Ledge pull-ups? Yay or nay?

[Timon]

Hi everyone! I'm a 180cm male weighing around 75-80 kilograms. While 80 kilograms will suggest that I am borderline overweight, my body composition certainly wouldn't.

Working over 65 hours a week doesn't really leave me with much room for working out, but I squeeze some 25-30 (each) of push-ups, squats and lunges (currently doing the power/jumping versions for the last 7-8 of the whole, and thinking of increasing the number of these as time progresses) every time I take a bath..

I've never done pull-ups and am thinking of getting into the habit but I don't have access to a gym or a pullup bar. What I do have, is a ledge from an overhead storage which is made of concrete so I can be certain that it's strong enough to take my weight.

Is it safe to try starting doing pull-ups on it? If yes, are there any safety precautions that I should be taking? I saw it on reddit here (second answer) that it's better to avoid fingers being on 90° and to start at the second joint.

https://www.reddit.com/r/bodyweightfitness/comments/gvoip4/ledge_pullups_vs_regular_bar_pullups

I've read and will be following the basic idea that the Darebee team have suggested in their article, but they talk about a pull-up bar..

 

[HellYeah]

Hey, Timon. From experience (also a climber), I see it the same way as the Reddit answer. Are you able to hang like the picture shows. If not try to build up hang power aka finger strength. Start slow, by repeatedly hanging for a short time, over and over again. Once you feel strong and secure to not slip from the ledge, go for half or full negative pull-ups.

Take your time!
(Knowing it from experience, too )

 

[Timon]

Hey, Timon. From experience (also a climber), I see it the same way as the Reddit answer. Are you able to hang like the picture shows. If not try to build up hang power aka finger strength. Start slow, by repeatedly hanging for a short time, over and over again. Once you feel strong and secure to not slip from the ledge, go for half or full negative pull-ups.

Take your time!
(Knowing it from experience, too )

I'm able to hang only for about 5-6 seconds as of now, but I'll definitely be doing it repeatedly till I get the hang of it

 

[Fremen]

You might also want to consider Australian pull-ups, if you have a sturdy table available

 

[GentleOx]

I used to do pull ups from the rafters (ie big wooden beams) of our relatives' house. I don't think that doing them on a ledge damages your fingers? They may get dirty, but I think that's about it. I used to grease the groove and do about 100 a day, and that never had a big effect. I can see you're not working out a gym, but lifting weights helped with my grip significantly.

Of course, work up to pull ups using the exercises suggested in this thread, and you'll be alright.

 

[Timon]

You might also want to consider Australian pull-ups, if you have a sturdy table available

I sadly don't have that available where I live. I did see this version, being called "body rows" here!