The struggle with pull-ups and chin-ups is definitely real.
Even people who are very strong in other exercises can find pull-up progress frustratingly slow.
I know how dispiriting it can be – I was stuck on assisted versions (with my foot in a band) for ages. The leap between those and full-unassisted reps seemed gigantic.
But, I got past it and I’m here to share what I learned so you can too.
Now, you know I talk straight, so I’ll tell you right from the start, the tips I’m going to give you aren’t going to make it an easy ride. We’re talking about lugging your whole bodyweight from the floor – that’s no mean feat, so be ready to work for it. But, let me tell you, when you break through that barrier and find you’re able to do those first couple of “proper” pull-up reps it’s so worth it.
Pulls vs Chins
Before we get stuck in, let’s just define what we’re talking about here.
A pull-up is where your hands are placed on the bar just outside shoulder width apart, palms facing away from you.
For a chin-up your hands are placed shoulder width apart on the bar, palms facing you.
For quickness, I’ll mostly use the term pull-up in this post, but the tips apply to both moves.
They’re similar exercises, but the pull-up works the muscles of back more and chin-ups work the biceps harder. But those are just the areas where you’ll feel the burn the most, both moves work the entire upper body – arms, shoulders, back, core, even the glutes.
Weight is a Factor
Because they fire up so many muscles and make them work super-hard, these exercises torch calories and are great for building true functional, athletic strength.
Of course, how challenging they are for you is going to depend on the balance between the weight of your body and how strong you are.
One of the things I really love about pull-ups is they help reveal what the weighing scale can’t tell us… If find you’ve gained a little weight, but at the same time you’re seeing good progress in your pull-ups that’s a strong sign that the extra weight is actually lean muscle growth.
So, if you’re stepping on the scale hoping it’ll tell you you’re leaner, in that situation you can celebrate your progress, knowing that added muscle gain will help you burn off fat.
Pulling Power
Pulling muscles get neglected in many workout programmes, which is really bad news. If you don’t balance pushing exercises (press-ups, shoulder press, chest press, dips, etc.) with pulling exercises your posture will suffer and you’re more likely to get an aching and/or damaged back and shoulder injuries. Ouch!
The pull-up is a very natural movement pattern. Our bodies are well designed for this kind of move. If a strength exercise requires a machine or rack in order for you to do it safely (or at all), it’s worth questioning how functional it actually is. With pull-ups it’s just you and the bar, or tree branch if you really want to get primal!
For me personally, I also love the body shape this exercise sculpts. I have what 90’s women’s mags regularly informed me is a “pear shaped” body – i.e. I tend to store more fat around my hips, bum and thighs than in my upper body. I’ll never be an “hour glass”, but pull-ups help build and define my shoulders and back muscles for a more balanced silhouette.
But that’s just gravy really. Once you get into an exercise like this and start feeling the benefits, the aesthetics become a happy side-effect of your ambition to perform better and progress in the move.
It’s Not Normal
Progression is the key mindset here.
Please don’t expect to be able to do pull-ups and chin-ups the first time you try.
(If you’re thinking that’s ridiculously obvious, you’d be amazed at how many people fully expect to be able to smash out reps on their shiny new pull-up bar straight out of the box!)
Always remember, this is an advanced exercise. Sure, pics and vids of people doing pull-ups are splattered everywhere online, but out in the real world very few people can do them. It’s an especially rare ability among women.
Please respect that… And, as you make progress, appreciate what an exceptional ability you’re gaining.
Be ready to be tenacious, yet humble, yet strong minded, yet unafraid to confront your weaknesses.
Pull-ups at Home
Any decent gym will have a pull-up bar of some kind, outdoor gyms usually have them, and kids playgrounds usually have a climbing frame or bars you can use (when not packed with kiddies!).
But pull-ups are great for home training, that’s certainly where I do them.
Home pull-up bars have come on leaps and bounds over the last few years.
If you want invest in a fancy pull-up station the options are endless.
I started with an over-the-door frame, which served me well for ages. These are very inexpensive (under £20).
The only problem I found with these was my door frames are quite low so it was tricky to get full range of movement and the door in my training area wasn’t suitable so I had to go to another room. (Wasn’t a big deal, we can always work around these things.)
However, I recently got a Pull-up Mate pull-up bar which I love!
It’s a sturdy freestanding frame which you can assemble and disassemble in just 5 minutes. It all packs up into a big holdall which I store under the spare bed. It has more height that my old door frame bar so now I don’t have to leave my training space to do my pull-up training.
