WHY KIPPING PULLUPS?
WHY KIPPING PULLUPS?
Kipping Pullups are one of the most often misunderstood elements of CrossFit. This is both an internal and external problem. I can’t imagine that this post will squash the controversy once and for all; but one can’t help and hope that the more information that is available, the more likely people can see the movement for what it really is.
First, a quick definition (of my own design).
Kipping pullups are using horizontal force (the kip) to generate assistance upwards in your pulling range of motion (the pullup). It is somewhat the “opposite” of a strict pullup.
Next, the “Beef”
Kipping pullups are characterized by detractors as cheating pullups, swinging pullups, essentially non-pullups that represent the bastardization of a smooth controlled movement requiring strength to a wild, uncontrolled movement that relies on things other than strength, such as swinging or using momentum.
Internally, kipping pullups are sometimes misunderstood for what they actually accomplish and why you should (or should not) do them. This occurs primarily among new entrants and bad coaches.
Finally, this isn’t a “defense” of kipping pullups as much as it is an explanation. My thought is that if you sufficiently appreciate this explanation (and I do a good job explaining it) the controversy goes away. We can dream, right?!
WHERE DID THEY COME FROM?
This is actually pretty simple. In the process of competing with the person next to you, there must be standards of performance. This is true for Strong Man, Powerlifting, Olympic Lifting, most Olympic sports and so on. Standards of play allow us to create a true winner. Now we have the CrossFit games — so yea, the competition thing is here to stay.
So if “pullups” in their most general sense are performed as a race, a slight use of legs would create an unfair and non-standard application of the movement. In some cases, you prohibit certain things outright (eye gouges in MMA, swatting at the hands rather than the ball in basketball) or, in this case, you lean into it. Permit ALL “cheating” and the standard is once again even. The final manifestation of this is Butterfly Pullups. Simply put — the quickest way to get your chin from a dead hang to over the bar. That’s it.
You are free to disagree with the utility and/or interest of a competition in fitness, but the inclusion of the kipping pullup has tremendous utility in the domain of competition as it is easy to judge, creates a fair standard and separates competitors well.
ARE THEY USEFUL FOR FITNESS?
There are a lot of errors made here. I’d say mostly because people (inside and outside the CrossFit domain) often fail to separate the SPORT of CrossFit vs. the FITNESS PROTOCOL of CrossFit. They are different. And depending on who your audience is — the dialogue changes.
In the protocol, they are merely a tool for variety. You can be very fit without kipping a single pullup in your life. In fact, if you somehow managed to train your strict pullups to match that of an average kipper (in volume) you would be a HOSS to be reckoned with in a variety of other tests. There is no “good” or “bad” reason to include them (supposing you have the prerequisite strength and skills) — only a matter of choice. You SHOULD train your strict pullups. You shouldn’t “train” your kipping (unless you are a high level competitor) — acquire the baseline technique and focus your energy on your baseline pulling strength. Your baseline pulling strength will multiply your kipping volume even with very meager kipping ability. Expert kipping will have negligible translation (if any) back to your baseline pulling strength.
There is sometimes a misconception among newer entrants (and, sadly, some coaches out there) that it is acceptable to kip before strict (or that they are somehow equivalent outcomes). I see this periodically on Instagram or at boxes I drop in at:
“So and so got their FIRST pullup! Hooray!”
…And it’s a kipping pullup.
Wrong move, bad idea, not a sound way to go about your fitness. If you cannot do 5 strict pullups, you have no business kipping. If you cannot do 5 strict, then you lack the strength to weight ratio to control your shoulder girdle in the strict pullup’s dynamic counterpart. You are begging for a shoulder problem. This would be like trying to rebound from a box height THAT YOU CANNOT JUMP TO IN THE FIRST PLACE. Imagine the absurdity of attempting that task. Or, trying to clean a weight you cannot front squat, trying to force double-unders when you cannot reliably single, and so on. There are precursor steps — walk before you can run.
To anyone suggesting it is a motivational milestone — well then, why not strap bands to the ceiling so I can deadlift 800 pounds? Pullups are simply unique in that they are a strength threshold movement that you can’t start with, in the case of deadlifts, a training bar with 10s on either side. It’d be like if the minimum possible configuration for a deadlift was 300 pounds (for some reason) — you either can or you can’t. There are dozens of progressive programs to go from zero to 1 in pullups. Patience is the only thing holding someone back from that. Forcing a movement, ignoring the difference and then celebrating a milestone isn’t productive.
ARE THEY PULLUPS AT ALL?
This one probably attracts the most ire — usually from obtuse fitness “experts” and keyboard warriors that want to grasp at low hanging fruit and/or get their clicks and likes by misunderstanding it on purpose.
Let’s put this another way: Is walking just slow running? Is rowing just light deadlifting? Is jumping just explosive squatting?
If we get hung up on terms, we’ll always be at odds. The above examples are from the same family — you use the same muscles to do the task at hand. But their outcomes, implementations and benefits (and names!) are drastically different.
Kipping Pullups would have benefited tremendously from being coined something else altogether and not being called “pullups” at all. Pullup purists wouldn’t have much to comment on. But, alas, we aren’t afforded such a luxury. They are under the umbrella of pullups, that’s final whether you like it or not.
Kipping Pullups are just a manifestation of pulling with a specific outcome. Their express purpose is for conditioning; using the pullup mechanic to create a metabolic response. That’s it. You can disagree with whether or not it’s a good or appropriate *conditioning* tool, but mischaracterizing the intent is dishonest.
Here are some other pullups variants with diverging outcomes
- Weighted pullups
- Pullup Negatives
- Jumping Pullups
- Tempo Pullups
- Rope Pullups
- Chin Ups
- Narrow Grip/Wide Grip
Kipping Pullups are simply the only ones that are specifically oriented towards a conditioning response. This small detail is often overlooked in people’s eagerness to say they are useless to strength. You’d be right, but you’re also missing the point — few people are even making that claim. It’s like the folks that criticize 105+ kg Olympic Lifters for being fat and “unathletic” and still getting a gold medal at the Olympics (for real, check the YouTube comments…). You don’t understand what you are talking about. You can watch Chris Heria, “The Problem with CrossFit”, fall all over himself to make counter points to claims that no one (or hardly anyone) actually makes for a perfect example of this targeted towards kipping pullups. Construct a feeble strawman, beat it savagely, pat yourself on the back and reap the sweet praises of your loyal following.
CONCLUSION
Kip your pullups…Or not. It’s up to you, really. The only thing that matters is you understand the intended outcomes, what the risks are, the progressions and how and when to implement each. Everything else is just a distraction from you achieving your personal fitness goals.
