Pull ups can be found in just about every routine that is geared towards increasing upper body strength.
The spectrum of trainees who use this movement is very broad. Kids in gym class, weekend warriors, and even Olympic gymnasts perform pull ups on a regular basis.
Because of its exceptional popularity and reputation, one would assume that people make great progress from doing them.
Unfortunately, this is not the case. Not even close. In fact, I can tell you that most people get nowhere from doing pull ups.
However, trainees stubbornly continue to do them because they think that’s what they are “supposed” to do. I was certainly guilty of this for years.
You see, when I first started training some 25 years ago, I could easily crank out sets of 15 pull ups. I was even the pull up and flexed arm hang champion in junior high school.
Can you imagine how much better I thought I would get from years of structured and scientific training?
I thought that I would become a pull up master during the first year of training! I got a rude awakening, however, as I watched my chin up strength actually decrease – slowly and insidiously.
After one year of training, I was only able to get 13 reps. I justified my poor performance by deciding that, since I had gained 10 pounds of bodyweight that year, pulling up the extra weight would necessarily make a lift like the pull up more difficult.
But year after year, my ability to do pull ups decreased.
I love this pull up variation so much that I actually installed one of these bars in my apartment
I’m embarrassed to admit that after 7 years of training, I was only able to do 10 pull ups.
Can you imagine consistently training for 7 years, only to decrease your pull up abilities by 33%? I was stunned and completely baffled by what was happening.
I was determined to figure out why this totally unacceptable atrophy was happening to me.
Why would doing a pulldown (which is essentially an exercise that simulates a pull up) result in measurable progress, while an actual pull up resulted in regression?
After seemingly endless obsessing and experimenting, I finally discovered the answer. I actually discovered several reasons why this regression took place. Here they are, along with my solution for each of them…
1) Most people take sets of pull ups beyond failure. For some reason, pull ups (more than almost any other exercise) seem to inspire people to take each set to beyond failure. The more you do this, the weaker you will become.
The Solution- Stop your sets before your form even begins to break down. In other words, your last rep should look like your first.
Just because you can get your chin over the bar 3 more times doesn’t mean you should. Once you start walking up the wall and rounding your shoulders, you are already beyond failure and entering into the “no progress zone”.
Chains are yet another great way to add resistance to pull ups
2) Most people always use the same level of resistance. Week in and week out, most trainees simply pull up their bodyweight. This means that the same resistance is used forever (assuming that the athlete’s bodyweight is roughly maintained).
Can you imagine going to the gym for an extended period of time and just using 135 lbs exclusively when you squat? It sounds silly but it is precisely what most trainees do with chins and pull ups.
The Solution- You really need to vary your resistance. To decrease loading, hook up some bands to the bar and do assisted chins. To increase resistance, simply hang some weight from your waist or use a weighted vest.
3) Most people use the same grip angle for every workout. It is not uncommon for trainees to choose the grip that they are strongest in and do it forever. This is a mistake and can eventually lead to lack of progress as well as tendinitis around the elbows.
The Solution- You guessed it- you should vary your grip. I prefer to vary all aspects of my grip. Supinated, pronated and neutral grips are good variations to start with.
But you can take it even further and vary grip width and the diameter of the bar you are using. You can even do your chins from a pair of rings.
4) Most people exclusively use only one style of pulling. Just grab onto the bar and pull yourself up, right? Although that is the basic premise, I find it more productive to vary the pulling style.
The Solution- Work in strict reps, pumper reps and kipping reps into your routines. You don’t need to vary the pulling style all of the time, but when you see yourself about to stall out, switch to another style for a period of time. You will become stronger because of it.
5) Most people exclusively use the same rep/set scheme. A lot of trainees just do sets of however many reps they can perform with their bodyweight. This will cause serious stagnation in a hurry.
The Solution- How to go about doing this is really dictated by your strength levels. For example, let’s say your max is 10 reps. Instead of always doing 3 sets of 8, you could do 5 sets of 5 with a weighted vest. Or alternatively, try 3 sets of 12 with band assistance.
I could go on and on about the pitfalls (and their solutions) of the pull up, but the issues listed above tend to be the main five for most people.
By integrating the solutions myself, I busted out of my pull up rut and increased my reps from 10 to 28. I know it will work for you too. Good luck!
Dedicated to your success,
John Alvino
John,
Great article. I have been obsessed with increasing my pullups ever since I started training seriously a few years ago. My record is 19 pullups with bodyweight and 3 reps with 70 lb on my waist, both done at 185 bodyweight.
How many days per week do you prefer to train pullups?
Do you like one heavy day and one light day?
When you start each new phase how much do you typically back off the volume and or intensity before working back up?
Thanks,
-Chris
@Chris S: Your numbers are quite good! To improve them further…
You will need to do different type of programming. One heavy and one light day per week will certainly work for a period of time. Then when you stall out, you can switch to ladders, Then move on to low volume/ high frequency, etc. As you can see, you need to mix things up a bit.
I will typically decrease volume by 50%. Intensity is a more difficult variable to give general guidelines for. It really depends on exactly what you were doing prior.
Hope this helps you out. Let me know how you progress
Hey, great post. My pull ups have gone nowhere in years! I’m excited to try this. What type of bands do you recommend?
@Gina: Jump stretch bands are a solid product
Great post! My question is about band assisted chin-ups and pull-ups. They seem to be quite popular but some contend that they destroy the strength curve. Is this a bit of an overreaction?
