How to Get Your First Pull-up

When I was a kid, I would dread fitness testing in gym class testing every year. One test in particular test made me most nervous: the pull-up test. Each time around, I'd think, "this is gonna be the year I do my first pull-up!" I would hang from the pull-up bar and try with every ounce of might I had, but I could barely get my elbows to bend.

It wasn't until college, after working out out consistently, that I was able to do my first pull-up or two. The task that had eluded me for over 20 years suddenly became easier, and now I would consider pull-ups to be one of my strongest movements.

If you're one of those people who's frustrated with your pull-up progress, you've clicked on the right article!

As with any movement, we always have to think about what's happening in the core first. I often see a lot of people who are tight in the upper body during the movement, but the core and lower body are flimsy like Gumby. Maintaining a "hollow body position," as seen in the photo of Carl Paoli on the right, is crucial to getting a stronger pull. Why? It is ideal to keep as much tension in the body as possible for big lifts and calisthenic movements. This rigidity ultimately gives us more control and allows us to generate more force. In a back squat, for instance, if your torso is loose, the bar will likely roll up onto your neck resulting in a potentially dangerous scenario. Keeping the upper back tight is equally as important as getting a good leg drive out of the hole. Note Carl's neck position and lumbar position in particular. On the left, his ribs are drawn in towards his hips with a neutral gaze, activating the rectus abdominis, while on the left, he's hyperextended in both the cervical and lumbar spine. In short, more tension = more muscles recruited.

The hardest part of the pull-up, for many people I've worked with, is the initiation of the lats. What I mean by this is that the first 2-3 inches of movement are generally the biggest struggle. "In the upper-back the pull-up movement is focused around downward rotation and depression of the scapulae, as well as the upward rotation and elevation of the scapulae," notes Tom Bumgardner, CSCS in his Pull-up Manifesto. To dissect the anatomical jargon here, take a look at the diagram below. This image briefly explains scapular movement. Now, applying this to the pull-up, the scapulae start in an upwardly rotated and elevated position. As you pull your chin towards the bar, they have to downwardly rotate and depress. If you don't understand how to properly move your shoulder blades, scapular pull-ups are a great exercise to help you better grasp this concept. I usually have my clients do 2-3 sets of 10 repetitions.

From there, I will normally progress someone to the inverted row. This exercise mirrors the pull-up, but isn't nearly as demanding in that you're supporting less of your bodyweight. You should try these for 3 sets of as many repetitions as possible, and hold for one second at the top of the movement. Focus on squeezing your shoulder blades together as your chest touches the bar or rings. I'm not a huge fan of banded or machine-assisted pull-ups, as they forbid you from activating the gluteal and core musculature that is incredibly important in building pulling strength. The inverted row allows you to modify the movement while still learning to maintain tension in the trunk.

In any movement, there are three phases: the concentric (contracting) phase, the isometric (holding) phase, and the eccentric (lengthening) phase. Your body can support about 1.75x more weight eccentrically than concentrically. In this case, this means that strengthening the lowering phase of the pull-up will have an immense impact on the concentric phase! Try doing 3-4 sets of 4-6 repetitions. Jump to the top of the pull-up bar with the help of a box, then lower yourself down as slowly as possible.

The chin-up (supinated grip) is easier to master, as it is more biceps dominant, whereas the pull-up (pronated grip) is more lat dominant. Strengthening the chin-up, however, will undoubtedly help you progress to a more proficient pull-up. Once you've mastered the aforementioned progressions, try doing some chin-ups. As with the inverted rows, go to failure for a few sets.

Now, the last thing missing in the pull-up equation, sometimes, is frequency! If you really want to be a pull-up guru, you're gonna have to work on them more than once per week. Buy a cheap pull-up bar for your bedroom, and work on them every other day. The more often you do them, the better you'll get!

Works Cited:

1. Bumgardner, Todd. The Pull-up Manifesto. N.p.: n.p., 2012. Beyond Strength Performance, LLC. Web. 11 Aug. 2016.
2. Starrett, Kelly, and Glen Cordoza. Becoming a Supple Leopard: The Ultimate Guide to Resolving Pain, Preventing Injury, and Optimizing Athletic Performance. Las Vegas: Victory Belt Pub., 2013. Print.