Injury Free Pull Up

Click Here to Check Out Challenge Workouts
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Table of Contents
Table of Contents ...................................................................................... 2
Exercise Considerations .................................................................. 3
Disclaimer ........................................................................................ 3
How to Do Pull Ups - Injury-free............................................................... 4
Pull Up Body Position, Form and Technique .......................................... 5
Simple Exercise to Help You Find Your Pull-Up Starting Position ....... 8
The Best Grip for a Pull Up ....................................................................... 9
Pull Up and Eccentric Training .............................................................. 10
Exercise #1 to Help with Your Pull Up ........................................... 12
Last Key Ingredient to Pull-Ups ............................................................. 16
About Shawna Kaminski......................................................................... 18
About Rick Kaselj .................................................................................... 19
Other Products from Rick Kaselj ........................................................... 21
Ready-to-Download Video Presentations from Rick Kaselj ................ 23
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2
Shawna Kaminski, BSc
http://ChallengeWorkouts.com

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Title:
Injury Free Pull Up
Edition:
1st edition (April 2012)
Author: Kaminski, Shawna, 1963
Key words: pull ups, how to do pull ups
All rights reserved, except for use in a review. The reproduction or use of the content from this
book in any form (electronic, mechanical, or other) is prohibited. Photocopying or scanning any
information into a storage or retrieval system is forbidden without the written permission of the
publisher and author.
Published by:
RK Healing Through Movement
#199 19567 Fraser Highway
Surrey, BC V3S 9A4
E-mail: support@ExercisesForInjuries.com
Website: http://ExercisesForInjuries.com
Phone: (888) 291-2430
Fax: (604) 677-5425
Exercise Considerations
Consult with a physician before beginning the exercises in this book. A physician can determine
which exercises are appropriate for you or your clients, and if any should be avoided or modified.
Disclaimer
Injury Free Pull Up is primarily an educational resource and is not intended to take the place of
the advice and recommendations of a physician. If you suspect your client has a health problem,
please have him or her seek the services of a physician or healthcare professional.
Exercise is an ever-changing science. As new research and clinical experience broaden our
knowledge, changes in exercise and exercise prescriptions are inevitable. The author has
checked with sources believed to be reliable in his effort to provide information that is complete
and generally in accord with the standards accepted at the time of publication. However, in view
of the possibility of human error or changes in exercise science, neither the author nor any other
party who has been involved in the preparation or publication of this work warrants that the
information contained herein is in every respect accurate or complete, and they are not
responsible for any errors or omissions or for the results obtained from the use of such
information. Readers are encouraged to confirm the information contained herein with other
sources.
Please note: For your information and reference, I have included URLs and hyperlinks to web
pages I've researched, relevant to the contents of this manual/guide/book. While I am unable to
guarantee that these links will remain active, should you have any questions regarding my online
research, please contact me directly.
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How to Do Pull Ups - Injury-free

You cant deny the power of the pull up; a beautiful physique can be
sculpted with the simple pull up. It broadens and strengthens the
back, while sculpting the waist in one fluid easy to understand (but
difficult to do) maneuver.
The prime mover for the pull up is the latissimus dorsi. Surprisingly,
the pull up engages the core a great deal. The secondary movers and
stabilizers for the pull up include the trapezius, rhomboids, biceps,
serratus anterior, transverse abdominus and the obliques. You can
see how the pull up is a compound movement and can effectively
train the core.
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As with any movement, its imperative to ensure that proper form is

used to prevent injury.
Pull Up Body Position, Form and Technique

I once made the mistake of overzealous training when trying to do the
human flag and my elbows and I werent on speaking terms for
several weeks.
(Shawna asked me about her sore elbows and this is what I suggested to her:)
The pull up is no different. There are a few things that can be done to
prevent injury, specifically overuse injury when doing the pull up.
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First of all, you need to get your mind focused on the correct muscles
in order to get your first pull up. Rather than using the back muscles,
many people will try to lift with their arms, chest, shoulders, anything
to get their body to move. This will get you NOWHERE FAST.
When doing an assisted pull up, you need to be in the correct

position.
You need to get your body UNDER the bar like this:
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You need to position yourself so that youre looking up and youre

ready to engage the BACK muscles, NOT just the muscles of the
arms. Your legs will be used to help you but they need to be directly
UNDER your hips, not in front of you. If youre legs are in front too
much, it will cause you to lay back and get out from under the bar.
Place the legs directly under your hips for the assisted pull like this:
Using a bench or box directly under you is the most helpful.
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7

