Page 19 - LECTURETTE TOPICS eBOOK

Bonus Section — The Importance of Pull-ups

Being able to pull yourself up is required in various situations in combat life like climbing
walls, hills and ropes, slithering from helicopters and so on. All these are important actions.
Unfortunately, a large number of people cannot perform these tasks satisfactorily primarily
because of weak upper-back, biceps, forearms and core muscles.

Building the required muscles is quite easy but requires systematic and regular exercising,
which most people do not do. In training, few cadets get relegated and even withdrawn
because of this weakness and incorrect training.

Building Required Muscle Strength

Please remember the following principles to develop strength in these muscles.

Muscles Grow at Rest

Upper back muscles require 48 hours of rest to grow. Please provide this much of gap after
exercise. Remember rest is as important as exercise for muscle growth.

Train Hard

When you train for strength building the ideal number of repetitions is 8-12 in one set. The number
of sets should be 8 to 15. In the initial one month you may do only 4-5 sets. Since the weak people
cannot do these numbers of repetitions they never train properly. They should adopt the following
methods to train these muscles:

• Adopt the method as shown in the picture.

• Any machine which provides scope for rowing action while being seated.

• Rowing with weights can also be done while lying face-down on a bench or while standing with
bent back.

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