How To Work Your Way To Doing An Unassisted Pull-Up
Pull-ups are a notoriously challenging exercise that may intimidate even the most savvy of gym goers. But despite its tough reputation, mastering the pull-up is not only achievable, but also incredibly empowering. You can absolutely achieve the pull-up with some steady and consistent training, especially if it incorporates these pull-up alternatives that will help you build up to the full-out exercise.
Besides being a great challenge, pull-ups are also an important movement to have in your tool belt. “It’s a functional movement and is great for survival if you ever need to hold your body weight while hanging,” says Nundiah Danielle Edwards, Founder and CEO of The New Body Project, a women’s boot camp studio in Brooklyn, New York. “If you find yourself park with your kids at the jungle gym, you’ll learn fast why pull-ups are essential.”
If you can’t do a pull-up right now, fear not: Our trusted trainers have expert advice on what you can do to build up to a pull-up—from tips on proper form to modifications and variations to help you conquer the iconic exercise.
Meet the experts: Amy Potter is a California-based certified personal trainer at Ladies who Lift, an in-person and online training program designed to help women achieve their strength training goals. Nundiah Danielle Edwards is the founder and CEO of The New Body Project, a fitness boot camp studio located in Brooklyn, New York. Joan Pagano is an exercise physiologist and trainer who coaches women on improving bone health as they age.
Benefits Of Pull-Ups
Pull-ups primarily target your lats, the largest muscle in your back, biceps, and forearms, says Amy Potter, a California-based personal trainer at Ladies Who Lift. “Having a strong posterior chain, the back side of your body, helps us maintain good posture, reduce risk of injuries, and can translate into improved form and strength in other exercises such as a deadlift where having a strong back is also important,” she explains.
Pull-ups are also a great way to improve grip strength, which is a measure of longevity, says Joan Pagano, an exercise physiologist who specializes in strength training for women. Several studies have drawn a significant connection between weaker grip strength and faster aging, and grip strength was strongly correlated with cardiovascular health.
How To Do A Pull-Up
You may have heard the terms pull-up and chin-up being used interchangeably, but what’s the difference? “In both moves, you are pulling your body up. The only difference is your grip on the bar,” says Potter.
In a pull-up, your palms face away from you and your hands sit outside shoulder-width. In a chin-up, your palms face toward you and sit inside shoulder width. “Chin-ups tend to be easier because your biceps assist more than they do in a pull-up,” she says. “I highly recommend starting with trying to get your first chin-up, because you will likely be able to do that quicker than getting your first pull-up.”
How to perform a pull-up correctly:
Grip the bar with hands shoulder-width apart, palms facing away from body.
With legs extended, pull your body up toward the bar until it is at chest level. “Remember to squeeze your shoulder blades back and hold a double chin so that you don’t hit your face on the bar,” says Edwards. Maintain tension in your abs and glutes.
Pause before lowering. That's 1 rep.
What Might Be Holding You Back From Doing A Pull-Up
There are several different reasons why doing a pull-up might not be possible for you right now, from a weak grip to a lack of upper body strength to a higher body weight relative to strength, Potter says. Incorporating other exercises or modifying the pull-up can help you build up strength and achieve that first full-out rep.
There are many ways to modify a pull-up, but these three methods are a great start:
Use a band
Assist the lift with your feet
Try a machine-assisted pull-up
“These variations mimic the exact same form as a regular pull-up, they just reduce the overall load,” says Potter.
For a band-assisted pull-up, loop a long resistance band across the bar near your feet to create a cushion to hold your feet. This gives you a little boost as you do the pull-up.
In a feet-assisted pull-up, lower the bar so you can reach it from a seated position.
For a machine-assisted pull-up, use the Gravitron machine which allows you to counteract your body-weight, thus reducing how much you have to lift during your pull-up. “You can easily progress the movement week to week to make it more challenging by decreasing the amount of assistance as you get stronger until you are able to do a full bodyweight pull-up,” says Potter.