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It may seem like Im splitting hairs with the correct position for the
assisted pull up. I am.
This is the KEY in order to be successful.
Simple Exercise to Help You Find Your Pull-Up

Starting Position
A simple exercise that anyone can do in
order for you to FIND the back muscles
is to do a simple hang from a
suspended bar.
As you hang, look up and think about

inwardly rotating your scapula, or
squeezing your shoulder blades together.
This will cause you to press the chest forward. You
should start to feel a slight elevation of your body, even if you cant
move your entire body up to the bar yet.
This improved body position will address the common error of

inwardly rotating the shoulders to pull the body up. The back is much
stronger and everyone will be more successful when they engage the
muscles of the back when doing a pull up.
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8

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The Best Grip for a Pull Up

Another area to be concerned with is the grip. Your grip can lead to
some elbow pain and strain. Even though youre actually hanging on
for dear life when doing a pull up, try not to use this power grip as it
actually radiates up the arm and can effect the elbow. Hold the pull
up bar more loosely and this will alleviate or prevent elbow pain.
In addition, when you come to a full hang position, you will put strain
on the elbow joint. If youre going to be doing a copious amount of
pull-ups, its best to not fully extend the arm in the hanging position.
By keeping a slight bend at the elbow in the extended position, you
will work the bicep more and strain the joint less.
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One of the best things about the pull up is the variety of ways you can
do them.
You can constantly change your grip from shoulder width, to narrow
grip, palms facing each other or parallel.
Every workout you do can be different just by changing up the grip.

This helps with overuse injuries as youll put stress on different areas
of the shoulder/back as well as the elbow/arm.
Pull Up and Eccentric Training

The key to learning how to do a pull up is to work the eccentric
contraction.
The eccentric, or lengthening portion of any movement, is the

strengthening phase; this is opposite to what most think. There are a
variety of ways that you can work the eccentric contraction when
doing a pull up. You can do assisted pull ups, jump pull ups,
suspended pull ups, inverted rows, weighted pull ups (all of these are
discussed in my Challenge Workout Program, by the way).
A caution when training eccentrically: the lengthening phase is the
portion of the movement that causes the most muscle soreness. You
need to be careful when doing eccentric contractions as you will
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cause more delayed onset muscle soreness and due to fatigue, there
is a greater incident of injury where you strain the muscle
excessively. While eccentric training is a great way to start to build up
the strength to be able to do a pull up or increase the number of pullups you can do, caution is necessary to prevent injury.
If youre overzealous to get your first pull up, or increase your

maximum pull-ups, you may be doing yourself more harm than good.
Trust me, you should learn from my mistakes. My shoulders and

elbows have paid the price of my enthusiasm from time to time. I
seem to be better at dispensing advice than listening to my own.
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While pull-ups are super cool, you can dramatically increase your
strength from doing other back exercises. Expand your training
protocol. You don't have to just do pull ups and pull up variations
when trying to increase your pull up personal best. It helps to have
access to some dumb bells and a suspension trainer.
If you are trying to do your first pull-up or improve the number of pullups you can do, here are a few exercises that will help:
Exercise #1 to Help with Your Pull Up
I like to do single DB rows so I can address muscle imbalances.
NOTE: I always train my weak side first since you'll always
have a strong and weak side, with continued training you'll
lessen the gap of strength differences.
It's imperative with this movement that you protect the lower back and
learn to isolate the latissimus dorsi. Support one knee and one hand
on a bench and flatten the back so that your chest is parallel to the
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12

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floor. If you're too upright, you'll work the upper trap, an area that
usually needs less development than the lat, the lower trap and
rhomboid muscles. Imagine what the pull of gravity is: basically a
straight line from the DB to the floor. Allow the DB to hang to the floor
while maintaining this flat back position. Bring the DB to the ribs and
bring the scapula, or shoulder blade in towards the spine. Return the
DB to the full hanging position and allow the shoulder blade to slide
away from the spine.
A common error is using the muscles of the arms exclusively to pull

the DB into the ribs; this is the same mistake that folks make when
trying to do a pull-up. You need to find the back muscles and engage
them in pulling the DB towards the body. Then allow the DB to extend
towards the floor with the arm fully extended.
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I'm a big fan of my suspension trainer. It basically uses bodyweight

as resistance. You can increase or decrease the amount of
resistance by changing the angle of pull with your foot position. It's
really a brilliant idea. Another benefit of the suspension trainer is the
need for core stability with its use.
The suspended back row is helpful in strengthening the back and

