First time learning Pull ups with resistance bands

[pandafitness]

I've recently started to learn how to use resistance bands (I use two and both are varying resistance) to assist me with pull ups with my personal trainer. I get really nervous going down to the step stool. I have difficulty controlling movement going down. I understand it's all about engaging the core, but what does that exactly mean? I watched my personal trainer go in one fluid movement (he of course was not using resistance bands). 

[Dominique]

I mentioned assisted pull-ups a few days ago in this thread. There’s a link to a video in it. Don’t think too much about your core, it will be "engaged" automatically as you lift yourself up.

[too_spicy · Accepted solution]

Honestly, using bands can be a bit tricky when you're doing pull-ups. If you're too loose, the band isn't going to go down and you'll look like a worm in a sling. If you're too tight, you'll still be twitchy and out of control.  It's not just a matter of an "engaged" core, it's a "stabilized" one.

When a personal trainer says "engage your core," it typically means "flex your abs and your back as hard as possible so that you don't move and also get killer abs." If you're doing that while using resistance bands, everything is super tight and working against each other. You're going to twitch back and forth and you might even fall out of the band. 

This is a good exercise for you to become really conscious about where your joints are and how they move. Next time you do it, flex your abs and your back at about the same tension you would if you were trying to look good in a bathing suit picture-- hard enough that your abs are tight but not so hard that everyone knows you're flexing. Then, see if your legs are feeling unstable/twitchy. Which joint feels the most unstable? If your feet are shaking out of control, tighen your ankles a bit. If your lower leg is swinging back and forth, tighten your knees a bit. That doesn't necessarily mean straighten them out, because that's going to put a lot of strain on your core to keep everything straight. You can have them bent, just make sure they're stable. If you're bending a lot at the hips, you can either push your hips slightly out and engage your glutes to stay steady, or push them backwards and rely more on your knees and your abs to keep you upright. (I personally feel most stable if my hips are slightly forward and my legs are straight, since my center of gravity is directly over the band.)

It's gonna feel weird and uncomfortable since you're already nervous about it, but play with your joints. See which ones are lacking stability and which ones are a bit too tight.

If all else fails and you're still feeling shaky on the band, it might be an issue that your band is actually a bit too tight. If you use a band with less resistance, you will have to work a bit harder for the pull up (which is the goal, right? (: ) but you'll also feel less shaky because the band isn't pushing back against your tight muscles. 

Hope this helps, and good luck!

[pandafitness]

Thank you, I will try your suggestions!