You can also try to do an eccentric pull-up or chin-up, which focuses on the lowering part of the movement. “Eccentrics are a great way to build strength, and get your grip used to bearing your full weight,” says Potter, who suggests aiming for four to seven seconds on the way down.
Upper-Body Exercise Alternatives To The Pull-Up
If you still aren’t ready to do a pull-up, trainers suggest these other upper-body exercises to incorporate into your routine that target similar muscles so you can build up your strength for the pull-up.
Alternating Bent-Over Row
How to:
Start with feet hip-distance apart, holding one dumbbell in each hand with palms facing each other.
Hinge at hips, keeping head in line with tailbone.
Bracing core, pull right elbow back until right wrist is near ribs.
Lower with control to return to start position.
Bracing core, pull left elbow back until left wrist is near ribs.
Lower with control to return to start. That's 1 rep.
Resistance Band Runner's Lunge Row
How to:
Band in hands, stand feet hip-width apart and hinge forward from the hips, keeping back flat.
Cross left hand over right shoulder. Extend right arm long, stretching band, then bend it back in. That's 1 rep.
Dumbbell Upright Row
How to:
Start standing with feet hip-width apart, arms resting in front of body and a dumbbell in each hand.
Lift dumbbells by raising elbows until they reach chest-level. Arms should be parallel to the floor with elbows bent out to the sides at shoulder level.
Slowly lower them back down to waist with control, and repeat. That's 1 rep.
Kneeling Single-Arm Upright Row With Band
How to:
Start kneeling on one leg.
Place one part of the band under one foot, and the other part in opposite hand.
Pull the band toward shoulder, then extend arm to return to starting position. That's 1 rep.
Renegade Row
How to:
Start in plank position, holding dumbbells in either hand on the ground.
Pull right elbow toward the ceiling until right wrist is near ribs, then return it to floor.
Repeat on opposite side. That's 1 rep.
Lat Pull-Down With Band
How to:
With band around thumbs, stand with feet hid-width apart, arms overhead, hands shoulder-width apart.
Pull right elbow down as the left arm stays extended overhead, then extend arm back overhead. Repeat with left arm. That's 1 rep.
Biceps Curl
How to:
Start standing with feet hip-width apart holding a pair of dumbbells at sides. Palms should be facing forward with back straight and chest upright.
Without moving upper arms, bend elbows and bring weights up toward shoulders.
Slowly lower the dumbbells back to starting position with control. That's 1 rep.
Back Fly And Row
How to:
Stand with your feet at a hip-width distance with a soft bend in your knees. Hinge forward at the waist.
With arms coming straight down towards the floor, hold the dumbbells comfortably in your hands with palms facing in toward each other.
Have a soft bend in your elbows as you raise the weights up and out to the sides so they land in line with the shoulders; at this point, your palms should be facing down to the floor. Engage your upper back and in between your shoulder blades to assist the movement.
Control the movement as you lower the weights back to the starting position.
Drive the elbows back to bring the dumbbells toward your hips to perform a row. That’s 1 rep.
How To Improve Grip Strength For Pull-Ups
If you are struggling with grip strength, there are also exercises you can do to help develop those muscles. “You can work on grip by squeezing a tennis ball, reverse wrist curls, wringing out your towel, and if you're working with a pull bar, simply begin hanging from the bar without attempting a pull-up,” says Edwards.
Potter also recommends dead hangs if you lack grip strength, scapula pull-ups to activate your lats if you struggle at the bottom, and a chin-up hang hold to solidify the top range of motion.
How often should I do pull-ups?
“The best way to improve at any exercise is to train it consistently. If your goal is to get better at pull-ups, you should be doing them weekly,” says Potter.
If you're building up to a pull-up or want to improve your number of reps, Potter recommends doing 20 sets of pulling exercises (back and bicep) per week. These 20 sets can be split into one pull day per week, two upper body days (doing both pulling and pushing movements), or three full-body days. Depending on the exercise, each set should have between three and 15 reps.
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