How Do Heavy Hangs Prime Pull-ups?

Ross Edgley primes a heavy pull-up with a short maximal hang so the nervous system is already switched on. Before a clean pull-up with about 60 kilos, he sometimes loads anywhere between 80, 90, and 100 kilos, holds an active hang for only three seconds, jumps down, takes the extra weight off, puts 60 kilos back on, and waits two minutes. The hold is there to switch him on, and he is not trying to get fatigued. When he then pulls, he pulls through 60 kilos.

Strength sessions stay 45 minutes long. Past that point the reps drill bad technique, and strength, speed, and power drop out of the session. He can run the hangs at home, where the heavy load, the hang, and the two-minute wait are easy to do. Pull-up work still shows up five days a week, but the stimulus changes. One day the goal is a heavy one-rep max or a two-to-three-rep max. The next day is medicine ball slams, neural priming, and speed pull-ups. Another day uses slightly bigger volume. The biomechanics stay the same while the training demand changes. He also skips leg day, because he does not need the legs for the swims he is doing, and he tells people to make the body an instrument, not an ornament.