doing pull ups?

[mayestra12]

Are pull ups bad?

At dd's meet on Friday I was chatting with another team parent. He mentioned something about pull ups not being good because of a growth plate in the forearm? I'm not sure what exactly he was saying. Perhaps it was something about which direction they grip the bar to do them? I think he said both forward and reverse grips were bad due to the growth plate?

I really don't know. Dd does pull ups at home on occasion so I was just curious if I should tell her not to do them anymore.

 

[wallinbl]

I suppose it's possible, but the Presidential Fitness Challenge we did in school (many years ago) and the kids still do in school involves pull ups as a test of fitness. It would seem silly for the government and schools to be testing fitness using a skill that is harmful to kids.

 

[mayestra12]

I agree. I didn't think there would be anything wrong with them. I was really confused about what point he was trying to make about the growth plate...

 

[coachmolly]

I had the same reaction as Wallinbi. If there was documented evidence that they posed a risk to children, I don't imagine they would be part of the elementary physical fitness tests. I just did a quick google search and it appears there is some kind of old misconception that strength training can damage growth plates/stunt growth in children/teens which has never been proven accurate. I imagine, like any activity, strength training and conditioning can cause problems if implemented improperly, but here is some info from the American Academy of Pediatrics: http://www.sectiononewrestling.com/strength_training_for_kids.pdf

 

[emorymom]

Yeah, and USA Swimming says that static stretching is not advised for kids under 10. USA Swimming - Strength & Conditioning Still don't understand that one ...

 

[Deleted member D3987]

yep...and gymnastics stunts your growth.

 

[BlairBob]

If you can't climb a rope, give up on bars basically. Climbing rope is basically a series of pullups though the ROM per each grab is generally less than a full RangeOfMotion. If you can't do a muscle-up on rings, you can give up on being able to doing any B strength skills on rings, EVER.

 

[pattymello]

i read an article from someone who decided to see what would happen if they did hundreds of chinups a day every day. The part that is relevant to this thread came when he warned that doing hundreds of chinups a day on a bar begins to cause pain to the wrist and elbow joint as they are unable to move naturally through the movement. If your child is planning on doing insane numbers of chinups then do them on rings which allow for rotation of the joint throughout the chin up. otherwise don't worry about it.

 

[CoachTodd]

yep...and gymnastics stunts your growth.

And basketball makes you taller

 

[CoachTodd]

i read an article from someone who decided to see what would happen if they did hundreds of chinups a day every day. The part that is relevant to this thread came when he warned that doing hundreds of chinups a day on a bar begins to cause pain to the wrist and elbow joint as they are unable to move naturally through the movement. If your child is planning on doing insane numbers of chinups then do them on rings which allow for rotation of the joint throughout the chin up. otherwise don't worry about it.

He needs to change the width of his grip. The wrists and elbows get sore depending on the angle of the pressure being put o them. He also need to do exercises that work the triceps to balance out the work being done by the pulling motion. Push ups are a reasonable supplement to pull ups.

People also work tons of push ups or bench without doing any pulling activity to counter the strength being gained by the anterior deltoids and check. They end up with the shoulders rolled forward and bad posture. Many later end up with shoulder problems.
The same can be said for almost any exercise if not working all the muscle groups surrounding those joints. Gymnasts and runners will feel this first in their knees usually.

I like the ring pull ups as well. They actually work the muscles at a different angle depending on which way you turn the rings.