How to Do More Pull Ups and Chin Ups
As some of you might know, I injured my shoulder a couple months ago (not a good injury for a personal trainer to have!). The rehab has gone well, but hanging from a bar to do a pull up is the thing that’s taken the longest to build back up to. I recently gave it my first attempt since the injury, and I managed a handful of ugly reps.
Pull ups (and chin ups, I use the two interchangeably and always mix them up) have been a part of my life and training ever since I joined the Marine Corps. 20 reps from a dead hang was a perfect score on that portion of our physical fitness test. Eventually working up to that standard (from only being able to only do a couple when I first joined) was a very proud moment for me, so it’s very humbling for them to be so hard right now!
Pull ups are arguably one of the best upper body exercises out there for endurance athletes. I love seeing my clients get to the point where they can do them comfortably, even if it’s just a couple good reps. I wanted to share some tips and ideas to improve your pull ups, whether you just want to be able to do more of them or are working towards your first unassisted rep.
Practice them more often. It’s hard to improve something if you only do it once a week. I’ve found that pull ups respond well to volume and frequency. If you have a pull up bar at home I recommended sneaking in a couple reps here and there throughout the day. Even something as little as 2 reps done 3 times throughout the day amounts to 42 reps over the course of a week, which is not insignificant!
Back when I first started strength training (Jim Wendler’s 531) I did pull ups for sets of 2-4 reps in between every set of every pressing exercise I did, and that went a long way to helping me become more comfortable with them.
Timed hangs from the bar. It’ll be hard to ever progress your pull ups if you struggle to hang from the bar for more than a handful of seconds. Hanging from the bar for progressively longer durations is the most specific way you can build your grip strength for pull ups.
Do other upper body pulling and core exercises. Adding in other vertical pulling exercises besides pull ups (like cable pulldowns with various handle attachments) and horizontal pulling exercises (like single arm dumbbell rows and TRX rows) will strengthen back and arms for pull ups. Anti-extension core exercises (like planks, the ab wheel, etc.) are also really important.
Band assisted and eccentric reps. Both of these are as close as you can get to doing unassisted reps and are good confidence builders. Even if you’re already able to do a couple unassisted reps I recommend you still include some band assisted reps for some higher rep work and to build muscular endurance. Eccentric reps (also called negatives, where you start at the top and perform only the lowering portion of the rep as slowly as possible) are also great, but be prepared for some soreness the next day!
Variety. Try mixing things up, especially if you have been hammering one variation for a while and feel stuck. Underhand, overhand, neutral grip, wide and close grips, fat bars and skinny bars, towel/rope, slow reps, iso holds at various points. It’s all good. Getting better at any of these will make you stronger for the variation you want to improve the most.
Try weighted reps. This might sound ludicrous if you’re struggling with bodyweight reps, but adding some extra weight (with a vest or belt) can be a game changer if you’re trying to progress to some higher reps sets. This and the previous point were key for helping me get to 20 pull ups when I was stuck in the mid teens. Focusing on lower rep weighted pull ups for a while (and working up to where I could do 10 reps with an extra 25lbs) made bodyweight reps feel relatively easy, and my first 20 reps set followed soon after. Start with just an extra 5-10lbs and progress from there.
Quality over quantity. People often sacrifice good form and full range of motion in an attempt to do more reps (not lowering all the way down and avoiding the bottom/hardest part of the movement, or swinging their legs around to get momentum). In my opinion the last rep of a set shouldn’t look a whole lot different from your first (aside from being much slower). You’ll get more benefit from doing fewer reps with good control and full range of motion than you will by doing a bunch of half reps with your legs flailing all over the place.
Lose some excess body fat. Sorry, there is no getting around it, but moving your body through space and pulling yourself up and over the bar is much easier the lighter you become (hence why weighted pull ups suck). Weight is only one piece of the puzzle here though, and your relative strength (how strong you are compared to your size) is really important here. Still, every extra pound you carry makes a difference and will make each rep that much harder (you know what I’m talking about if you’ve tried doing pull ups the day after Thanksgiving).
*Note, I wouldn’t chase weight loss (with myself or someone else) for the sole purpose of getting better at pull ups. Rather, getting better at pull ups is often a happy result of improving one’s body composition, amongst other things.
Do some curls. Yes, I love compound movements, but isolation exercises like curls still have a place when it comes to addressing weaknesses and building muscle. You can do all the back and core work you want, but you’ll continue to struggle with pull ups if your arms are weak.
Lastly, stick with it! As with everything, progress is not linear. You might go weeks without seeing any progress (or even seem to regress) and then all of a sudden have a breakthrough and set a 2 or 3 rep PR. Keep putting in the work, implement some of these tips, and eventually you will be rewarded!
I hope this was helpful. Don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any questions or want help working towards your first pull up!