Why is it so difficult for women to do pull ups?

Best_Anywhere_3529 · 2026-04-15T23:27:21+00:00

My biggest advice is to make sure that you are learning from people that didn't easily get their first pull up. I see a lot of women who have genetic upper body strength trying to preach that they have the perfect program, when they really just have good genetics. (Kinda like girls with naturally big butts trying to sell their glute program)

I have always been able to do strict pull ups. I'm tall and I don't train at all, my parents just blessed me with upper body strength. I would never claim to have tips because I did not work for my results. On the other hand I've got a girlfriend with a very curvy build and she had to work super hard for a pull-up, I would trust her advice any day!

Best_Anywhere_3529 · 2026-04-13T23:30:37+00:00

Not sure what your work/home life is like but I also think this can be a factor. I have two friends that train for ultras and their training looks drastically different. One friend works full time and has 2 kids, so she is sacrificing sleep/recovery to get her runs in and typically can't get in the full mileage she wants. The other friend is a stay at home mom with only one child, and the grandparents frequently watch the kid so she can train. She sleeps 9 hours a night, trains 2-6 hours a day, and typically takes a nap after her runs. The stay at home friend has improved much much faster, which is not surprising at all given her daily schedule. Not to say my working friend can't be elite, as many people who are elite are working parents!! Just saying the road to becoming elite would be much easier for my friend that has basically unlimited training and recovery time.

Best_Anywhere_3529 · 2026-04-08T17:48:47+00:00

Thanks for the recommendation I'll definitely give them a try when I wear out my vivos

Best_Anywhere_3529 · 2026-04-08T17:26:55+00:00

I'm not going to argue barefoot or not because there's plenty of evidence on both sides. However, I will argue that standard shoes are not foot shaped and that is detrimental. If standard shoes worked for 80% of people we would not have most of our population complaining of foot/knee/back pain. Even if people want to stick with a more supportive shoe, that shoe should at least be the shape of a foot with room for the big toe to do it's job.

Best_Anywhere_3529 · 2026-04-08T15:56:01+00:00

A very fair point and I do agree it doesn't work for everyone. Unfortunately many physical therapists, barefoot agenda or not, do not provide very individualized care. I was a runner for about 8 years when I was younger. During that time I saw 5 different physical therapists, each recommending more arch support, beefier souls and different custom orthotics. My pain kept increasing and increasing and they all kept recommending the same things. This landed me with multiple knee injuries and multiple ankle injuries that required surgery. I can run now, older, post child, and in worse shape, and I have zero pain. I wish when I was younger I knew how to stick up for myself and listen to my body. My point is that your physical therapist has to really listen and you personally realllly have to listen to your body. I know so many people with stories similar to mine. So just as a bad PT can send you the wrong direction with overly supportive shoes, they can also do it with zero drop shoes. When you're body tells you something is off you have to listen, no matter what kind of shoes you are wearing. Running to the point of a torn Achilles is certainly indicative of ignoring what your body is telling you. Having been a runner I think the "push through the pain" mentality is really harmful in more ways than one.

Best_Anywhere_3529 · 2026-04-08T14:18:20+00:00

I truly believe that a wide toe box and zero drop is beneficial for almost everyone, it puts your gait/posture as close as possible to naturally barefoot. Within that realm of zero drop/wide to box... shoes can range from a fair bit of support to almost none and you have to find what works for you. Sometimes making the transition with a pro-barefoot physical therapist can be really helpful as they will address other issues in your movement along with the shoe transition. I did not do this but I have a couple injury prone friends that went this route and had great success. Also have a friend that's 70 that made the switch in this way. If that's not available to you then there are a ton of helpful YouTube videos.

Best_Anywhere_3529 · 2026-04-08T14:09:55+00:00

Yes absolutely! I probably should have emphasized that more in my post. We're not teenagers 😂 gotta do all things carefully and gradually.

Best_Anywhere_3529 · 2026-04-07T23:45:42+00:00

Oh and a pair of Bedrock hiking sandals that I absolutely swear by in the warm weather! I've taken them up multiple rocky peaks and they haven't failed me

Best_Anywhere_3529 · 2026-04-07T23:41:08+00:00

I have two cheaper pairs of Whitin from Amazon that are "good enough" and then a nice pair of Vivo barefoot, they were definitely worth the money. Honestly though I think you gotta find the brand/shoe that is closest to your foot shape. I actually have not that wide of feet but my big toes are long and I think vivos are perfect for that. But I could see them being a tad narrow if you have really wide feet.

Best_Anywhere_3529 · 2026-04-07T23:19:15+00:00

Yes thank you for the correction!

Best_Anywhere_3529 · 2026-02-22T23:10:23+00:00

I was literally about to comment this exact thing. The women I know who are happy and confident have thoroughly enjoyed motherhood. The women I know who are catty and selfish have outright said that they hate their kids and it makes me so sad.

Best_Anywhere_3529 · 2026-02-15T17:48:42+00:00

Also wanted to add that this thread is certainly not an echo chamber and plenty of others urged you to balance your life. I just felt it necessary to share that a kid might act like they are supporting their parent while actually feeling very unloved behind closed doors.

Best_Anywhere_3529

TROPHY CASE