at your site.

Nice to meetcha!

Hey!I just wanted to say that I really appreciate ...

2008-10-13T10:41:00.000-04:00

Hey!
I just wanted to say that I really appreciate your blog and your post - and I think your response to Nikki's blog post was appropriate. I just wanted to let you know that a lot of the writers on there all have different points of view, and...she is one that stirs the pot.

This was my response:
The deals I do have with your post, to kind of piggy-back off of Crabby, is that
1) I've seen your pics. You're young and lean like a tiger. This is a walk in the park for you. I dig what you're saying that we asked for "equality" and now we have to deal with certain things, but some of us don't have your physiology, and pull ups are a bitch. I've been lifting weights since I was 15 and I still can't do them. My body won't let me.
2) "If you're too weak to do a pushup, hit the bench." - I agree. I think all women need to lift weights because it will help when you get to be old bastards like us in our 30's and we realize we need healthy bones. However to say "If you're too fat to do a pull up, lose some weight." - I think that is a misinformed and fucked up statement. There have been times in my 20's when I was in top athletic condition, actually at the perfect if not underweight, and I STILL couldn't do a push-up. And I have the broad muscular shoulders to do a lot of upper body stuff.

To say "if you're fat, lose weight," in this context is...a bit harsh, I think. Crab is right - it's a slap in the face to all the chicks who actually are at a good weight (and I mean healthy weight with a healthy lifestyle) who couldn't do one - and who are told every day when they open a magazine that they are too fat - when their doctor says that if they lose any weight they will be too thin.

I appreciate your candor and the ability as a woman to chastise many women for thinking that equality should be handed to them on a silver platter if they bitch about what's on the platter. Your stories about rowing and fighting fires are always a delight. But I worry that you think more women are like whimpering whiners than there are. There are a lot of women who are tough as nails and they don't need to do a one-armed push-up to prove it.

I like to do regular push-ups because girl ones hurt my back and I feel like I get better peck work out of the "dude" push-ups...but I still can't do a pull-up, and I don't know if I will. And I can live with it. LOL

Be well, sorry to take up so much space, but I didn't want you to think the because people write on my blog that I always agree. On BlogCatalog it lists ME as having written it...and that caused some horror on my end.

~ d

Girl, get your fat ass off the couch and drop and ...

2008-10-11T11:18:00.000-04:00

Girl, get your fat ass off the couch and drop and give me fifty! Who cares if you're a girl or a guy, even Arnold Schwarzenegger said that human muscle is human muscle, you're just making excuses for yourself because you're some wussy girl who can't run a mile in less than 10 minutes. Guys have to work out at the age of 14 just to be socially accepted by society, and girls are going around screaming for equality but at the same time whining "oh but we don't want to have to work for it like the men do." If you're too fat to do a pullup, then stop eating. If you're too weak to do a pushup, then hit the bench. It's as simple as that, if you want equality, you have to work for it. Enough with the "girl pushups," that's so last decade. Do you think the girls in the Marines do girl pushups? It's girls like you who whine and cry instead of sucking it up who are making it harder for girls to be accepted in athletics. Either do it or shut up.

Pull ups are a MUST, not to hit some arbitrary lev...

2008-07-19T17:03:00.000-04:00

Pull ups are a MUST, not to hit some arbitrary level of fitness, but because they really change your upper body more than any other exercise I know of! Want a sexy back and toned arms? You'd better be doing pull ups! Seriously, after years of doing curls, pull downs, etc. I have never seen my upper-body physique transformed as much as when I started doing pull ups and chin ups.

When I first started, I could not even do ONE. So, I started with a gravitron machine. Once I was able to do about 80% of my body weight about 10 times, I headed for the pull up bar. I did one, and it was all I could do. Then I did it again. And again. Pretty soon, I could do 2. Then 3. Then 4...

So YES, they're hard, but it's just like anything- if you practice it and really work at it, you too can do pull ups! Now, I strap on 25lbs and do about 6 reps. With body weight only, I can do about 12 without stopping. I do 6-7 sets per workout. I weigh 160lbs.

Because 1) of an injured knee and wrist, courtesy ...

