Professional bodybuilders just suck at pull-ups. Most of the time they do partial partial reps and call it real training. What’s up with that? Why can’t those “gorillas” pull-up?
1.Bodybuilders are heavy as hell
In their prime, Jay Cutler and Ronnie Coleman were easily 280lbs on stage. When you weigh as much as a fully loaded American refrigerator, pull-ups become really hard.
In the video below, you can see Jay Cutler doing 1/3 pull-ups. The commentator in the video says that Jay is about 300lbs.
In next clip, you can see Nasser El Sonbaty performing 1/8 pull-ups.
Note: There are plenty of heavy guys who can do pull-ups and muscle-ups regardless of their weight. A good example would be Kali Muscle.
2.Bodybuilding is not a pull-up competition
In bodybuilding, you don’t get points for pull-up mastery. The only thing that matters is how you look. Therefore, pull-up numbers are simply irrelevant.
3.You don’t have to be good at pull-ups to have a big back
Regardless of what the fitness fanatics say, there are no obligatory exercises. You can build a huge back without ever doing a single pull-up. There are plenty of effective movements that will get you there as long as you work hard.