How to Master the Pull-Up
Why they're important for men and women and how you can start performing them with ease
If you’ve ever embarked on a health and fitness journey, at one point or another you most likely looked at someone else doing a pull-up with awe and yearned to check it off your list of things you could do. While being able to do one is a great goal, we all know that when we see someone who can do 5, 10, or 20 without stopping, we stop what we are doing in the gym and stare to see how long they’ll keep raising their chin over the bar. We look at people who can do a lot of pull-ups with more admiration than someone doing other exercises because we all know that pull-ups are HARD.
If you are of a certain age and went to elementary or middle school between the years 1950 and 2013, you are familiar with the “Presidential Fitness Test”. You know, the V-sit reach, the sit-ups, the shuttle run, and of course, the pull-up.
There was generally a week of your P.E. class dedicated to getting all the tests done to determine which children were fit and which were not. It was eventually disbanded in 2013 because too many kids were failing and felt shame for not scoring well (the reasons why that is so wrong can be debated in a different article). Of the exercises on the test, it can be debated that the pull-up is the most difficult because you either can or you can’t perform it.
Simply put, this is because most children and adults today lack a balanced and strong upper body.
The King of All Exercises?
In a previous article, I talked about what I considered to be the only exercises you ever really need to do for a fit and strong body. I could make a pretty good argument that the pull-up is in the top 3 of that list, if not #1 because of the ability to do it anywhere without equipment.
The pull-up is also considered a compound exercise, meaning it doesn't just work one specific muscle - it targets a whole group of muscles that must work together to successfully get your chin over the bar. The lats, traps, shoulders, biceps, forearms, chest, and triceps are all contributors. So, in other words, your entire upper body has to be strong and balanced. This is one of the reasons why they can be hard, even for people who look fit.
Because the pull-up requires so many different muscles, you can also tweak how you perform the pull-up to specify which muscles you want to take on a more primary role in the movement. For example:
Pronated grip: Palms facing away from you. This is the standard grip for a pull-up, and what most people think of when they think of a pull-up. This variation is the most well-rounded of the bunch, targeting and challenging all muscles of your upper body.
Neutral grip: Palms facing each other. This is the grip you naturally drift towards when you do ring pull-ups. In my opinion, this tends to be the easiest way to get your first pull-up because of how often we do things in a neutral grip position.
Supinated grip: Palms facing towards you. This is also known as a chin-up. If you want big biceps, stop doing bicep curls with 15-35lb dumbells. Do supinated grip pull-ups where you are curling your 115 to 225lb body! I personally never really do bicep curls anymore - Just chin-ups and weighted chin-ups.
Wide grip: Palms facing away from you but with your hands much wider than shoulder width. This is typically the harder method of the bunch because it puts a heavier emphasis on your form needed to connect to and engage your back muscles, which most people can’t do.
How to Start
I work out consistently so even when I don’t practice pull-ups, I can usually do 8-10. But that is because I’ve been working out for a LONG time and have built up hard-earned strength to do so.
If you’re new to working out or new to practicing pull-ups, take it slow and be consistent. I personally go through phases where I’m focused on practicing pull-ups and trying to bump my numbers up. During those periods, I am usually hitting around 20-25 unbroken pull-ups at a time, and aiming to do 250 per day consistently.
There are also times, like right now, when I can only do about 15 of them straight through without stopping. I highlight this because it’s not that I had some huge drop-off in my overall strength, it’s just that I didn’t prioritize practicing them. So, even if you can do X amount right now, but want to grow that number, you need to prioritize practice.
Like most things, people who consistently practice pull-ups can do a lot. The people who don’t practice, typically can’t do many, if any at all. Practice and consistency are all you need to go from 0 to 20.
Take action: If you want a strong, capable, and athletic physique, start doing pull-ups.
Buy a pull-up bar and put it in the doorway of your office or room you frequent. Do one or as many as you can each time you walk through the door.
Work pull-ups into the beginning of ALL your workouts, meaning do them first when you are fresh.
Find a pull-up program online - there are many, but my absolute favorite is the one created by the Marines to help recruits master this skill and pass their PT assessments. This one helped the younger me go from zero pull-ups to 20. You can find it HERE.
If you currently can’t do any pull-ups, here are a few tricks I’ve learned that will help get the elusive first pull-up.
Get some bands with varying levels of “help”. You can loop these to your pull-up bar and step into the loop. The rubber band helps you most at the very bottom of the hang, where people usually struggle most. Start with the thickest bands until you can do five with its assistance. Then move to a smaller band. Eventually, you’ll graduate to doing them without the help of any bands.
rubberbanditz.com Have a partner assist you by giving you as much help as you need at the bottom. This could mean a little push or supporting you where you need it. I’m not a huge fan of this method, as you don’t always have a partner. It can also be dangerous if you slip and your partner is still holding your legs.
Pull-up negatives are when you jump to the top of the pull-up position and slowly lower yourself. These are great to build up your strength and control in the muscles used during the pull-up when used as part of a program that uses bands.
If you commit yourself to put in the work, you will feel a great sense of accomplishment when you complete your first pull-up. The key is to never be satisfied. Once one is done, your next challenge is two, and so on… Be consistent and watch how your physique changes over time after mastering this King of Exercises.
If you know someone who is looking to do their first pull-up or is trying to bump their pull-up numbers, share this article with them!
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Until next time.
-Sebastian