Ask almost any coach who has been around for a while how to do more pull-ups and they’ll likely mention Pavel’s Fighter Pull-Up program. And for good reason, because it’s a great program that hinges on a fundamental tenet of many good training programs: high-frequency of training at sub-maximal intensities.

For those unfamiliar with the program the idea is to take your best max pull-up set, do a maximal set, and then do about 4 drop-off sets of fewer reps each. You may only do 3 drop-off sets just dropping a rep each set, or you may do up to 5 more sets dropping 5 reps per set all depending on what your total rep max is. Someone who can do 25 reps is going to need more of a drop-off than someone who can do 5.

But, it could be better.

The problem with the Fighter Pull-up program is that it’s essential a linear progression distress training program. Another way to say that is that you have to hit a certain number of reps and you’re expected to always be increasing that number and if you don’t the whole thing falls apart. The instructions for what to do if you don’t hit the prescribed reps is literally: “If you run into a snag with this routine, back off a week and build up again. If you hit the wall again switch to another routine.” So if it doesn’t work, do something else. Duh.

I’d like to present to you the Better Biofeedback Pull-up Program. This program is both a great introduction to biofeedback training keeping it simple and to just one exercise, as well a more advanced and smarter way to approach pull-up training. I’ve used this exact method with countless clients, and myself, to increase my pull-up strength and ability.

 

P.S. If you want a full biofeedback-based training program you need to check out my deadlifting program, Off The Floor.

Bands are like shots of flavoring in your coffee. They should be used with extreme prejudice, but when the time is right they’re exactly what you want.

I’ve got 4 ways to use bands in your deadlifting, judiciously of course. Two of them you may have seen before, but I’ll bet you haven’t seen the other two.

1) Banded Deadlift

This is the most common form of using a band in a deadlift. It provides an accommodating resistance that gets progressively harder as you get closer to lockout due to the stretch in the band. As an aside, I’ve never liked the term accommodating resistance for something that sure as shit doesn’t accommodate and definitely makes it harder, but I digress.

The idea behind the standard band deadlift is that because the deadlift gets easier as you get closer to lockout but weight stays constant it may be useful to make the top range of the movement more difficult. In practice I have found this to be useful when used sparingly.

My preference is to use a setup where the majority of the weight is on the bar, but you get 100 to 150 pounds of additional resistance at the top of the lockout. My band of choice is usually a thin purple Iron Woody band (like I’m giving away to one lucky purchaser of Off The Floor) on each side of the bar. I’ve measured this out and it works out to be about 100lbs depending on the specific dimensions of your setup.

A word of caution. Be extra careful on the eccentric or lowering portion. The band is going to actively pull you down in a way that gravity alone does not, and if it catches you by surprise you may be on your way to snap city.

2) Reverse Band Deadlift

The reverse band deadlift, perhaps not at all surprisingly, is intended to have the opposite effect of the banded deadlift. Instead of making the lockout harder, you’re getting some help in the initial portion of the pull and as you release tension from the band the weight gets heavier and gets closer to the true weight on the bar. In other words, it makes the start of the pull easier but the lockout is the same. This could allow you more total repetitions at a difficult starting weight than if you had to complete the full rep. Another advantage may be that it teaches you to have a specific load in your hands, but you’re moving it more quickly thanks to the band assistance.

For the reverse band deadlift you’ll need much heavier bands if you’re hanging them from a typical power rack. The thick green Iron Woody bands are a good starting point. In this variation you need a pretty good amount of resistance to make a significant impact on a heavily loaded barbell.

3) Front Banded Deadlift

This variation can be incredibly hard and a fantastic teaching tool. One of the biggest and most common mistakes people make with their deadlift is letting the bar drift forward away from the body. Any separation between the bar and the shins is increasing the leverage significantly. As you can probably imagine, using bands to actually forcefully put tension on that vector is going to make things pretty exciting. If you have trouble getting your lats engaged then this variation is a winner.

This works best with very light band tension – the same thin purple Iron Woody bands as in the band deadlift and you’ll want to only pull a few inches of tension into the band by backing the bar away from the rack or anchor point. I like to loop the bands around the bar first, and then use rack pins if available.

