How to Get Your First Pull Up
Achieving a strict pull up is a huge milestone in anyone’s fitness journey - you don’t forget your first!
The pull-up is often seen as a true test of upper body strength, but for many of us, especially when we’re just starting out, the thought of performing a pull-up seems pretty daunting and out of reach.
Want to skip ahead and get straight to work? Grab our First Pull Up programme - and get 20% off with code ‘PULLUPBLOG’
Whether you’ve been training for a while but feel frustrated with your slow (or non-existent) progress towards your first pull up…
…or whether you’re just starting out, and you’re feeling inspired to achieve your goal…
…you’re not going to get there any time soon without a clear, effective plan of attack.
Without knowing what exercises to do, how to progress them, how often to practice, and more, you’ll find yourself stuck and deflated in no time.
So, if you’ve been dreaming of getting your chin over the bar, you’re in luck. This guide will break down the exact, proven steps you need to take to achieve that pull up - the very same method I used to get my first when I started out in the gym, which I’ve refined over the last decade working with clients.
We’ll cover everything from exercise selection to proper rest and recovery. Plus, I’ll also give you some things to look out for along the way - mistakes I made before I worked out this system, and ones I still see other fellow gym-goers making.
Ready? Let’s go!
Step #1: Choosing the best exercises
There are so many exercises that work the muscles used in pull-ups: lats, biceps, rhomboids and traps, to name the main players. But simply working these muscles in isolation isn’t going to be the most effective way to achieve your pull up.
You want to be putting most of your effort into doing exercises that directly mimic the pull up itself, then throwing some ‘accessory’ strength work - that’s exercises that target those muscles I mentioned - in at the end, to help iron out any areas of weakness you may have. For example, you might be most limited by your bicep strength, and another person might be more limited by their back strength. Accessory exercises can help with these strength variations.
So, what exercises are BEST?
Essentially, we’re looking for ways to perform a pull up with less resistance than our full bodyweight.
If you were trying to build squat strength, you’d start with lighter weights and build the weights up.
Because pull ups are a bodyweight exercise, we need to decrease the resistance from gravity by adding assistance - this is the equivalent of using lighter weights.
My favourite pull up exercises are:
Foot assisted pull ups: by keeping your feet on the floor and deliberately taking as much weight through your upper body as possible, you can replicate the pull up movement, whilst controlling the level of resistance. This gives the unique benefit of being able to use more or less assistance at different points in the movement, depending on where you feel weakest and strongest.
Banded pull ups: these are my favourite because not only do they replicate the upper body pulling movement, they also get you familiar with controlling your body position as you hang in mid-air, an under-estimated skill. Some coaches don’t like them because you can ‘cheat’ by using them to bounce, and they also provide less assistance at the top of the movement where some people need the most help. But, if performed correctly, and alongside other exercises to strengthen all points of the movement, they can be the most effective exercise of all!
Negative pull ups: a more advanced variation, that can also be performed with a band if needed, these involve lowering yourself from the top of the movement, without doing the upwards pulling part. This is called eccentric training, and it’s highly effective for building strength.
Lat pull downs: whilst I don’t programme these as often for pull up training because you’re pulling the bar to you, rather than yourself to the bar, they still work the same muscles, and can be a great way to vary your training, or dip your toes in if you feel more confident using machines in the gym
These exercises are where the majority of your time and effort should be spent - with accessory movements such as bicep curls, lat exercises and row variations acting as helpful ‘extras’. This is why, in our brand new First Pull Up Programme, the main focus of the session is always an assisted pull-up variation, with various accessory strength work acting as a finisher. Click here, or on the image, to find out more.
Don’t make this mistake:
It’s not just about what exercises you do - it’s about training them in a way that’s specific to your goals.
Performing your first pull up is like performing a 1 rep max lift - you need to train for maximal strength, not endurance.
I see so many people doing high rep ranges (10+ reps) but neglecting exercises where you’re performing fewer reps at a higher intensity - which more closely replicates doing an actual, unassisted pull up!
Our 12-week Pull Up Programme ensures you’re hitting the right exercises, at the right intensity and volume to work towards your first pull up!
Step #2: Progressing exercises
So, you’ve got the right exercises, and hopefully the right rep ranges too - but it’s no good repeating the same thing over and over.
Getting results in any area of training requires progressive overload - a technical term for increasing difficulty. Your body sees hard training as a stressor which it responds to by adapting and getting stronger. Without increasing difficulty, your body no longer needs to adapt to anything, because it can already do the thing you’re asking it to do.
So, how exactly do we progress exercises?
Increase Volume: Volume refers to the amount of work done - so by increasing number of reps and/or sets at the same resistance (or level of assistance), you’re implementing progressive overload
Increase Resistance: For weights exercises, such as bicep curls or bent over rows, this might seem obvious - you simply need to increase the weight. For assisted exercises though, you’ll need to decrease the assistance, for example by using a thinner/lighter band.
Increase time under tension: Tempo refers to the pace at which you do a movement. Slowing movements down means your muscles spend more ‘time under tension’ - providing them with an extra challenge to adapt to.