There’ll be No Closure
Nailing your first rep is going to take time and hard training, but my advice is not think of it in terms of “it only counts once I can do full pull-ups”.
By all means, leverage your desire to do this bad-ass move to keep you motivated, just don’t get so hung up on that goal that you forget you’re getting all the benefits of increased strength, better posture and muscle balance, torching calories, etc. as you take all the steps I’m about to outline on your road to being able to do unassisted reps.
Spoiler alert: All that’s going to happen when you nail that first rep is you’ll start focussing on doing two, then three, and so on.
What I’m saying is, it’s a journey, not a destination.
So enjoy the ride.
Nailing that first Rep
You can practise daily so long as you’re not sore, which may happen at first. Always wait until soreness passes before your next session.
(Not) Just Hanging
Simply hanging from the bar is great for building foundational strength. It’ll also help your posture and improve grip strength.
But don’t just hang loose, you need to employ good technique.
1. Place your hands shoulder-width apart on the bar and hang. If your bar is not high enough so your feet are off the floor in this position, bend your legs (feet behind you, knees pointing down) but keep your body straight.
2. Pull your shoulder blades down and together so the shoulders move away from your ears (this is known as “packed shoulders) and the muscles of your upper back engage, chest proud. Also brace your abs and squeeze your glutes (butt muscles).
3. Release, rest, repeat. Alternate between overhand (palms facing forward) and underhand (palms facing you) grip.
Hold each time for 30 seconds or if you can’t make it that long just hold as long as you can (you’ll get stronger with repetition of this exercise).
After 30 seconds, release and rest for 1 minute, then repeat. Start with a target of 4 holds and build up to 10
Flex Hang
Once you’re able to support your weight hanging from the bar with good technique (especially the shoulder packing) add in some flex hangs.
Here your arms are flexed (bent) so your chin is above the bar.
1. You’re probably not ready to lift yourself into the position using your arms yet, so go ahead and use a chair or whatever to step up.
2. Remember to maintain correct shoulder position and engage your abs and glutes and hold yourself in position with your chin over the bar. Hold for as long as you can, aiming to build up to 30 second holds (keep those shoulders packed!).
3. Most people find this easier with underhand grip so start with that, then once you can hold for 30 seconds try alternating with overhand grip.
Build up to 6 x 30 second holds.
Assisted Negatives
Now you can try the full move, but with assistance.
1. You can either place your foot in a resistance band to help support you, or have it on a chair in front of you. Try your best to keep your body straight.
2. Practice pulling your body up and lowering back to the extended arm position whilst maintaining that packed shoulder position, squeeze your glutes too.
3. As you get stronger, focus on supporting less of your bodyweight with the foot on the chair or if you’re using a band you can try a “lighter” one.
Start with 6 reps and build up to 10.
(Note: if using a band, mix in a few sessions where you use the chair method instead and vice versa if possible, it’s good to do both.)
Unassisted Negatives
Your next challenge is to slowly lower yourself down from that flex hang position whilst maintaining correct posture and technique.
1. You can still use something to step onto to get into the start position with your chin above the bar at first. As you progress, try to jump yourself up there.
2. Hold for a second at the top then slowly lower your body aiming to take at least 5 seconds to get your arms full extended. Remember to bend your knees if your bar is low so you get the full movement.
3. Step or jump yourself back up and repeat.
Start with 4 reps and build up to 8.
Full Pull-ups, Baby!
Now you’re ready to try your first full rep! Again, most people find the underhand (chin-up) version easier so start with that.
1. Hang from the bar with your shoulders packed, chest proud, and focus on engaging all the muscles of the back of the body – shoulders, upper back, glutes, get them all switched on!
2. Bend your arms and pull yourself up, aiming to get the chin above the bar.
3. Slowly lower yourself back down.
If you manage to even get halfway up first time that’s amazing! If not, don’t worry, that’s normal. Just keep working on the moves above and it’ll come.
Bonus tips:
- Always warm-up first and stretch afterwards – especially for the shoulders and wrists.
- Really focus the mind on activating the back muscles.
- Exhale hard as you lift your body up, inhale as you lower.
- Instead of thinking about pulling yourself up, it helps to imagine you’re pulling the bar down.
- Don’t make this your only training. Strengthening and mobilising your other muscles will help your progress and reduce injury risk.
Let’s Do This Together!
I have series of workouts called Tyger Training which incorporate pull/chin-ups and full-body strength training. These include full, workout-along-with-me videos. You can get access to these and hundreds more of my workouts by joining my website.