improving your pull-ups. As seen in the picture, it's a very basic row.
One thing to keep in mind is to maintain a long neck, keep the
shoulders down and don't let them creep up to the ears. Many people
elevate the shoulders unconsciously.
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A second pointer is ensure to drop the hips slightly, don't lead with
the hips and arch the back. You'll feel more through the middle back,
less through the arms if you have a slight hip flexion.
Not surprising, core strength is helpful to increase your pull up

prowess. A strong core helps maintain the proper body alignment in
order for you to engage your back muscles.
A good way to train the core and at the same time increase grip and
back strength is to do hanging leg raises. Many people tend to just
work their hip flexors when doing leg raises. The point of the leg raise
is to contract the abdominal wall and allow the hips to roll. It's a
matter of pressing the belly button in towards the spine to contract the
core and not just lift the legs up.
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Last Key Ingredient to Pull-Ups

The last component Id like to address is rest. Im my own worst
enemy at times where this is concerned once I get a goal in mind. For
example, my elbows ached for a few weeks after I worked the human
flag daily.
Umm, not a good idea.
The same goes for you and your pull-ups.
Your body needs rest and recovery. If your muscles are still sore and
you have a workout planned, you may want to postpone the training
of the sore muscles until you feel recovered. Im not giving you
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16

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permission to slack off, Im reminding you that an important part of

your training is allowing your body to recover fully. You need to listen
and know when youre just slacking off and when you really need an
extra day to recover. Maybe youll do a HIIT (high intensity interval
training) workout or a workout finisher, something different than
strictly strength work and pull ups.
The pull up is clearly one of the most impressive bodyweight

movements that can be done. With proper training with a mind
towards injury prevention, youll be more likely to succeed at
increasing your pull up power and not your aches and pains. You can
check out Shawnas pull up program here.
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About Shawna Kaminski
Shawna Kaminski is in her late 40s but she can kick most 20 year olds butt
when it comes to pull ups, push-ups and human flag. In order to help people
improve their pull-ups, she put together a program that helps improve your pull
up, gets you to perform your first pull up and improve your push up. You can
check out her Challenge Workouts here.
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About Rick Kaselj

Rick Kaselj, M.S. (Exercise Science), B.Sc. (Kinesiology), PK, CPT,
CEP, CES
Rick Kaselj specializes in exercise rehabilitation
and fitness. He works in one-on-one and group
rehabilitation settings, educating and training
people who have been injured at work, in car
accidents, and during sport activities.
Rick has combined his rehabilitation experience
and passion for research to develop a variety of
courses and presentations for fitness professionals,
Kinesiologists, and healthcare providers. Rick has given over 302
presentations to 5897 fitness professionals across Canada and USA.
These courses include:
Core stability of the shoulder
Exercise rehabilitation for the shoulder, lower back, hip, or knee
Foam roller essentials
Intro and advanced core stability
Intro and advanced stability ball exercises
Postural assessment and exercise prescription
Injury-free running
Save your shoulders
Training for better golf
Rick strives to balance his work life with his personal fitness
endeavours and travel. He has trained for and competed in the
Manitoba Marathon, the 225 km Ironman Canada Triathlon, and the
160 km Sea2Summit Adventure Race in Whistler, BC.
He has hiked 4,300 km along the Pacific Crest Trail from Mexico to
Canada and mountain biked the 5,000 km Great Divide Mountain
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19

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Bike Route over the Rocky Mountains from Mexico to Canada. An

avid traveler, Rick has toured three continents and visited 17
countries.
In 1997 he graduated with his Bachelor of Science degree in
Kinesiology from Simon Fraser University. Rick recently completed
his Masters of Science degree focusing on corrective exercise and
therapeutic exercise for the rotator cuff. Rick currently works as a
lecturer, Kinesiologist, personal trainer, writer of exercise
rehabilitation and exercise rehabilitation specialist in and around
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
To learn more about Rick Kaselj, please visit
http://www.ExercisesForInjuries.com
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Other Products from Rick Kaselj

To order these books, visit http://ExercisesForInjuries.com
Muscle Imbalances Revealed Lower Body (Earn 6 CECs)

As fitness professionals we often just focus on strength, flexibility and cardiovascular
techniques with our clients in order to help them reach their goals. By just focusing on these
three exercise techniques you hamper your client's ability to overcome injuries, bust through
fitness plateaus and stay injury-free. To get past this what you need in your toolbox is a full
understanding of muscle imbalances.
Muscle Imbalances Revealed goes beyond stretching what is tight, strengthening what is weak
or just performing corrective exercises. It assists the fitness professional in understanding the
synergies that exist within the body and walks you through the intricacies of muscle imbalances.
In Muscle Imbalances Revealed, the fitness professional will be guided by 6 experts from
various professions on how to identify, address and perform the most effective exercises to
address muscle imbalances and increase the speed of injury recovery, bust through fitness
plateaus and prevent injuries.
For more information visit - http://MuscleImbalancesRevealedLowerBody.com
Muscle Imbalances Revealed Upper Body (Earn 7 CECs)

