Can a 51 yo with rheumatoid arthritis build enough muscle and strength to get their 1st pull up?
[Estimated reading time: 4 minutes, 58 seconds.]
A few months back, I reached a milestone I never thought possible given my rheumatoid arthritis - an unassisted chin-up. Then a couple of months later - an unassisted pull-up. Unfortunately I then broke one of my fingers so I had to pause for a bit. But I was proud of myself for the progress.
In case you’re wondering, YOU are also capable of doing an unassisted pull-up.
Fighting for every millimeter on this unassisted pull-up.
Why pull-ups?
Muscle mass decreases approximately 3% to 8% per decade after the age of 30. This accelerates after you turn 60. Resistance movements that highlight grip and eccentric strength can help stave off declines.
Most people assume a pull-up is all upper body. It is very much about strengthening your back. Gardening. Golfing. Walking. Traveling. Bending over. Picking up a bag of dog food. All activities that use your back.
Back-story
My rheumatoid arthritis impacts me most with my grip. When I started CrossFit in 2010, the coach wanted me to try pull-ups. I tried to use the band and a box as a stand since the pull-up bar was not sized for me (aka “shorty”).
My hands hurt a lot from the gripping. I bagged the idea by focusing on core work in other ways. When we left CrossFit and set-up our home gym, Marc installed a pull-up bar at a height for “normal sized” people. Same problem from CrossFit. I abandoned the idea.
Late last year, our coach then recommended we get a 2nd pull-up bar for me. So off we went.
What did my coach program?
My current resistance program is 3x/week. One day is upper body, one day is lower body, and one day is a lifting sesh combined with cardio.
For the upper and lower body sessions, I am generally assigned a group of 2 exercises. These exercises typically have a push movement (i.e., push-up, bench press) with a pull movement (i.e., pull-up, bent over row with barbell or dumbbell).
Coach focused on the following in the build-up:
Time under tension, which refers to how long a muscle is under strain during a movement.
Negatives, which are downward half of a pull-up — the part where you lower yourself from the bar. This definitely helps with grip strength.
I started with a resistance band, which vary in how much weight they support. A sample grouping could be:
Banded supinated negative pull-ups - 5 reps with two seconds on the downward aka eccentric motion (more on this below)
Bench press - 6 reps with three seconds on the downward motion
5 pull-ups. Quick rest. 6 bench press. Rest. Repeat 2 more times.
[Above video shows banded pull-ups with 2-3 seconds on downward motion and a deliberate pause at the top.]
We worked on different grips. Supinated is an underhand grip associated with chin-ups. Pronated is an overhand grip associated with pull-ups. The former can certainly lead to success with the latter!
Are you one of those people who wants to invest more time in yourself but are unsure how to go about it?
After about 6 weeks, I hit my 1st unassisted chin-up. It took about another month to get my 1st unassisted pull-up… just barely. When I broke my finger, I was up to 4 chin-ups.
As I needed to give my finger time to heal and then we had our trip, my pull-up progression took a step back. My finger needed to heal - see earlier point around grip strength! I’ve been back at it since we returned.
Why does grip strength matter?
According to Dr. Peter Attia in the book “Outlive”, accidental injury is among the leading causes of death in the developed world. Even when an injury itself is not directly responsible for ending one’s life, the associated debilitation can hasten the onset and progression of other health concerns.
We rely on our hands for many everyday tasks. If we don’t have a strong grip, our quality of life will be negatively impacted. If you can’t grip, it doesn’t matter if you have bulging biceps because everything you do with your arms is through your hands.
When you lose balance, having a strong grip creates a better chance of catching yourself. If you can grip supports, you are less likely to have a big fall, which could lead to serious injury. With less bone density and muscle as you age, the risk of serious injury increases.
Why do I need to care about eccentric strength? I want to get my reps in and move on with my day!
Eccentric work lengthens your muscles. You are generally using it on the downward motion of a movement. If you’re doing a bicep curl with a dumbbell, the lowering motion is the eccentric piece.
[Above video is supinated negatives with 3 second downward without a band.]
Without having eccentric strength, gravity takes over and the movement becomes uncontrolled. This could lead to injury. From Dr. Attia and his blog (emphasis mine):
During eccentric movements, muscles act as shock absorbers and braking systems against external forces such as gravity, and the importance of this function for the prevention of falls and injuries can’t be overstated. Eccentric strength of the knee extensors, for example, is what allows us to maintain control as we walk downhill or down a flight of stairs, providing a brake against gravity taking over. In addition to preventing falls, this ability to use muscles for deceleration and controlled movement also reduces force experienced by joints, providing yet another means of avoiding injury.
How can you build up to an unassisted pull-up?
Outside of having access to a pull-up bar, finding a program that safely brings you along is critical. You don’t want to get injured. I did specific pull-up work once a week and it worked.
A good program will have complimentary exercises to build up lesser known muscles involved in pull-ups. These include core, upper back, deltoid and lat muscles.
[Above video is unassisted chin-ups with a 2 second downward motion.]
If I can do it, so can you.
If you need help finding the right program to meet you where you are, I can help. Schedule a call. Get in touch.
As always, speak to your doctor before starting any kind of fitness regimen.
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