2008-05-17T01:12:00.000-04:00

Because

1) of an injured knee and wrist, courtesy of attempting to keep up with the skinny girls at various stages during my formative years,

2) of the fact that my lean body mass -- that's muscles, organs, and bones, for those playing at home -- is apparently bigger than a size zero, so a Hollywood figure I will never have, and

2) the more Pilates I do, the stronger I get and the cuter I look,

I have a tendency to look at the pullup bar and say ...
"Hmmm ... how about never? Does never work for you?"

P.S. CF, congrats on the 25, you hardcore, you.

Aaah -- I'm late to the party! (I didn't allow mys...

2008-05-07T10:04:00.000-04:00

Aaah -- I'm late to the party! (I didn't allow myself Google Reader until I finished the article I was working on, and it looks like I really missed out.)

First, thank you Crabby for linking to my pull-up posts -- I don't think I'm done talking about them yet, as I still can't seem to shake the topic.

So interesting to see the range of opinions, from "HELL NO" to "of course"! (You know what camp I'm in.)

For those looking for a bar that won't screw up their door frames, try the Door Gym -- it doesn't need to be screwed in at all, so not only does it keep your jambs lookin' good, but it's portable. The cheapest one I found is at Karate Depot: www.karatedepot.com/tr-ex-25.html.

Ah, yes! I wrote about the same thing in my post ...

2008-05-06T21:52:00.000-04:00

Ah, yes! I wrote about the same thing in my post called Real Pushups vs Girly Pushups.

One of the things on my 101 Things list is to be able to do "at least one unassisted pullup." I practice, but I'm nowhere near being able to do one, either!

Go, you! For being able to do 25-ish on-the-toes pushups! Mad impressive! :)

This was quite an interesting post! Is it biology ...

2008-05-06T15:55:00.000-04:00

This was quite an interesting post! Is it biology or the noted lack of tree climbing as kids that has kept so many women from being able to do a "pull up" or "chin up" all their lives? I'm appalled!

I remember the Presidential Fitness thingy, I was in 7th grade and I was the only girl who could do 2 pull ups, I could have done more but they said you had to hang at the bottom or pull evenly or something, I could have got the 3rd or more if I wasn't scared silly and could have bump started more with my right arm. As a kid I was amazed that all those girls could not do even one pull up, they just hung there! And here you all are saying the same thing?

As a teen and until my late 20s I never needed a pull up bar in a doorway, I used to "chin" myself on the top of door jambs, either by grabbing with my fingertips ONLY from one side, or both sides in a pincer move, and pull up and touch my head to the top of the doorway.

I was not super skinny and not super muscular, but I was a tomboy and I played hard as a kid. I think it's a matter of growing up using one's muscles the way they were meant to be used. Physically it's probably something like use it early or lose it forever.

Now that I'm 20+ years older with a bad back that's gotten better, I can finally do ONE pull up at the outside gym in the park, and I can swing across the overhead whatchamacallit, bar to bar. My muscles have the feel of a rotten rubber band sometimes though, I think it's that they are cold, but I know I need to get back to weights consistently. Because of my back and carpal tunnel, I do lots of "counter" push ups, but otherwise for the full body, my wrists can't take it anymore. And I just did a test pull on a door jamb, and I can't believe I ever did those so easy or walked on my hands either.

Damage to my wrists, elbows, hands and shoulders over the years means those days are gone forever. PLUS I weigh 20 pounds more! BUT I sure appreciate everyone who posted on equipment and technique!

Merry...you're right about the biochemistry biolog...

2008-05-06T11:41:00.000-04:00

Merry...you're right about the biochemistry biology thing.
It's why I ended up with a double major in them...one made the other so interesting I just had to learn more :)

I have a love/hate relationship with pull ups. I f...

2008-05-06T11:11:00.000-04:00

I have a love/hate relationship with pull ups. I feel super tough doing them, but they hurt like hell.
A while back, I celebrated a huge landmark: being able to do ONE unassisted pull up!! Woohoo!

*Champagne s'il vous plait!*

I remember telling my massage therapist about it. Turns out, she is a downhill ski racer, crazy mountain bike chick and... a rock climber...
25.
She can 25 unassisted pull ups in a row. I would struggle to do that many assisted ones.
Pfff!

I too am working on conquering push ups and pull u...

2008-05-06T10:06:00.000-04:00

I too am working on conquering push ups and pull ups. Negatives do leave me really sore! But I refuse to give up.

