Before talking about Russian Fighter Pull-up program, Let’s know a bit about Pull-ups
A pull-up is an upper-body strength exercise. The pull-up is a closed-chain movement where the body is suspended by the hands and pulls up. As this happens, the elbows flex and the shoulders adduct and extend to bring the elbows to the torso.
Pull-ups use many different muscles of the upper body, including the latissimus dorsi and the biceps brachii.
Pull-ups are a common way to measure the upper body strength of the “pulling muscles”. They are used by the United States Marine Corps as a part of the Physical Fitness Test, although marines may also choose to substitute push-ups.
Ok i think that’s enough Now let’s talk about Russian Fighter Pull-up Program
Pavel Tsatsouline introduced the idea of the Russian fighters’ pull-up program. It’s a multi-week program that involves “sneaking up” on reps. Six days per week you’ll perform 5 sets of pull-ups using a very specific rep scheme. If your max is five strict pull-ups, do this:
The 5RM Russian Pull-up Program
Day 1: 5, 4, 3, 2, 1
Day 2: 5, 4, 3, 2, 2
Day 3: 5, 4, 3, 3, 2
Day 4: 5, 4, 4, 3, 2
Day 5: 5, 5, 4, 3, 2
Day 6: Off
Day 7: 6, 5, 4, 3, 2
Day 8: 6, 5, 4, 3, 3
Day 9: 6, 5, 4, 4, 3
Day 10: 6, 5, 5, 4, 3
Day 11: 6, 6, 5, 4, 3
Day 12: Off
Day 13: 7, 6, 5, 4, 3
Day 14: 7, 6, 5, 4, 4
Day 15: 7, 6, 5, 5, 4
Day 16: 7, 6, 6, 5, 4
Day 17: 7, 7, 6, 5, 4
Day 18: Off
Day 19: 8, 7, 6, 5, 4
Day 20: 8, 7, 6, 5, 5
Day 21: 8, 7, 6, 6, 5
Day 22: 8, 7, 7, 6, 5
Day 23: 8, 8, 7, 6, 5
Day 24: Off
Day 25: 9, 8, 7, 6, 5
Day 26: 9, 8, 7, 6, 6
Day 27: 9, 8, 7, 7, 6
Day 28: 9, 8, 8, 7, 6
Day 29: 9, 9, 8, 7, 6
Day 30: Off
Rest a few days and test the new max number of pull-ups.
You start with an all-out set and then cut a rep in each consecutive set for a total of five sets. The next day add a rep to the last set. Then a rep to the set before that, etc.
The system is intended to be used for four weeks. At the end of the month, take two or three days off and then test yourself. It is not unusual to up the reps 2.5-3 times. In other words, you are likely to end up cranking out 12-15 reps if you started with 5. If you can already do between 6 and 12 reps, then start the program with the first day your PR shows up. For instance, if your max is 6 pullups start with day 7; if your max is 8 start with day 19.
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.
The 3RM Fighter Pullup Program
Day 1 3, 2, 1, 1
Day 2 3, 2, 1, 1
Day 3 3, 2, 2, 1
Day 4 3, 3, 2, 1
Day 5 4, 3, 2, 1
Day 6 Off
Day 7 4, 3, 2, 1, 1
Day 8 4, 3, 2, 2, 1
Day 9 4, 3, 3, 2, 1
Day 10 4, 4, 3, 2, 1
Day 11 5, 4, 3, 2, 1
Day 12 Off
Now you are ready to move up to the 5RM program.
The 15RM Fighter Pullup Program
For a fighter capable of fifteen pullups the routine would look like this:
Day 1 15RMx12, 10, 8, 6, 4
Day 2 15RMx12, 10, 8, 6, 6
Day 3 15RMx12, 10, 8, 8, 6
Day 4 15RMx12, 10, 10, 8, 6
Day 5 15RMx12, 12, 10, 8, 6
Day 6 Off
Day 7 15RMx14, etc.
The 25RM Fighter Pullup Program
A stud with a 25-pullup max would do it slightly differently:
Day 1 25RMx20, 16, 12, 8, 4
Day 2 25RMx20, 16, 12, 8, 8
Day 3 25RMx20, 16, 12, 12, 8
Day 4 25RMx20, 16, 16, 12, 8
Day 5 25RMx20, 20, 16, 12, 8
Day 6 Off
Day 7 25RMx22, etc.
You can see that the higher the RM, the quicker the reps drop off. The reason is simple. You should have no problem doing four reps a few minutes after 5RMx5. But x24 is not going to happen after an all-out set of 25. The higher the reps, the greater the fatigue. Therefore, you need to start more reps down from your rep-max and cut the reps more between sets. Experiment. An extra day of rest here and there is also in order; the recovery from sets of fifteen or twenty is not nearly as quick as from fives and triples.
Closing Thoughts
The Russian fighter pull-up program is one of the most cohesive and sustained workouts plans you can do for unlocking your full potential when it comes to pull-ups. If you’re looking to do consistent reps, it’s one of the best programs you can try to help you improve.
And…… That’s it for today’s Blog, If you have any questions do let me know in comments.
