3 More Reasons Kipping Pullups Cause Injury

I couldn’t help myself. In this article we discuss 3 more reasons that kipping pullups could be causing injury. If you missed the first 3 reasons, you can find them all HERE. This article is even more sciency, just the way I like it. Without further ado, here are my next 3 top reasons kipping pullups cause injury.

1. You Aren’t Mobile Enough

I’ve been hatin on mobility quite a bit lately, but not because I don’t think it’s important, just overemphasized. Based on research we know that a tight pec minor can place us into anterior tilt of the scapula (1). This decreases subacromial space and puts us at risk for subacromial impingement and rotator cuff damage(1). Having a tight posterior shoulder can do the same (Good old GIRD)(1). Decreased thoracic spine mobility can decrease scapular posterior tilt and upward rotation, two motions that are critical for shoulder health(1).

NERD ALERT: Go ahead, learn some more about shoulder impingement and scapular kinematics, you know you want to.

Another thing to keep in mind is that forcing yourself into a position that your body can’t achieve normally because of poor flexibility will really stress the shoulder. Essentially, if you can’t put your arms overhead fully unweighted, then it’s going to be one heck of a stretch when you start hanging from a bar. Add some kipping pullups to the equation and we might be running into trouble. You can assess your own overhead mobility. I’ve been meaning to make a better video assessment but this will have to do for now. On top of that, lacking mobility in the shoulder can cause your body to try and gain motion from another joint. I’ve seen several people who have lower back pain from doing kipping pullups and believe …read more

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