In the Upper Body Edition of Muscle Imbalances Revealed, you will be guided by four experts
from various health professions on how to identify and address muscle imbalances and perform
the most effective exercises to improve performance, bust through fitness plateaus, increase
the speed of injury recovery and prevent future injuries in the upper body.
For more information visit - http://MuscleImbalancesRevealedUpperBody.com
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The Most Effective Exercises For Scoliosis (Earn 6 CECs)

- Fitness Professionals Guide to Exercise and Scoliosis Exercise is recommended by physicians for people with scoliosis. With more people with
scoliosis leaning towards exercise to help improve their condition, it is vital for the fitness
professional to be educated and prepared to work with these clients. Exercise can help safely
alleviate pain, stiffness, de-conditioning, and muscular weakness associated with scoliosis.
Gain a comprehensive understanding of scoliosis, how to design an appropriate exercise
program for your clients with scoliosis and discover the most effective exercises for scoliosis. If
you are ready to increase your confidence working with clients with scoliosis, would like to
understand how to safely train clients with scoliosis and empower yourself with the exercises to
help your clients with scoliosis, then Effective Exercises for Scoliosis is a must for you.
For more details visit - http://EffectiveExercisesForScoliosis.com
Effective Rotator Cuff Exercises (Earn 6 CECs)

- Fitness Professionals Guide to Rotator Cuff Exercises Rotator cuff injuries are the most common shoulder injuries fitness professionals will face.
Exercise is recommended by physicians for people with rotator cuff injuries and therefore, it is
vital for the fitness professional to be educated and prepared to work with these clients.
Exercise can help safely alleviate pain, decrease stiffness, increase range of motion, and
improve rotator cuff strength. This course will help you gain a comprehensive understanding of
rotator cuff injuries, how to design an appropriate exercise program for your clients with a
rotator cuff injury, and discover the most effective exercises for the rotator cuff. If you are ready
to increase your confidence working with clients with rotator cuff injuries, would like to
understand how to safely train clients with rotator cuff injuries and empower yourself with the
best exercises to help your clients with rotator cuff injuries, then Effective Exercises Rotator
Cuff Exercises is a must take course for you.
For more details visit - http://EffectiveRotatorCuffExercises.com
Interested in a Shoulder Injury Guide?

Visit http://ExercisesForInjuries.com
To order these manuals, visit http://ExercisesForInjuries.com
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Ready-to-Download Video Presentations from

Rick Kaselj
Scapular Stabilization Exercise Program
Shoulder injuries lead to pain, prevent people from doing the things they love and make the
simplest tasks challenging. Many will learn strength exercises to help them recover from their
shoulder injury, but too often these strength exercises will lead to slower recovery from a
shoulder injury. What needs to be done before strengthening the shoulder is activating, building
endurance and strengthening the scapular stabilization muscles. Adding this one step will
speed up the recovery from a shoulder injury and prevent re-injury of the shoulder.
For more details visit - http://ScapularStabilizationExercises.com/
Sacroiliac Pain Solution
The most common and most ignored injury in females is the sacroiliac joint. Most times the
exercise program that is given is what one would give for someone with a lumbar spine lower
back injury,. The SI joint exercise program design is very different than that of a regular lower
back injury program. In this practical and hands on presentation you will learn the 5 step
exercise process to overcome your clients or your sacroiliac joint (SI joint) injury.
For more details visit - http://SacroiliacPainSolution.com/
Shoulder Pain Solved
Shoulder pain is one of the most common injuries people will face. Many times people will just
stop using their arm in order to avoid the pain. The odd time they use their arm, they will be
reminded of their shoulder pain. Dont just ignore your shoulder pain, do something about it.
Shoulder Pain Solved is a step-by-step program that requires minimal equipment and only a
few minutes a day in order to get you on the road to a pain-free shoulder.
For more details visit - http://www.shoulderpainsolved.com/shoulder-pain-solved/
Lower Back Spinal Fusion & Exercise
In many situations, a lower back condition can lead to lower back spinal fusion surgery. It is
estimated 126,000 spinal fusion surgeries occur a year in the USA and since 1996 the number
of surgeries has increased by 116%. The group that has had the greatest increase in lower
back spinal fusion is adults over 60. Lumbar compression fractures, spinal deformities,
spondylolisthesis, lumbar instability, disc herniation and degenerative disc disease are common
conditions that can lead to lower back spinal fusion. A key component in the recovery from
lower back spinal fusion surgery is exercise. The role of exercise after spinal fusion is important
in speeding up recovery, strengthening the muscles supporting the vertebrae and improving the
endurance of core stability muscles. The focus of the spinal fusion and exercise webinar will be
exercise program design and exercises for a client who has had a lower back spinal fusion.
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For more details visit - http://exercisesforinjuries.com/lumbar_fusion_exercises/