@Rich: Hey Rich, They don’t “destroy” the strength curve but they do change it. Some strength coaches like to overreact to this but it is unwarranted. Doing band assisted chins along with other non-band variations will lead to great results. And remember, it is ok to alter a strength curve at times, and in some cases it may even be superior. Go for it and good luck!
Great info. there as always thanks John. So, do we get to see the pic of the pole you claim to have in your apartment
@Robyn: Hey Robyn, glad you enjoyed the post. Those pics are never to be released! lol
Hey John, great article as always. What would you suggest for someone like myself who has incredibly poor upper body strength and has never been able to do more than two?
@Jeremy: Hey Jeremy, This is a tough question to answer without seeing you pump out a couple of reps. That being said, I will do my best to suggest a few simple things:
1) Get your body fat down to 10%
2) Use suspension straps to do chin variations where you feet don’t leave the floor
3) Occasionally, do eccentric only reps.
4) Use bands for assistance
John,
Love the post! Every time I try to increase my reps my form just goes to hell. I haven’t improved in years. I can’t wait to try these techniques. They sound great! Thanks
@Tony: Hey Tony, take a week off before you try these techniques. Let me know how it works for you
John,
Thanks so much for the great answer. I’m not stopping until I get 29 reps…
How long would you recommended staying on each of those phases? Is one month enough or is it better to go 2 or 3 months, backing down each month and working back up?
Thanks again,
-Chris
@Chris S: Hey Chris, I would stick with the same style for 12 weeks but vary the other parameter (sets, reps, intensity, etc.) Good luck getting to 29! That may just inspire me to hit 30
Hey, thanks for another great post. How many days per week should we do pull ups? Can you outline a routine for us?
@lisa: Hey Lisa, you can do pull ups anywhere from 1-5 days per week. Strength levels, intensity, volume, recovery abilities and phase will play a role in deciding your optimal frequency. And I will layout an example of a pull up routine in a future post.
Thanks for answering!
Can you expand how bands change the strength curve? I think I’m confused.
@Rich: Hi Rich, this is a simple question that requires a complicated answer. In actuality, the strength curve doesn’t change. Essentially, with or without bands, the top of the movement will provide the overload. That being said, the band does really deload the bottom range (much more so than a bodyweight chin would). This is artificial and I can see how some purest would have an issue with that. Also the band does allow for some crappy form if you allow it to.
But all that being said, the band is a useful tool for decreasing the load and allowing for higher reps or just a resistance variable. Don’t be afraid to use it occasionally
Thanks for the great info John.
I’m going to hit it hard with these methods and I will report back and let you know how things go. I have lofty goals and am excited to see where this takes me.
Best,
-Chris
@Chris S: Awesome Chris, definitely stay in touch and let us know how you are making out
John….I currently just started Wendlers 531 program using his 3 day a week variation. Monday is Trap bar deads and Military presses. Wednesday is Bench Press and one arm rows. Friday is Squats and some ab and grip and direct arm work. My question is I am a big guy still fairly lean at 6.3 235 and I can only manage band assisted chins with supinated grip. What is a good set up within my current 531 program to incorporate the assisted chins such as what days and how many days do I do them on and how many reps and sets . I currently can get between 5 and 8 clean short of failurer reps with the medium band..green one. Any ideas or progression schemes would be greatly appreciated…..Thanks
Kevin Guzda
6.3 assisted supinated chins in my to do full pull ups
@Kevin Guzda: Hey Kevin, start every day with some chins. Do ladders- 1,2,3,4,5 (this would represent one ladder). Rest in between as if you had 2 training partners working in with you. Next time go- 1,2,3,4,5,1 (now you’d be starting your second ladder) Continue to add one ladder rung each work out. After you get to 3 full ladders, take a week off from chins and test your new rep max.
@John Alvino:
Hey John, that sounds great. Just to make sure I got it right, Do I do this every morning on workout days or every day of the week in the morning regardless if I am working out? or 5 days a week with some rest days?
Example…So I would start my first day with sets of 1,2,3,4,5. This is one full ladder. So I then add one rep or one laddrer rung the next day or workout and so on until I amd completing 3 full ladders in the workout?
I`m assuming the rest between rungs/sets should be 30-90 seconds?..What do you recommend? How long between ladders once I am doing more than one ladder? Lastly, Do you think I will have recovery or overuse issues if I am doing the assisted chin ups every day . Sounds good though, just would appreciate a couple clarifications and I will start hitting these 100% along with the 5,3,1 program I am doing….Thanks a lot man
@John Alvino:
Hey John, not sure if you got this question from me but figured I`d post the reply again. Just had a couple quick follow up questions, I copied my reply below, if you could take the time to just clarify these few things, it would be appreciated…Thanks
Hey John, that sounds great. Just to make sure I got it right, Do I do this every morning on workout days or every day of the week in the morning regardless if I am working out? or 5 days a week with some rest days?
Example…So I would start my first day with sets of 1,2,3,4,5. This is one full ladder. So I then add one rep or one laddrer rung the next day or workout and so on until I amd completing 3 full ladders in the workout?
I`m assuming the rest between rungs/sets should be 30-90 seconds?..What do you recommend? How long between ladders once I am doing more than one ladder? Lastly, Do you think I will have recovery or overuse issues if I am doing the assisted chin ups every day . Sounds good though, just would appreciate a couple clarifications and I will start hitting these 100% along with the 5,3,1 program I am doing….Thanks a lot man