Pull-ups, along with push-ups, are a fundamental exercise for building upper body strength. Although they require only your bodyweight, most people are intimidated by pull-ups to the point that they never bother to learn how to do them! Despite the common misconceptions, this exercise is not impossible to do. Even those who don't have superior arm and back muscles can achieve mastering a pull-up.
We can't help you achieve a pull-up overnight, or even after a few days, but we can give you tools you can implement into your strength training routine that will help you develop the arm and back strength you need to achieve your first pull-up.
Keep on reading to get the steps on how to approach pull-ups so you're able to achieve it with proper form and technique, plus modifications you can try to get you on the right track to your first pull up.
HOW TO DO A PULL-UP WITH PROPER FORM AND TECHNIQUE
- Step 1: Start from a dead hang
Stand directly below a pull-up bar and place your hands using an overhand grip with your hands slightly further than shoulder-width apart. This is your starting position. You should be hanging underneath the bar.
- Step 2: Set yourself up for success
Engage your core by pulling your belly button in toward your spine (here are more tips on how to engage your core). Pull your shoulders back and down, it should feel as if you're pinching a pencil between your shoulder blades. Make sure the muscles in your arms and back are engaged, tight, and ready to pull you up!
- Step 3: Initiate the movement
Once your set up for success, bend your elbows and raise your upper body toward the bar until your chin is over it and your chest touches the bar. To make it easier, imagine bringing your elbows towards your hips. As you move up, avoid swinging your legs, extending your neck, or shrugging your shoulders up. Your shoulder blades should remain back and down throughout the exercise, and neck neutral. Focus on using your arms to pull yourself up, don't extend your neck to reach the top of the movement.
- Step 4: Finish off strong
Pause for a moment at the top of the exercise, and inhale. Extend your elbows to lower your body to the starting position.
To get the most out of the exercise, go through the full range of motion. It might be harder when you're first starting out, but practice pulling yourself up until the chest hits the bar. If it's still difficult for you, work your way up to it, and continue working on strengthening the muscles in your upper and lower back.
HOW TO START TRAINING TO DO PULL-UPS
As simple as this exercise is to execute - involves hanging from a pull-up bar and pulling your own body weight up to the bar - it's not easy. Your arms are essentially lifting your lower body and core, which are much bigger than your upper body. As we said earlier, this exercise is not impossible.
To help you master the pull-up with good form, we've put together three training tips along with three modifications you should practice before hitting the pull-up bar.
- Focus on your diet: This one should be obvious, but you can't expect to master a pull-up without following a nutritious balanced diet. For those who have weight loss goals, combine them with your pull-up goal! The more you weigh, the more you have to lift... So, if you want to make pull-ups doable and are already working on your fitness goals, then prioritize your nutrition. Tracking your macronutrients is a good way to prioritize important nutrients in your diet while still allowing you to fit in your favorite foods from time to time. Following a macro-tracking diet will help with weight loss and provide your body with the nutrients it needs (like protein and carbs) to perform and recover to its fullest potential.
- Make pull day a priority: If you really want to start attaining your goals to build back muscles or achieve your first pull-up, then start making your pull day a priority. You should always exercise the stuff you want to work on the most first. So, let's say your main focus before was growing your glutes, but now you want to work on your back. Consider cutting down your lower body workouts to just two times a week as opposed to three, in order to fit in an extra pull day a week. Do whatever's necessary to prioritize pulling exercises, just remember to allow your back to recover for 48 hours before doing back-focused exercises again.
- Master the bent-over row and other exercises: You know now that you should prioritize pull day and back exercises, but what exercises exactly should you start practicing? The bent-over row is going to be the first exercise you want to master. If you're relatively new to strength training, start by doing dumbbell bent-over rows, and other rowing movements (like the cable machine or the rowing machine at the gym). Our suggestion is to progress once you can do three sets with 8-15 reps. The easier it gets to pull the weight, level up, and add weight, eventually you'll be able to move to barbell rows to continue building strength on your back. Other back exercises you should practice regularly are lat pulldowns, rear delt flyes, and deadlifts. Aside from back exercises, you should also practice isolated bicep exercises because pull-ups will require the biceps to do some work! On your pull days, start with four back exercises before moving on to a few isolated bicep exercises like bicep curls, hammer curls, etc. Don't forget core exercises! Pull-ups require a strong core, so throw in a few bodyweight core exercises after your leg or pull day.
Pull-up modifications
Aside from the three tips we've listed, there are three training wheels you should try before diving into pull-ups. Yes, we are talking about training wheels like the ones you used as a kid before you learned to ride a bike.
Use these exercises as training wheels before attempting a pull-up – master these and you'll be able to accomplish a pull up with perfect form in no time!
1. Inverted rows
- Set the bar at a height that is challenging for you enough to complete three sets of 8-10 reps - the higher the bar, the easier it is, and vice versa.
- Once the bar is set up, get underneath the bar and lie facing up with your feet extended out in front of you. Grab the bar with an overhand grip (palms facing away from you) and slightly wider than shoulder-width. Engage your core and glutes so they're tight, and maintain your body in a straight line.
- Pull your shoulder blades down and back, and focus on pulling your body up towards the bar with your arms. Pull up until your chest touches the bar.
Once you can do three sets of 8-10 reps lower the bar to make it more challenging.
2. Assisted pull-ups with a long resistance band
- Loop a long resistance band around the pull-up bar or squat rack, making sure that one end is secured around the bar.
- Place one foot in the loop at the bottom, then perform a pull-up as you would. Remembering to keep shoulders pulled down and back, chest up, neck neutral, and focus on using your lats and arms to pull your body up.
You can also make it more challenging by adjusting the band you use, choosing a lighter band will make it more difficult as opposed to using a heavy resistance band.
3. Negative pull-ups:
- Place something sturdy like a box or chair under the pull-up bar. Stand on the box or chair, and with an overhand grip, place your hands wider than shoulder-width apart.
- Carefully jump up to the top of the pull-up movement so that your chest is touching the bar.
- Slowly and controlled, begin to lower your body down until you reach the starting position, so you should be standing on the chair or box.
The key is to do the move at a controlled speed, you don't have to go super slow that your body is destroyed after one rep. Once you're able to do three sets of at least 5 reps, along with all the exercises above then you are ready to do a pull-up!
Get ready for your first pull-up
Now you have the tools you need to not only perform your first pull-up but also to perform it with good form and technique! And once you've mastered it and want something more challenging try things up by using a wider grip or doing an isometric hold at the top of the movement. You can even use a weighted belt to add some weight!