Exercise and Plantar Fasciitis
The role of exercise for plantar fasciitis is vital in helping with a speedy recovery, decreasing
pain, decreasing the risk of reoccurrence and in creating an action plan on what to do if
symptoms return. The focus of the plantar fasciitis and exercise video presentation is an
exercise program and exercises for a client that has plantar fasciitis.
For more details visit - http://BestPlantarFasciitisExercises.com
Knee Injury Solution

I often get asked, How do I strengthen my knees?, or I have injured my knee, what exercises
can I do to fix it? Knee Injury Solution answers these questions. It give you videos and an
exercise manual with a variety of exercises that you can do with minimal or no equipment to
strengthen your knees, rehabilitate or prevent a knee injury.
For more details visit - http://KneeInjuryExercises.com
Interested in receiving over $299 worth of

fitness education information?
Visit http://ExercisesForInjuries.com
__________________________________________________________________________
24

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Click Here to Check Out Challenge Workouts

Click Here to Check Out Challenge Workouts

Click Here to Check Out Challenge Workouts

How to Do Pull Ups - Injury-free

Click Here to Check Out Challenge Workouts

As with any movement, its imperative to ensure that proper form is

Pull Up Body Position, Form and Technique

Click Here to Check Out Challenge Workouts

When doing an assisted pull up, you need to be in the correct

Click Here to Check Out Challenge Workouts

You need to position yourself so that youre looking up and youre

Using a bench or box directly under you is the most helpful.

Click Here to Check Out Challenge Workouts

This is the KEY in order to be successful.

Simple Exercise to Help You Find Your Pull-Up

As you hang, look up and think about

This improved body position will address the common error of

Click Here to Check Out Challenge Workouts

The Best Grip for a Pull Up

Click Here to Check Out Challenge Workouts

Every workout you do can be different just by changing up the grip.

Pull Up and Eccentric Training

The eccentric, or lengthening portion of any movement, is the

Click Here to Check Out Challenge Workouts

If youre overzealous to get your first pull up, or increase your

Trust me, you should learn from my mistakes. My shoulders and

Click Here to Check Out Challenge Workouts

Click Here to Check Out Challenge Workouts

A common error is using the muscles of the arms exclusively to pull

Click Here to Check Out Challenge Workouts

Exercise #2 to Help with Your Pull Up

I'm a big fan of my suspension trainer. It basically uses bodyweight

The suspended back row is helpful in strengthening the back and

Click Here to Check Out Challenge Workouts

Not surprising, core strength is helpful to increase your pull up

Click Here to Check Out Challenge Workouts

Last Key Ingredient to Pull-Ups

Umm, not a good idea.

The same goes for you and your pull-ups.

Click Here to Check Out Challenge Workouts

permission to slack off, Im reminding you that an important part of

The pull up is clearly one of the most impressive bodyweight

Click Here to Check Out Challenge Workouts

About Shawna Kaminski

Click Here to Check Out Challenge Workouts

About Rick Kaselj

Click Here to Check Out Challenge Workouts

Bike Route over the Rocky Mountains from Mexico to Canada. An

Click Here to Check Out Challenge Workouts

Other Products from Rick Kaselj

Muscle Imbalances Revealed Lower Body (Earn 6 CECs)

Muscle Imbalances Revealed Upper Body (Earn 7 CECs)

Click Here to Check Out Challenge Workouts

The Most Effective Exercises For Scoliosis (Earn 6 CECs)

Effective Rotator Cuff Exercises (Earn 6 CECs)

Interested in a Shoulder Injury Guide?

To order these manuals, visit http://ExercisesForInjuries.com

Click Here to Check Out Challenge Workouts

Ready-to-Download Video Presentations from

Click Here to Check Out Challenge Workouts

For more details visit - http://exercisesforinjuries.com/lumbar_fusion_exercises/

Knee Injury Solution

Interested in receiving over $299 worth of

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