Or: Should I walk before I learn to crawl?
No, you shouldn’t. Thank you for reading. Stay tuned for our next exciting article!
I wish it was this easy. I have more issues getting buy in from people on this than just about any other facet of CrossFit. I don’t blame you though. The kip is sexy. It’s a sleek smooth sports car while you are sitting in your beat up pickup truck held together with big colorful rubber bands (see what I did there?)
You want to be able to just grab the bar and rip out 15 or 20 kipping pullups. You want faster WOD times. You want less hassle getting on and off the box, in and out of bands. No, I don’t blame you at all. I will however stand firm on the issue of you trying to walk before you know how to crawl.
I am not doing this to be mean or to arbitrarily gate off movements. I am certainly not doing it to increase your WOD times. I am doing it because I think you should have fully functioning shoulders well into your old age. I want you to live an active and pain free life. And I certainly don’t want you to have to endure the horrors of shoulder surgery.
The shoulder is a marvelous joint. The range of motion and capabilities of it to apply torque and force in many different planes is nothing short of awe inspiring. It can also be a fragile joint. There are two main problems with doing kipping pull ups before the shoulder is ready.
The first problem is that you lack the full range of motion in order to properly and safely execute the kip. As you flail around on the bar your shoulder joints have to move flawlessly back and forth through several different positions, all while under load. In order for this to happen there is a staggering array of muscles, tendons, ligaments, cartilage, and bone working together in harmony.
What happens when you are trying to put something together and it doesn’t fit right? Hopefully you take a step back and readdress what you are doing, figure out how to make it fit correctly. Let’s say you are having a bad day and this project is really frustrating you. Maybe you push a little harder than you should. Maybe, just maybe you push a lot harder than you should. All of a sudden something snaps or bends. Now it doesn’t fit together right, if at all.
When you jump on the bar and start kipping through your pullups this is exactly what you are risking. If something can’t get into place easily there is a lot of weight and momentum behind it to make sure it gets where it needs to be one way or another. Often times this happens by moving, pulling, pushing, or stretching things beyond where they are meant to be. This can lead to all sorts of tears and strains. If it continues long enough or violently enough it can leave your shoulders wrecked and useless.
The other main problem with kipping too soon is the lack of strength in the bone and tissues that make up the joint. If you were going to rely on a piece of metal to hold something precious under heavy use, would you choose lead? No! You would want some high grade steel. Titanium. Something you can count on.
When you first start out on your pullup journey your shoulders are made of lead. As you work through things and strengthen the joint it moves through the metals. Maybe aluminum for awhile, then iron. Maybe you eventually reach the steel stage. This only happens by forging your shoulder in the fires of the strict pullup. Only when you can easily and reliably crank out 5 strict pull ups (at the bare minimum) should you even begin learning how to kip.
Even after you can kip you need to continue on the strict path. The kipping and the strict pull up are divergent paths really. They stimulate different adaptive pathways. The goals of the movements are different. They are designed to work the body differently. The strict pullup is primarily used to build strength while the kipping pullup is used to build the metabolic engine. (And should be programmed accordingly.)
Five strict pullups might seem like a daunting task. Especially if you are just getting your foot into a giant rubber band. It is a necessary and rewarding journey though. And your shoulders will thank you.
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