Pull up · Bodyweight
How to do more pull ups
How to do a strict pull up, the ladder from a dead hang through negatives and bands to weighted reps, how often to train them, and the 14-day chart to follow.
The movement
How to do one properly.
Every rep the same shape, so the numbers mean the same thing on day thirty as on day one.
- 1
Grip the bar just outside your shoulders, palms facing away, thumbs around the bar.
- 2
Hang with your arms straight, then pull your shoulder blades down and back before your arms bend.
- 3
Drive your elbows down towards your ribs until your chin clears the bar.
- 4
Lower under control to a full hang. The rep ends with straight arms, not halfway.
- 5
Keep your legs still and your ribs down. A kip is a different exercise.
The way up
How to do more pull ups
Rung 1
Dead hang
Thirty seconds, shoulders packed. Grip is usually the first thing that gives.
Rung 2
Scapular pulls
Hang, then pull your shoulder blades down without bending your arms. Sets of eight.
Rung 3
Negatives
Jump or step to the top and lower yourself over five seconds. Sets of three to five.
Rung 4
Band
A band under your feet or knee takes some of you off the bar. Thin it as the weeks go.
Rung 5
Full, then weighted
Strict reps. Past ten in a row, hang a plate from a belt and start the count again.
Pull ups reward frequency more than effort. Four or five short sessions a week of sub-maximal sets beat one session to failure, because the movement is as much skill as strength and skill is built by repetition.
Under three reps, make negatives and band work the bulk of your sets and keep full reps for the first set when you are fresh. Over five, add a rep across the session each week rather than to one set.
Rest two or three minutes between hard sets. Pull ups are a strength exercise; rushing them turns the session into cardio with worse pull ups.
How it is counted
On the board, however it got there.
No watch counts pull up, so nobody's does. Say it out loud in the app or type it in, and it lands the same as a synced session.
Worth 4 points per rep in the app, so a challenge can weigh it against anything else you count.
Questions
Asked about pull ups
I have zero pull ups. What is the fastest route to one?
Negatives every other day, three to five of them, lowered as slowly as you can, plus thirty-second hangs. When a negative takes ten seconds, you are days away from the first full rep.
Do chin ups count?
Yes, log them as pull ups. Palms facing you brings the biceps in and is a little easier, which makes chin ups a fine rung on the ladder to the pull up.
Does it count from my watch?
No watch counts pull up, so nobody's does. Say it out loud in the app or type it in, and it lands the same as a synced session.
Is there a chart to follow?
Yes. The 14-day pull up challenge is written for exactly this: a number for every day, a rest when it is earned, and a way to run it with friends in the app.
Is it free?
Yes. The athlete app is free: logging, challenges and every guide on this site. Coaches pay for their workspace; the people they coach do not.
Other exercises
Everything else we count.
Push up
How to do more push ups
Squat
How to do more squats
Plank
How to hold a plank longer
Sit up
How to do more sit ups
Dip
How to do more dips
Burpees
How to do more burpees
Lunges
How to do more lunges
Jumping jacks
How to do more jumping jacks
Skipping
How to skip rope longer
Extensions
How to do more back extensions
Battle ropes
How to last longer on battle ropes
Running
How to run further
Cycling
How to ride further
Swimming
How to swim further
Rowing
How to row further
Steps
How to walk more steps every day
Hiking
How to hike further
Football
How to get fitter for football
Basketball
How to get fitter for basketball
Tennis
How to get fitter for tennis
Dancing
How to build stamina for dancing
Yoga
How to make yoga a daily habit
Do more pull ups.
Let someone see it.
Get the app, log what you did or let your watch send it, and hand your friends the code.