#NoDaysOff: How to work your way up to a pull up like Virat Kohli - Part 1

Cricketer Virat Kohli is easily one of the most inspiring public figures in India when it comes to setting, and exceeding, fitness goals. Recently, Kohli shared a video of himself performing hanging crunches on his Twitter account. The exercise involves hanging from a bar with your feet in the air and engaging your core muscles to bring up your knees to your chest. The idea is to compress your core to raise the legs against gravity and further leverage the lower body as you gradually bring the legs back down.

Kohli’s brand is synonymous with hard work, a dogged commitment to achieve whatever task is at hand and being a fitness inspiration to his millions of followers. The hanging crunch is one of the exercises that you’ll need to perfect if you want to prepare your body to perform pull-ups.

The pull-up is a notoriously challenging endeavour. The vast majority of people are scared off by the raised bars and the people who can pull it off. Pulling up your entire body weight using just your arms and core muscles is something that needs to be learnt. Here is a list of exercises you can do to prep your body for pulling off this ultimate feat of strength.

Before moving to the bar, there are some exercises that target the back, core, and biceps. These include:

1. Reverse planks

This exercise will help strengthen your core, hamstrings, the muscles in your lower back and your glutes.  

• Sit on the floor with your legs stretched out in front you.  
• Lean back, while keeping your back straight.  
• Place your palms on the floor under your shoulders and lift up, keeping your body in a straight line and the core tense.
• Hold for 30 seconds.  
• Lower your hips to the floor and return to your original position. This is one rep.  

Do 10 reps.

2. Standing wall slide

This exercise primes your back and familiarises you with the motion of the pull-up.

• Stand straight, with your feet together, back against the wall. Try to reduce the space between the wall and your back, hips and thighs as much as possible.
• Raise your arms above your head, keeping them straight at the elbows.    
• Push against the wall with your back and bring your arms down by bending your elbows until they are below shoulder level. Your forearms remain perpendicular to the floor. Think of it like a pretend “hands-up” position, but with your arms pinned to the wall.
• You must be exerting yourself against the wall throughout.
• Straighten your arms at the elbow. This is one rep.  

Do 3 sets of 10 reps.

3. Lat pulldown

You might want to head to the neighbourhood gym for this one. This exercise targets the back and biceps. Sit at the lat pulldown station and:

• Pick a moderate weight. Don’t exert yourself by picking more than you are comfortable with.  
• Plant your legs firmly on the ground, and ensure that your body remains in place and is not lifted by the weight.
• Grab the bar in the open hand position (palms facing away from you, and the thumb relaxed). Pull down by crunching your shoulder blades so that you don’t rely disproportionately on your arms and biceps.
• Puff out the chest and bring the bar to it. Hold this position for a second and then slowly let the bar go back up. This is one rep.
• Stay planted on the seat as the bar goes back. If you do it slowly it becomes easier.

Start with 10 reps.

This exercise is best done with counterweights, but if you hate the idea of going to a gym, try using the monkey bars in your neighbourhood park. “Walk” across the bars by placing one hand in front of the other. Engage your shoulders, so that your arms are slightly away from your ears. And most importantly, be patient with yourself.

4. Alternating dumbbell row

Another exercise for strength building that targets the back and biceps.

For the dumbbell row, grab dumbbells in both hands. The weight should be somewhat challenging but not excessive.  

• Bend down at the waist such that your back is straight and parallel to the ground.
• Bring the arms straight down, with the weights hanging at arm’s length. Make sure you don’t bend your wrists at any point.
• Starting with the side of your choice, bring up the dumbbell along your body, hold it next to your waist for a second and gradually take it back down again.
• Repeat with the other side. That completes one rep.

Do three sets of 10 reps each.

Health articles in Firstpost are written by myUpchar.com, India’s first and biggest resource for verified medical information. At myUpchar, researchers and journalists work with doctors to bring you information on all things health. For more information, please read our article on   Six Pack Abs _._