A fitness enthusiast at heart, Soha Ali Khan revealed how she aces one of the most challenging exercises of all – pull-ups. In a video posted on Instagram, the actress offered insight into her workout routine. The clip began with a note that read, “Want to learn how to do a pull-up??” She was then seen performing a series of exercises that have multiple benefits for the body. In her detailed breakdown, she demonstrated how to kick-start the regime and gradually increase the intensity.
The actress captioned the video with her honest opinion about pull-ups. The 46-year-old shared, “Pull-ups are toughhhhh!! One thing I had been striving to do but just could not was a pull-up.” She also explained the benefits, writing, “It is one of the toughest but most rewarding exercises — pull-ups build your back, arms, shoulders, and core all at once.”
Soha then revealed how she finally managed to ace the exercise: “I realised there's a way of getting there - step by step!”
According to Soha Ali Khan, this is how you too can master pull-ups:
Warm Up Your Muscles: The actress recommended mobilising your shoulders, wrists, back, lats, biceps, traps, delts, core and forearms by “practising arm circles, scapular pull-ups, and band pull-aparts.” In the video, she could be seen warming up with dumbbells in hand.
Strengthen Key Muscles In Advance: She suggested, “Strengthen your grip by practising dead hangs — aim for 60-90 seconds,” and recommended exercises like lat pull-downs, dumbbell bicep curls and core-building planks.
Assisted Pull-Ups: Soha demonstrated the progression to pull-ups by “using weights or resistance bands and negative slow lower pull-ups.”
Step 1: Weight-assisted pull-ups, which help in “reducing the weights as you go along.”
Step 2: While performing a box-assisted pull-up, she admitted, “I don't know what this is called, but it's almost as tough as a pull-up!”
Step 3: Band-assisted pull-ups.
Step 4: One-legged band-assisted pull-ups.
Step 5: She highlighted how her coach, Mahesh, kept her motivated with "ijjat ka sawal hai" pep talks.
Step 6: Finally, she attempted the full unassisted pull-up.
Progress To Full Pull-Ups: Talking about the final stage, she wrote, “The key here is to know that fitness is a deeply personal journey, so celebrate each step from your first hang to your first unassisted rep.”
In her concluding note, Soha Ali Khan encouraged everyone to “celebrate yourself.” She added, “I'm celebrating my first unassisted rep here but the goal is to do 8 reps and then maybe add some weights? What's your goal and how far have you got?”
Disclaimer: This content including advice provides generic information only. It is in no way a substitute for a qualified medical opinion. Always consult a specialist or your own doctor for more information. NDTV does not claim responsibility for this information.