Increase density: Density refers to how much volume you do in a given time period. Increasing density could be doing more volume in the same time frame, or doing the same volume in a shorter time frame. This often looks like decreasing rest times, or doing more reps on an ‘EMOM’ - ‘every minute on the minute’ - workout.
Any type of progressive overload can help you get stronger and build muscle, but an effective pull up programme will gradually increase difficulty in a way that’s specific to maximal pulling strength. You can grab my FREE Gym Dictionary which explains these terms, plus others, in more detail!
Don’t make this mistake:
When I first started trying to get my first pull up, I made the mistake of trying to increase my reps over and over again, when I should have put more effort into increasing the resistance once I was at a point where I could do around 3 good reps with a certain band!
I also see people expecting to improve everything all at once: increase reps AND resistance week on week. Typically, you’ll be working at a fixed resistance and volume week on week up to a point, and then you’ll increase the resistance and decrease the volume to allow for this.
We use this approach - as well as tempo and density - in our Pull Up Programme. Take the guesswork out and start your journey today!
Step #3: Knowing how often to train
Feeling excited to put your all into challenging yourself week on week? Good!
BUT don’t let that excitement trick you into thinking more is better.
Remember how I said your body adapts to training by getting stronger? This adaptation doesn’t actually happen during training - it happens when you rest and recover between sessions. During this time, your body repairs and rebuilds tissues - namely muscle - that have been damaged during training.
It can be tempting to think that working on your pull-ups daily is the best way to go - and whilst you might get there eventually, it’s not the most effective or efficient way to get your first pull up, plus you could be spending that time training other muscles!
When you’re trying to get your first pull up, 2 sessions a week is all you need. Whilst you *could probably* do 3 sessions a week, this really isn’t necessary, and we’ve found that most people recover better from just 2 sessions.
This is why our First Pull Up Programme consists of 2 x 30 minute sessions per week - keeping it simple, but also keeping the total volume such that you’re able to commit to doing it consistently.
Don’t make this mistake:
Little and often for an extended period of time is FAR more important for your first pull up than going in all-guns-blazing and burning out after a few weeks.
Consistency is absolutely key. Be prepared to commit to months of pull up training if you’re serious about that goal!
Step #4: Recovering properly
You’ve got the training right - but as I mentioned above, the adaptation comes in the rest periods between sessions.
Let’s examine the cornerstones of recovery - and why you won’t progress if you’re not getting these nailed!
Nutrition
I’ve got plenty of blog posts and free resources on nutrition, so I’ll keep things brief here! Without adequate protein intake, you’ll struggle to recover properly from your sessions, as your body requires protein to repair damaged muscle tissue. Without proper pre-workout fuelling - namely carbs - you’ll be running on empty, and struggle to complete your session with intensity. Hydration, as well as an overall balanced diet are also equally important. Ready to match your nutrition with your training? Join Performance Macro Coaching today and save £20 on your first month with the code PULLUPBLOG at checkout!
Sleep
Sleep is your body’s prime time for repairing your muscles, and your body secretes growth hormone during sleep to help with this. Good sleep has second-hand benefits on your training, too: boosted immunity means getting sick less; a rested nervous system improves performance; regulated mood and appetite facilitate making nutritious food choices, and so on.
Training Load
Alongside following an effective training plan for pull ups - that includes sensible volume, progression and frequency of sessions - assuming you’re doing other training too, you’ll need to factor in how much you’re able to recover from. Consider other movements that you’re doing that work the same muscles, as well as the total amount of training you’re doing - even with the best nutrition and sleep in the world, there’s only so much your body can do!
Don’t make this mistake:
I often speak to CrossFitters striving for their first pull up, doing all the right exercises and rep ranges, but struggling to make progress. I then ask them when they’re training their pull ups in relation to their other training.
9 times out of 10, it’s random - whenever they can fit it in - or, if it’s on specific days, they don’t account for the variation in their other training.
For example, if you’re smashing through a workout with pulling movements in, you’re not going to progress as quickly by doing your pull up strength training straight after.
Ready to get your first pull up?
Congratulations! You just learned how to train toward your first pull up.
By following the steps above, instead of just ‘winging it’ and practicing random exercises here and there with no clear plan, you’ll be well on your way to getting your chin above that bar!
I’ve given you all my best tips, tools, and techniques to help ensure your success - but if you’re looking for a complete roadmap, with the all the right exercises, session structure, progressions and guidance, look no further.
I’m SO excited to be able to share that our 12 week First Pull Up Programme is now LIVE - and you can grab 20% off by using the code PULLUPBLOG at checkout!
What are you waiting for? Just knowing what to do isn’t enough - it’s time to put it into practice and get the results you’ve been dreaming about!
Plus, explore our other programmes here
And use the code ‘PULLUPBLOG’ for £20 off your first month of Performance Macro Coaching: the nutrition coaching service designed to match your nutrition with your training goals - individualised nutrition coaching from £69/month!
