couple of problems

[Jason]

Hi guys, have a couple of simple questions along with some sort of background to go with it.

first off me:

5'7'', 206 lbs (down from 220 about 6 months ago, mostly attributing that to the change from typical average geek diet of fast food to about 66% primal)

problem number 1:

Pull ups. I can't seem to use my back while trying to do them. I somehow always seem to just use my arms no matter how much i try to focus on using the back. Any tips for how to break bad habits formed over years of pitiful bad form?

problem number 2:

Warmup stretching. I used to just do a couple of minor arm/leg/calf stretches and do a short slow jog (about a mile, usually a little bit less, whatever i can do in about 10 minutes) as a warmup. I'm looking for tips on how to better stretch before a big lifting day as i used to just run instead of lifting but after reading through blog posts here and realizing the running alone was not working to get the weight off decided to finally cut the crap and move to free weights for the main portions of my workout.

problem number 3:

Kind of coincides with problem number 2 as i have a feeling the answer may be better stretching before the workout. I've only recently started doing squats. How do I get over the ridiculous amount of soreness in my thighs? i'm not squatting much more than just the bar, so don't think its a case of overworking myself, but i could be wrong and need to back down to body weight squats. Its pretty bad, the day (or in some cases two or three days) after I do 3 sets of 10 squats I have extreme soreness, especially when going up or down staircases (have to walk upstairs at work to get to one of the departments I deal with on a daily basis). The first time i did them i literally almost fell down the stairs from the muscle soreness.

any advice would be appreciated.

[Waldo]

Stretching is best done after, not before, working out. Stretching cold muscles does more harm than good. Warmup exercises should get your body moving and get your joints mobile.

Over time the after working out soreness will decline. It will still always be there, but nothing like the first couple weeks after starting or returning from a break. Light exercise helps more than anything else to ease the soreness.

[aj_rock]

Doing light cardio on off days can help reduce residual soreness as well.

As for the pull-ups, how do you know you aren't using your back? I'm pretty sure you are, unless you think your biceps are capable of curling 100#'s each...

Your back is doing its fair share of work bud. Don't worry about it.

[Mama T]

doing a dynamic warm-up before lifting rather than static stretches is the way to go; as waldo said, static stretches with cold muscles is not beneficial.

some examples of dynamic warm-up stuff include high knees, jump rope, butt kicks, body weight squats, walking knee hugs, lunges, bridging, inch worm, crab walk, bear crawl, burpees, etc. these will all get your body moving and warmed up. this page has a video to show how to do some of these, and includes an explanation of each one. doing a short jog with a few sprints will help as well, but you don't need to run a whole mile. maybe 400m tops.

http://www.laxpower.com/content/voltaire/02_dynamicwarmups.php

as for using your back muscles for pull-ups, it might help to do

to target that area, as well as lat pull-downs.

[Jason]

Appreciate the replies! Understood about static stretching being bad for you before workouts, Kinda meant to ask for tips for what to do for the warmup. Matilda hit that nail on the head with the video. And i don't specifically run a mile, just tends to be around a mile by the time i feel my heart rate is up enough for me to move on to other things. plus just got my vff's so trying to ease myself into being able to run with them as much as i could in my New Balances

As far as the back muscles/ pullups, I can only do maybe one actual pullup, and haven't seemed to progress to more. I can do lateral pull downs all day pretty much, at about 75% of my body weight (working my way up to closer to my actual body weight, progressing well in that regard), but i "feel the burn" in my arms, not my shoulders/back. that's why i feel i'm not using the back muscles.

And for the soreness, i'll try doing cardio on off days a little bit. no stranger at all to being sore after a workout, just not used to the squat soreness i guess. could just be i never really worked the thighs out more than running does.

[Pat G]

I love rowing as a warmup, full body instead of just running or cycling.

Perhaps, you could build up your back lats etc etc by doing Barbell rows. That is where lots of your pulling power comes from.

The guys trying to get more pullupage usually do what Matilda recommended and do the inverted rows and hanging negatives till they get their first full pullup out (no excess moveement, straight up and down without any swing)

[Anivair]

1: Scapular pull ups. Basically, hang on the bar and try to get your sternum to the bar without moving your arms (I know, impossible). You will activate your back without even trying. Then just get used to it and make that the first thing you do before you start the pull. Should help (that said, you are probably activating your back without even knowing it. Likely your arms are weaker than the muscles in your back, so you only feel it in your arms). Pull ups use everything from the back to the core to the arms to the neck and you will feel it wherever you are weakest (I feel it in my forearms).

2: Don't stretch before you exercise. The job is fine and dropping into a squat (or 20) and some push ups will get you warm (Steve has a great warm up video). Then do light weight and slow versions of what you will actually be doing (BW squats, light bar deadlifts, slow rows, whatever) to get warm before that activity.

Stretch after (Steve has a video for that, but I think just as good will be any martial arts stretching protocol).

3: a: you just wait it out. it will go away. it's DOMS and DOMS stops happening eventually. It's an adaptation period. b: stretch after. And use some SMFR (use a roller or a ball to really dig at the muscles). Also, check out the mobilitywod.com for some great stretches. The best for this will be anything hamstring related and the "couch stretch". Your hips probably need a ton more work than you think.

[Ryan Sannar]

For problem three see my post on this thread

http://nerdfitness.com/community/showthread.php?8314-Soreness&p=113387#post113387

[Knightwatch]

Another option, if you have access to a lat pulldown station, do a few light sets of those before your pullup(s). Yeah, I know, it's no replacement for pullups themselves, but thy're useful for teaching form and for progressing towards them.

The reason you want to go really light is so that you can concentrate on the full range of motion and basically "feel" how your muscles are working. Imagine someone holding a pencil upright along your spine, and try "holding" by squeezing your lats together. Do a few sets of five (again, very light load), and then try to mimic the sensation on your pullup. There really is something to the mind-muscle connection idea.