Which is better, Pull ups on a bar or a ledge?
The other day I did my Australian pull-ups on a ledge and also did some pull-ups and a half pull-up static hold. I did more sets and reps than I normally do. Well I guess my forearms weren’t used to that because pretty soon they were sore and weak. Sore I could accept, but the weak part caught me by surprise.
I mean, I do plenty of pull-ups and hangs. So what happened to my forearms? My guess is that it was due to a combination of 2 things. The first being that I had to hang on longer to complete my sets. The second, is that I didn’t have my fingers curled around a bar. They were hanging on a ledge.
This got me thinking about function. While having a pull-up bar at home is convenient, isn’t a ledge more functional? I’m thinking yes. If I had to climb over a wall, I would have to have that “ledge” grip. Climbing over a wall is what forced me to work on medium grip pull-ups. When I try to climb over a wall, I can’t really use a wide grip pull-up position to get over it. It’s closer to a medium or close grip.
I noticed that wide grips are easier. Medium and close grip, require more bicep and forearm strength to get you up and over. Try it out for yourself. From now on, when I can, I’m going to do my pull-ups on a ledge.
photo credit: climbing ledge
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