How to Get Better at Pull-Ups

Cill94 · 08-03-2022 1:21pm #1

The below assumes you can already do a few pull-ups/chin-ups.

Pull-ups (or chin-ups) are a great gauge of two things: strength and body composition. You're not going to be able to do 10 strict pull-ups without good strength and a reasonably low body fat percentage.

Getting better at these is a lot harder than most people expect, and I feel like the reason why so many people struggle is generally because they make the sets far too difficult.

More Easy Pull-Up Sets

The solution to too many hard sets is to make them easier. I've seen people make the best progress on chin-ups when they kept all of their reps smooth and fast. Grindy reps cause fatigue, which limits the total workload you can do, and could lead to cranky elbows.

Low Reps, Lots of Sets

One easy way to make your sets easy but get lots of work in is to do many sets but very low reps. Someone who can currently do just a few reps in one go could do multiple sets of 1. These can be performed during your rest breaks from other exercises.

Weighted

A weird thing I've noted is that adding weighted chins can make someone's bodyweight performance improve quite rapidly. Obviously it makes you stronger, but from my own experience I think it teaches you to pull fast and with intent. Anyway, I usually aim for about 10-15 total reps on weighted chins/pull-ups. This could be 5x3, 6x2, etc.

Lat Pulldown

The lat pulldown has limited transfer because it's a machine, but it's great for allowing you to get more reps in. I recommend doing this at least every other week for bodybuilding reps of 6-15. The ability to easily scale weight on this is really useful.

Banded Pull-Ups

The key here is to make this much easier than your bodyweight work. Try to use a band that allows at least sets of 10. You want to save all the heavy pulling for days with your bodyweight or weighted work.

Rows (all kinds)

Rows are great because they work similar muscles but still offer a different movement to try progress on that will definitely transfer somewhat to your pull-up. Probably the best transfer will come from the like of bodyweight variations like the inverted row, or ring rows. The downfall of these is that they're hard to track, so I'd just aim for about 50 total reps at a challenging angle.

Example Weekly Programming

Monday

Bodyweight Chins

10x2 during rest breaks

Wednesday

Inverted Row

5 x10

Friday

Lat Pulldown

4x12

silverharp · 11-03-2022 11:48am

its a project for after the summer, in the meantime Im hopefully laying some foundation, been doing hangs , weighted hangs and active hangs also an assisted one arm (left weaker arm) hang kinda doubles as grip strngth training too. Junior suggested I do negatives so will add them in.

Cill94 · 12-03-2022 12:03am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118767519#Comment_118767519

Personally not a fan of the hangs. You wouldn’t take this approach to get better at any other exercise e.g holding a bench or squat at lockout. Have to work the range of motion you want to get better at.

Negatives I like for people who haven’t gotten first chin-up yet.

Anyway just my 2 cents.

completedit · 13-03-2022 12:28pm

Overrated tbh; I thought once I could do loads of them that would mean I was an official gym guy or something but they're not nearly as impressive or beneficial as some people have you believe. Just because people can't do them doesn't mean they are somehow some mythical exercise with magical properties.

completedit · 13-03-2022 12:28pm

Black Sheep · 13-03-2022 5:37pm

Pull ups and chins ups are not the only way to train the back, but if a trainee is poor at them then it does tell us a lot about their strength to bodyweight ratio.

Cill94 · 13-03-2022 9:12pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118778233#Comment_118778233

Okay. Not sure where I alluded that they were magical or that you would become 'an official gym guy' by doing them.

Cill94 · 13-03-2022 9:13pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118779835#Comment_118779835

Agreed. Pretty fair to say that if you can't do a chin then you are either overweight, weak, or both.

billyhead · 14-03-2022 11:49am

Op, Start with assisted pull ups if you can't do them. You need to build up your upper body strength. The lat pulldown machine will also be useful.

Cill94 · 14-03-2022 12:05pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118782803#Comment_118782803

You didn't read a single thing in my post did you? 😂 Given I'm the OP

This is an article on helping people get better at pull-ups. I can do 15 bodyweight pull-ups and weighted reps with 30kg.

silverharp · 14-03-2022 12:27pm

Are there "proven " benefits it terms of shoulder health? Seems like for overall balance there should be.

Cill94 · 14-03-2022 12:29pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118783004#Comment_118783004

For what? Hangs?

silverharp · 14-03-2022 12:36pm

Pullups, as in people tend to focus on being strong in the rom below the chin and might create an imbalance in the shoulder.

Cill94 · 14-03-2022 12:49pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118783059#Comment_118783059

No evidence for that no.

In general, evidence that pain and injury has anything to do with imbalances is very weak. Average human is full of asymmetries, it's normal.

Train your shoulders in multiple ranges and include pulling and pushing and you'r probably doing about the best you can.

Black Sheep · 14-03-2022 1:17pm

Even if you did buy into the idea of imbalances as a significant problem, they're nothing to do with individual exercises, whether pull ups or anything else. They would be an outcome of poor programming.

If there is a pull up related complaint to actually worry about the more common one for people who do a lot of them is elbow tendinitis related to doing a high volume with a fully supinated grip. Quite common, not dangerous, but can be annoying to manage to the point it's settled down.

Cill94 · 14-03-2022 3:04pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118783275#Comment_118783275

I think the big issues with chin-ups or pull-ups where pain is concerned is chiefly 1) they’re very accessible (in the sense that anyone can hop up on a bar and give it a go) and 2) they’re hard to start light on.

If there was any other exercise where someone immediately starts by doing very grindy sets of 1-3, often to failure, you wouldn’t be surprised when they get hurt.

This is why I personally stress using other exercises and lots of easy sets on pull-ups. As you say, crazy amounts of volume or load is often the issue.

Reps4jesus · 15-03-2022 9:59am

Best way I found to improve pull ups was losing weight! 10kg off the belly makes them a whole lot easier!

Luxembourgo · 02-04-2022 7:47am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118782883#Comment_118782883

How did you progress the weighted pull ups?

Was there a number you reached before moving up to the next weight?

Cill94 · 02-04-2022 4:30pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118869214#Comment_118869214

No specific way. Sometimes I added weight, sometimes sets or reps. I always base it on what feels the easiest do, which I’d recommend others do too.

Mellor · 13-04-2022 1:59am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058236383/how-to-get-better-at-pull-ups

This is all good info. It can be condensed into two aspects.

Effective Volume (Total reps)
Effective Load (Rep Range)

If you train pull ups like bench, press, etc. It's all very obvious/logical. 3-5 x 5, add weight can you can. Get stronger. But bizarrely people will do 5x5 Squat, Bench, Dead, Press. But then do a single set to sloppy failure and wonder why they suck at pull ups.

I'd be very surprised anyone (other than beginers obv) who can't do many pull ups has ever spend any time training them like their other lifts.

Mellor · 13-04-2022 2:26am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118771496#Comment_118771496

Not really a good analogy. Holding a bench at lockout would be comparable to holding a pull up at the top position. And I agree its of little benefit.

The hang would be a parallel to resting the bottom of a squat. Which isn't going to make your squat stronger. But it has other benefits in terms of mobility. Same situation with Hangs. Great for shoulder mobility and stability (active hangs). I used them to rehab a shoulder impingement pretty effectively.

But as with squat. Won't increase pull strength. Although it is a grip strength exercise. Something that is very neglected.

How to Get Better at Pull-Ups

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