CFA pull ups :(

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k2falcon

5-Year Member
Joined
Jun 29, 2010
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How threatening is it to a USMA application if I cant do a pull up or hang a decent time flexed arm?
I have been dedicated with my working out and am steadily improving. But I have not yet gotten a pull up. All of the other CFA scores are outstanding: pushups, situps, mile, all of them are great.

How bad is it if I cant do one pull up?
 
Depends on whether or not you're female. If you're male, I don't think you have the option of doing the flexed-arm hang; you really need to train to do pull-ups. If you cannot do a full pull-up, try doing negative pull-ups. A negative pull-up is an exercise where you jump and position your chin above the bar, the same place your chin would be if you were performing a normal pull-up. From this position, slowly lower yourself to the free-hang position, which is the position where you hang idle before performing a pull-up rep. Repeat negative reps SLOWLY, so that you may get accustomed to the muscle movement. Eventually work toward doing normal pull-ups.

I'm not sure how important pull-ups are for the CFA, but you'll obviously want to be able to do at least a few of them. I don't want to mislead you, but a cadet I talked to at the Academy said he passed the CFA with only about 3 pull-ups. I'm not sure if he recalled the number of reps correctly, because 3 seems pretty low to me. However, it may be true. Whatever the case, just work at improving your pull up count. Research exercises to work out your lats.
 
my son bought one of those pull up bars, I think they cost about $30.00, and he put it in the doorway of his bedroom and every time he walks through the door he does pull ups..it's become a habit for him now. when he first started, he struggled with two, now he's up to twenty. Just keep plugging along and you'll amaze yourself!!!
 
Do you have an assisted pull up machine at a local gym? I feel like that could help, if you steadily lowered the amount of assistance over time until you were doing them without any help.
 
I'm assuming you're a female, but even you're male and if you're starting out not being able to do any pullups you'll really have to work at it. I used to only be able to do one, and even that was probably because I've been developing those muscles unconsciously through my sports.

Practicing pullups will help with your flex-arm hang time.

I did the same thing with doing as many pullups as I could whenever I left my room, and having someone assist me to do twice as many as I have done that day. There's a lot of good info if you search Google.
 
I was in your position at the beginning of September. I could barely do one pull-up. I took the CFA in November and I did the max 18! I worked really hard at it, though. All I can say is practice. Get your body used to doing them. Set reasonable goals for yourself (first week-2, second week- 4, etc). I had a pull-up bar in my room and I was doing them every morning and every night. Training for pull ups also seemed to help me with push ups (got the max 75 push ups also). Sit ups were my weakest area (I got 82). Work out a lot and be hard on yourself.
 
Assuming you're female, you can improve your flexed arm hand with push-ups and by . . . hanging. Use a stool and put yourself above the bar. Hang as long as you can and then SLOWLY lower yourself down. As others have said, that will also help with the pullups. It really is a matter of practice so that you build up the muscles. A pullup bar is a must.
 
hey k2, to practice pull-ups, use a lat pull-down machine. there's one at the Y. what I do is three sets of 15 reps, and the more you do of that, the better you'll become at pull ups. Practice, and don't give up!
 
I have heard (not sure of its accuracy) that pull up machines aren't very effective at helping you wth pull ups.

I go by the system of "Just do more then one" just get a pull up bar and do one more then you think you can do

Can't do any? Push yourself to do one, once you think you can do it, do two, etc.
 
A year ago, I couldn't do any pullups. After months and weeks of hard work, and I can now hit around 10 (on a good day ::biggrin:)

I used a modified-homemade pullup machine, and I really believe that without it, I would still be unable to do any. The key of course, is to keep at it!
 
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