Weighted Pull Ups

I've been concentrating on pull ups ALOT recently, mainly because this is something that I was never really great at. I think there's a big stereotype around pull ups that females are no good at them, and I guess I can't say I've seen a huge amount of girls do them. Being a strength and conditioning coach I see a fair amount of athletes and it seems to be that females either can't do them or don't really want to, and I never know why! Is it the fear of embarrassment if they can not achieve a good amount? Is it that with their back turned to others in the gym/room they can not see if people are laughing? Or is it just the fact that its never really been a 'girly' movement?

I would like to put the record straight that girls CAN do pull ups and I am proof of this! When I train male athletes, I can often do more than they can, and I can safely say that when I do a set of them, lots of people are confused as to how I can do so many!

"Its because your so light"

"I cant do them because I have more fat"

Guess what... there's no excuses. Its body weight. It proportionate. If you PRACTICE you will get there. You may have a weak upper body, you may be holding more fat than most, but with practice you WILL be able to achieve them!

I'm 50kg and lift myself up.

Someone else may be 70kg and they lift themselves up. But they have more muscle than me. So therefore they have the upper hand!

I've now progressed to weighted push ups with a plate, firstly to get stronger and better at them, but also to show that pull ups are not just for men, and that women considered "no good at them" are actually very good at them! #GirlPower