Law students at Harvard have probably noticed one of their lecturers has the triangular upper body of someone at the “buff” end of the spectrum. But they may not realise that Adam Sandel is a record-breaking fitness fiend and social media heavyweight.
Known as Professor Pull-Ups on Instagram, where he has more than 350,000 followers, Sandel, 39, is a pull-up guru capable of startling feats of strength. Last year the academic performed 77 pull-ups in a minute, reclaiming his own Guinness World Record.
Social media is bulging with pull-up influencers breaking records, sharing tips or just showing off their ripped physiques. In March Olivia Vinson, a 34-year-old Australian, set a record for the most pull-ups performed by a woman in 24 hours. She did 7,079 reps, an average of five a minute.
Olivia Vinson trains for her pull-ups world record in March
INSTAGRAM / OLIVIA VINSON
“People are recognising the pull-up as a great way to stay fit and healthy that you can integrate into your schedule without even needing to go to the gym,” Sandel says.
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Pull-ups are part of a wider trend towards calisthenics, a type of training that uses one’s own bodyweight. Sandel began specialising in pull-ups a decade ago after getting into power-lifting while studying for a philosophy PhD at the University of Oxford. He admired the fundamental purity of the exercise — a duel with gravity that works the whole upper body.
Pull-ups are also an indicator of broader health. You have to be lean, as well as strong, to achieve even a single proper pull-up, starting with straight arms and lifting your chin above the bar. While I have recently started flirting with weights, I’m pretty sure I remain incapable of a single pull-up. Recent attempts — normally while playing with my kids on the monkey bars — have left me looking more like a flailing fish on a hook than a man of steel.
Could Sandel help me channel my inner Travis Bickle, Robert De Niro’s Taxi Driver character, who transforms himself with 50 pull-ups a day?
The first thing I learn is that proper pull-up practitioners grab the bar with palms facing away from them, which tends to be harder than what is generally known as a “chin-up”, with palms facing towards the puller. Hands should be wider than the shoulders and the lower body should remain still.
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“I always say, lead with the chest,” Sandel says. “Even before your elbows begin to bend, lift your chest up towards the bar to engage the back muscles, which are doing the primary lifting.” To further activate the posterior chain — the muscles that run behind your thighs, bum and back — engage the core by pulling in the belly button and squeezing the glutes (your buttock muscles) together.
Professor Pull-Ups, aka Adam Sandel, shows off his hardened hand calluses
INSTAGRAM / PROFESSOR PULL-UPS ADAM SANDEL
I take Professor Pull-Ups’ tips to FitFor, my gym in southeast London, where Alexei Sharp, co-owner and trainer, is pleased to rekindle his own relationship with the exercise. As a younger man he did pull-ups by the dozen as part of his training as a champion decathlete (they are particularly good for the pole vault). “I would guess between 2 and 5 per cent of people can do a single pull-up, but it’s one of the best exercises you can do,” he says.
I hope to have a shot after spending regular sessions on the lat pull-down machine, which mimics the pull-up from a seated position. The moment of truth: as I reach up and grab the bar, I recall another tip from Instagram — to imagine that I’m pulling the bar down to me rather than myself up to it. I grip tightly and pull, trying hard to engage my back muscles. This time, to my surprise (and slight relief), I find myself rising. Soon I get my chin above the bar. I make it halfway through a second rep before gravity wins and I let go.
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Sharp, who at 52 can still do more than a dozen pull-ups without breaking a sweat, says even hanging on a bar for as long as feels comfortable offers benefits, stretching the spine and improving grip strength, which can decline with age. I do this for a few seconds before forcing out one more pull-up.
Sensing I might become a pull-up bore, I head home to google pull-up bars — and ask Sandel for some more advice.
Professor Pull-Ups’ top tips for beginners
• Use a step or platform so you can grasp the bar without risking a fall when you let go.
• Close your eyes and grab the bar where it feels natural, then widen your hands a little to avoid too much strain on your biceps. Door-frame bars may not be wide enough.
• If you’re struggling, consider using one or two strong elastic gym bands, looping one end around the bar and carefully slotting a knee or foot into the other. This will allow for reps of five or ten assisted pull-ups to build strength. When you can do five sets of five with a thin band, you’re probably ready to start doing regular pull-ups.
• Rather than just pull with the arms, lead with the chest, lifting it towards the bar to engage the back muscles, which are stronger. Engage your core and glutes too.
• A real pull-up means lifting your chin above the bar. For something even harder, touch the bar with your chest.