4) Solo Band Deadlift

I don’t know what else to call this so as not to confuse it with doing a barbell deadlift with bands. I want to be very clear, this is not a go-to strength builder. You’re not going to get to a triple-bodyweight pull by jumping up band sizes doing this movement. But here’s an example of when it’s really useful:

We had been in Ecuador for 4 days. After an 18 hour travel day of multiple flights, many hours in the car, and several hikes my back was really bothering me. It wasn’t injured, just the kind of annoying tension and ache that I often feel when I haven’t done some resisted hip and spinal extension (aka deadlifts) in a while. Since there was no hope of finding a barbell and plates, I was glad I had packed a couple bands. A couple sets of 15-20 later and I felt good as new.

The solo band deadlift is a travel lifesaver. Bands take up very little space and are versatile exercise tools besides the use for deadlifts. Here’s how I set it up:

P.S. If you like this post, you should know that even more useful information just like it is in my book, Off The Floor which is on sale for HALF OFF this week only until Friday at midnight. It has been upgraded and expanded since the original release. If you’re serious about putting pounds on your deadlift, you owe it to yourself to take advantage of this opportunity!

 

For the past few years I’ve been something of a prophet for the Jefferson deadlift. It’s weird to be specifically known for one odd lift, but I think it’s for good reason. The fact is that I tell people about or show people the Jefferson lift, they try it out, and they find that it fulfills a clear need or lacking in their training. I have dozens and dozens of emails, tweets, and Facebook messages from people who have alleviated back pain or gotten stronger than ever before thanks to introducing the Jefferson.

When it comes to explaining why the Jefferson is so great the biggest reason that it’s useful is exactly that it isn’t a conventional sumo deadlift. Here’s what it’s not:

• Symmetrical – one side of the body takes more load than the other.
• Sagittal-plane dominant – you’re not moving straight up and down or forward and backwards.
• Linear – it’s impossible to perform without some degree of rotation.

As a result it changes everything about the movement and how it applies to the body. Your tissue is stressed in completely different ways and, well, based on results this seems to work incredibly well for people.

But this post isn’t about the Jefferson.

I’ve got a lift I want you to test that is in many ways even stranger than the Jefferson and is sure to rustle even more jimmies.

The lift I want you to test is the Behind the Back Deadlift, or Hack Lift. (Not to be confused with the Hack Squat which generally starts at the top with the bar being lowered to the floor. No, I want you to pick it up off the floor.)

Here’s a good Behind the Back Lift:

And here’s a fucking great lift. This guy is a freak show:

Why though? What is good about this lift?

I derive most of my assessment of the usefulness and validity of lifts not from theoretical biomechanics or from ideology about how things should be but from informed experience. I get to watch people move in the gym every day and observe what works. Better still, through biofeedback testing I am able to observe how people move as well as how their body responds to the stimulus. Here’s what I’ve found about the Behind the Back Deadlift:

When people come in who have been doing a lot of saggital-plane, symmetrical, linear movements (conventional deadlifts, sumo deadlifts, cleans, snatches) often times more of this type of movement won’t test well. Sometimes even Jefferson doesn’t test well.

But Behind the Back Deadlift does.

Often enough that I’m almost guaranteed to look like a genius when nothing seems to be testing well and I can with a wave of the hand offer BTBDL and it tests well.

I can’t prove it, but my hunch is that this weird looking deadlift tests so well because it’s the exact opposite of the movements people are doing so much of. Whereas in nearly every deadlift the load is anteriorally biased, the Behind the Back Deadlift is posteriorally loaded with the weight well behind the heels.

It’s an opposition movement – something that almost invariably tests well when you’ve gone too far in one direction.

Here’s how to do it, directly from Off The Floor:

If you watch videos of heavy BTBDLs you will notice an odd pattern to the movement where the knees have to come forward about mid-lift. This is normal and to be expected.  You’re not doing it wrong because that’s happening.

One note about a variation that is useful for restoring extension function as well as rotation: Use only one weight, such as a kettlbell, in one hand. This allows the body to make up for some of the lack of extension with some rotation, and it tests really well for people.

Ultimately you may not need or want to pursue insane levels of strength in this lift and that’s fine. BUT, having it in the back of your mind to test when other things aren’t working well or when you feel like you want an alternative just gives you one more direction to make progress in.

P.S. Off The Floor is on sale for HALF OFF this week only until Friday at midnight. It has been upgraded and expanded since the original release! If you’re serious about putting pounds on your deadlift, you owe it to yourself to take advantage of this opportunity!