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On Friday (December 9th), I did a full round of Tabata pull ups. 8 sets of 20 seconds work, 10 seconds rest. It was the first time I have done Tabata pull ups. I never really liked the idea of using the Tabata protocol for pull ups, but I thought it was about time I gave it a try. My rep count was 13, 12, 11, 10, 10, 9, 9, 9 ... for a total of 83 reps. It seemed like a "good idea" at the time, but it turned out to be a mistake.
I had not done high-rep pull ups in a while. Sure, I have included them in circuits, but in low numbers. The last time I did 80 pull ups in a circuit was two months ago, and that was part of a 15 minute circuit.
The Tabata protocol is of a much higher intensity. Doing 83 explosive, kipping pull ups in a 4 minute time frame caused a great deal of stress to my elbow flexors. I spent the weekend in pain, unable to fully extend my arms. No amount of icing, heating, stretching, massaging, etc. has helped (though I may have waited too long to start that). I am still in pain today and expect that it will be a few more days until I can do any real work again with my arms!
The last time I did this was in August 2010, when I participated in a workout at a Crossfit gym and the MetCon included high-rep pull up intervals. I was in pain for days after that one too.
The lessons I have learned from these two experiences are:
1) Build up the high rep training over a period before doing something like this again.
2) Tabata pull ups may be "over kill" and not worth doing again.
I have done Tabatas with other movements, and not experienced this kind of result. Due to the ballistic nature of kipping pull ups and the stress it puts on the (smaller) elbow joint, it may be better to limit it to smaller doses ... and not done in a Tabata format.
When I think about it, I can't see the functional need to do high rep pull ups or how that ability would be useful in a real world scenario! Better to be able to do weighted pull ups ... THAT would be functional.
Having said that, I may try the Tabata format again with pull ups, but limit it to 4 sets instead of 8. Perhaps, alternate a set of pull ups with a set of push ups for a total of 4 sets each. However, I will not put this kind of stress on my elbow flexors again. It's just not worth it!
I had not done high-rep pull ups in a while. Sure, I have included them in circuits, but in low numbers. The last time I did 80 pull ups in a circuit was two months ago, and that was part of a 15 minute circuit.
The Tabata protocol is of a much higher intensity. Doing 83 explosive, kipping pull ups in a 4 minute time frame caused a great deal of stress to my elbow flexors. I spent the weekend in pain, unable to fully extend my arms. No amount of icing, heating, stretching, massaging, etc. has helped (though I may have waited too long to start that). I am still in pain today and expect that it will be a few more days until I can do any real work again with my arms!
The last time I did this was in August 2010, when I participated in a workout at a Crossfit gym and the MetCon included high-rep pull up intervals. I was in pain for days after that one too.
The lessons I have learned from these two experiences are:
1) Build up the high rep training over a period before doing something like this again.
2) Tabata pull ups may be "over kill" and not worth doing again.
I have done Tabatas with other movements, and not experienced this kind of result. Due to the ballistic nature of kipping pull ups and the stress it puts on the (smaller) elbow joint, it may be better to limit it to smaller doses ... and not done in a Tabata format.
When I think about it, I can't see the functional need to do high rep pull ups or how that ability would be useful in a real world scenario! Better to be able to do weighted pull ups ... THAT would be functional.
Having said that, I may try the Tabata format again with pull ups, but limit it to 4 sets instead of 8. Perhaps, alternate a set of pull ups with a set of push ups for a total of 4 sets each. However, I will not put this kind of stress on my elbow flexors again. It's just not worth it!
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