Do any girls do pull ups?

The other night we were at a friend's house and one of the guys had a bar attached to the doorway. I jumped up and did three full pull ups with relative ease. All my friends immediately said "GROSS! That is unnatural. Girls aren't supposed to be able to do that."

Do any females out there do pull ups?? I was proud of my strength, but now I'm starting to wonder if I'm becoming too manly. 

It's partly a function body weight, partly a function of strength and partly enough practice to do it.  Check out stumptious.com and if your friends are serious consider making some new ones.

your friends sound really anti-femenist. women shouldn't be strong? wtf?

yes, we should all be frail little twigs who can't take care of ourselves and are totally dependent on men.

tell them to grow up its the 21st century.

A friend of mine can do four one handed pull ups and she looks completely normal.

I don't think pullups make you manly, THEY MAKE YOU BEASTLY!

Haha. But seriously, be proud of the fact that you have that much upper body strength.

Just tell them if you are ever hanging off the edge of a cliff, you could pull yourself up, while they, sadly, would die. Maybe a little too morbid, but it would get the point across.

:]

I have never been able to do pull-ups, but most of the other girls I knew in school growing up could do them, and I was so jealous.  Strong girls are cool and sexy!

Hi jcl, I am female and I can do pullups as well.  I can only do three at a time right now, but I'm working my way up toward 10.  Being able to do pullups makes you AWESOME.  A lot more awesome than your friends, apparently. 

It's not just the bragging rights this affords; being able to effectively move and use your body grants you a kind of independence that is rare and valuable for women.  Keep it!

The fact that they noticed and pointed it out just means they're surprised. Who wouldn't be impressed by a girl who can do pull ups?

You're not a beast, you're not manly, you are STRONG. Be proud.

They're probably all scared now because you can do pull ups more easily than they can. I bet they're all going to be practicing now. :)

Pull ups are an achievement regardless of gender.

There's nothing manly about performing them and you look nothing like man so don't worry about it.

I wish I could do pull-ups! You rock!

Most girls I know can't do them either. Dunno if it's a "hips too big" thing, since it makes the weight to be pulled up bottom heavy vs. if you have most of your weight in the top half.  Maybe it's not that at all....

Anyway, you guys have totally inspired me - going to dust off the hubby's pull up bar and have at it until I can finally be strong enough to do ONE.

Ahh... it's all uphill from there....

V.

For anyone who wants to work up to pullups, try stumptuous's article: Mistressing the Pullup

You're friends sound really insecure and stupid. (sorry). Girl's should hold there own. I'm envious. One of the things I want to accomplish through healthy habits is to be able to do A pull up.

Go girl!

I finally crossed over to being able to do a pull-up this summer. My girls (9 and 11) were so proud of me. Being strong is very empowering. I know there are guys I could easily take down and I'm only 5 ft tall.

I wish I could do a pull up, I've been trying to improve my upper body strength forever. 

I think you need a better class of friend :-P

Original Post by jcl76:

Do any females out there do pull ups?? I was proud of my strength, but now I'm starting to wonder if I'm becoming too manly. 

I can do 7 in a row and proud of it!  I don't think I am manly at all and you aren't either.

10 years ago, I could do zero.  If nothing else was a fitness goal of mine, the pull up was. And, I am FAR from manly. I started with negatives.....not exactly sure how long...but it was quite a few months before I could progress to pull ups. Starting with just one pull up then back to negatives to finish set. I now am quite apt at one armed pull ups and one arm handstand push ups. And, I've never felt more empowered, yet, all woman, baby! So, yah...your 'friends' are just jealous and/or....intimidated. Keep it up!

Original Post by amethystgirl:

For anyone who wants to work up to pullups, try stumptuous's article: Mistressing the Pullup

Great article: Thanks!!!

V.

I've never been able to do one in my life.  I haven't tried since high school, and I couldn't do them then, either.  But I am working on it!  I have a lot of weight to lose, and a lot of strength to gain, but it's one of my goals.  I don't see it as one I'm going to achieve for maybe the next 6 months to a year, because I'm trying to be realistic about how far I have to go - and it's pretty darn far.  But I have both long and short term goals scattered along my journey, and it's definitely on the list.

So, as another girl, I envy your ability and congratulate you on your strength!

Original Post by fitnessgirll:

 I started with negatives.....not exactly sure how long...but it was quite a few months before I could progress to pull ups. Starting with just one pull up then back to negatives to finish set.

I'm new to strength training - what are negatives?

For pull ups...get up on a chair [or have a spotter to lift you]...then lower very slow - try to make make it last 3-6 secsonds. . You must ACTIVELY FIGHT GRAVITY!  Repeat. and repeat. and repeat. and....

Original Post by fitnessgirll:

For pull ups...get up on a chair [or have a spotter to lift you]...then lower very slow - try to make make it last 3-6 secsonds. . You must ACTIVELY FIGHT GRAVITY!  Repeat. and repeat. and repeat. and....

Ok, I see, it's like a backwards pull up.  Instead of lifting and then lowering yourself, you lower and then lift yourself.  But with more support.  Is that correct?