Calluses on the palm

The Pull-up is one of the more demanding exercise and station for the Individual Physical Proficiency Test (IPPT) in the Singapore Armed Forces. Also known as Chin-ups or “Oh My Gawd Just 1 More”, they involve griping a horizontal bar and lifting yourself up so that your chin is above the bar. Sounds easy? When you try it you will find it otherwise.

What I say in this posts are based off my experience when training to do Pull-ups. Some of the facts are probably wrong so do take the information with a pinch of salt. Pull-ups are sort of an obsession of mine back when I had to take the yearly IPPT. (ahh the good ol’ days) There are different ways of tackling a pull-up and different types of pull-ups.

A proper pull-up involves muscles from all over your body, from the triceps to your core muscles. They all play a part in allowing you to pull yourself up in a smooth motion while maintaining a straight posture. (By bending your knees, it becomes easier to pull but does not really count as a “proper” pull-up)

Here is the interesting thing. By adopting different postures when doing a pull-up, you will utilize different muscles. For example, a wide arm grip will use more of the back muscles compared to a narrow one, which uses the biceps more. A proper pull-up is supposed to fully utilize the large back muscle yet not forgetting the other muscle groups such that they work in unison to achieve an easy pull.

I feel that training for Pull-ups matches my character perfectly. Doing ten pull-ups only takes a minute or so and I just have to do it 3 times a day, once before my meals to maintain. Short, sweet and simple.

I remember watching one of Bear Grylls’ series about the French Foreign Legion. There, they require the recruits to do at least ten pull-ups before they go for their meals. The instructor said something that stuck in my mind.

“A man who cannot pull his own body weight is a waste”

Here, a simple pull-up can mean so much more. After all, the act of pulling oneself up is literally pulling your whole body up. While that can be seen literally, it can also be viewed figuratively. Doing a pull-up involves your own strength. By doing a successful one, it means that you have just lifted your whole body up by yourself. One small step to prove your own self-worth.

-ARP