Anyway, to all the folks talking about needing to damage a door frame to install a pull up bar... you don't have to! I have this one, and it just sits on the door jamb. Literally, you set it on the frame in about two seconds. I've had it through 6 apartments (military wife) and it's never damaged a single door. There are several versions out there.

Wow, what an awesome and educational and hilarious...

2008-05-06T07:05:00.000-04:00

Wow, what an awesome and educational and hilarious bunch of comments! I'm finding the bio chem discussion fascinating, for example, and who knew we'd get there from push ups?

I'm SO glad to discover that even tough rugby players (I am in awe of rugby players) still can't necessarily knock out a bunch of pull-ups, nor can guys, nor can many people who are obviously sensible and fit.

(And I'd almost forgotten about the Presidential Fitness test thingy--ick.)

I'm extremely impressed by all the exercises you folks do--one armed push-ups and clapping pushups and all kinds of ridiculous things. It makes me want to work out just a bit harder... either that or take a nap.

Merry.... yeah! I'm glad somebody has female chem...

2008-05-06T00:55:00.000-04:00

Merry.... yeah! I'm glad somebody has female chemistry professors. Allegedly, 10% of the chemistry professoriate is female, but somehow none of the professors I've had have been. I'm a physical/theoretical chemist, which you probably didn't have to take if you were a biology major. Usually bio majors stop at OChem. PChem is were you deal with physics on the molecular level and the classical laws of mechanics don't apply and you have to use quantum mechanics.

It's comforting to me to see the range of opinions...

2008-05-05T23:54:00.000-04:00

It's comforting to me to see the range of opinions on push ups and pull ups here! I've never been able to do either (well, pushups I can do against a wall or a few from my knees), though when I belonged to a gym a few years back I thought the Gravitron was pretty fun. I also kind of like the exercise ball push ups geosomin mentioned, and if I ever actually get around to buying myself an exercise ball I'll work on those again. (First to work on where to put an exercise ball in my postage-stamp-sized apartment...)

With push-ups, I always get lost trying to figure out exactly where my hands should be, where my elbows should go, and where my face should end up in relation to my hands at the lowest point of the move. Suggestions welcome!

"Real" pushups hurt my boobs. In not a good hurt ...

2008-05-05T23:53:00.000-04:00

"Real" pushups hurt my boobs. In not a good hurt kind of way. That's my excuse to stick with girl ones, but I can knock those out. ha ha. As for pull ups/ HELL NO. I always hated that day in gym class when you had to do at least ONE pull up to pass the "Presidential" exam or whatever it was called. Damn that day. I think they tested our body fat too. Now, that alone will make a teenage girl leap off the deep end.

And I don't equate biochemistry with chemistry bec...

2008-05-05T22:57:00.000-04:00

And I don't equate biochemistry with chemistry because I've linked it in my mind with biology instead. Pray excuse my bias: my degree was in biology, not chemistry, because I found biology fascinating. Therefore (MerryLogic), since I found biochemistry fascinating, and I loathed O. Chem and classes of that ilk, biochemistry must be considered part of biology.
(Well, it makes sense to me.)

Hmmm... Ashley, two of my chemistry professors wer...

2008-05-05T22:55:00.000-04:00

Hmmm... Ashley, two of my chemistry professors were of the female persuasion. Three if you count biochemistry. :)

I don't mean this comment to sound sexist, but 2 of the 3 were by far the best of my chemistry teachers.

I've learned to do full push-ups since January. I...

2008-05-05T22:25:00.000-04:00

I've learned to do full push-ups since January. It was one of my New Year's Resolutions and it had nothing to do with fitness, really. I sorta finally realized this year that if I'm really going to achieve my professional goal in life, I was going to be doing something that mostly boys do, for the rest of my life. (I mean really, how many girl chemistry professors do you know? Probably none.) This idea made me really uncomfortable, and I realized I was going to have to get over this, so I devised a list of things that mostly boys do that I thought I could learn to do. Push-ups was #1 on the list. I finally did three sets of 10 full push-ups last Tuesday, and it was awesome!! Pull-ups are next! I've been practicing with the assisted pull-up machine since January, but I'm still using 60 pounds of assistance. I'll definitely look at the articles for ideas. Sorry, for telling my life story here in the comments, but this push-up/pull-up thing has taken on a life of its own here.