Hi all,

Does anyone know if the weight that you set as your counter weight on the assisted pull-up machine minus your body weight is the weight that you are pulling?
I hope that makes sense.
I tried a machine yesterday and it was already set at 110lbs. I tried it and it seemed to be at a good place for me, but if I subtract that from my weight, then that's only 30 lbs difference.
That doesn't sound so good

I guess as long as I improve-taking off more weight from the counter weight-then that's all that matters, right???

The other way around. The weight you are pulling is your body weight minus the counterweight. But you knew that intuitively because you can up with the right number. Don't take those counterweight numbers as gospel, though. A lot depends on how that particular machine works.

Mel

Ditto what Mel said.

The Gravitron at my gym also has a chart that shows the percentage of YOUR body weight that you are pulling (but then again, who wants to calculate what is 43% out of xxx lbs).
Also, for me, the assistance that I need varies with the type of pull up I am doing. The very wide pull ups are the hardest for me so I always start with those. Then I go to a more narrower position of my hands and the last type is when my hands are on the parallel bars. Theoretically, I could use less resistance for the third type (to make it as difficult as the wide one) although I usually stick with the same resistance for all three.

This is good to know! I do 4 x 10 sets on 45kg (100lbs) (standing not kneeling) on the widest grip usually . I used not have any upper body strength at all, I think it's improving but so slowly! I want to be able to at least pull up my own body weight once - might take a long time!