Hi,

Just registered on the forums but have been regular gym-goer for about 2 years. I also play american football and football.

At my midweek american football session we recently started doing more excerise stuff and a couple of things stood out. Basically I can do no unassisted pull ups and very few dips.

I'm looking for advice on best excerises/rep ranges for increasing strength. I'm not concerned with size or looks as its purely functional for me; but i'm after the best strategy for building strength as quickly as possible.

I know there's no magic solution haha, but i'm approaching my off season for about 4months so i'd be looking to be able to start next season being able to lift my full bodyweight.

I currently weight 12.5stone.

Cheers

I think you should have a look at some of the sample routines on here.

Personally i would concentrate alot on things like press ups, pull ups and dips if you done them every day with in a matter of weeks you would find 10 reps on pull ups and dips relatively easy.

When you currently go to the gym do you do any sort of weight training?

www.majorsporty.com

PB's
Bench Press 145kg's
Squat 200kgs
Dead Lift 220kgs

ORIGINAL: big_sapper

When you currently go to the gym do you do any sort of weight training?

Yeah I do a lot of compound stuff (as i'm looking for functional strength) including assisted dips and pull ups. I just dont seem to be gainin much in the wait of strength. My nutrition is pretty good. I did have a hernia repair late last year and that took me out for a while, i'm fully fit now and have been for about 5 months just looking to make some progress in the off season. I have the advantage in the off season of being able to consume slightly more calories as I dont have to play games/train every weekend. (I play as a wide receiver so try to keep my fat down to keep my speed up. This will mean i have a good opportunity to get the most out of my workouts.

With pullups I find completing as many as you can on your own and then getting your spotter to help you in order to complete each set.

If you can't do any on your own at the moment then you could try negatives for a while; where you are lifted/jump to the top of the motion and then let your self down as slowly as possible.