If you want to build your upper body muscles and body strength, pull ups are a great upper body exercise. It works your back, chest, abs, forearms, grip, and shoulder muscles all at once, so choosing and improving your pull-up exercise is the right choice. Pull-ups are a good challenge for most people because how much you can do depends on your body type. If you are smaller, you have less weight to move during exercise, but less muscle mass is available; if you are larger, your muscles move more during exercise, which means You need more weight. When performing pull-up exercises, a large load is placed on the back and shoulders, so to avoid injury, you must maintain a correct posture when performing exercises.
But please note: Pull-ups and chin-ups are different exercises. Pull-ups are done with the palms facing away from you (overhand grip), while chin-ups are done with the palms facing toward you (underhand grip). Chin-ups make your biceps muscles stronger, and they have a narrower grip. Pull ups use more of your back muscles, especially your lats. But pull ups and chin-ups are both valuable exercises.
Here’s a guide on how to improve your pull-ups to supplement your existing strength and conditioning training, in addition to some of the daily exercises you should be doing weekly. If you want to know more, keep reading. Learn how to do pull-ups correctly and get more pull-ups with tips on how to improve your pull-ups and make huge strides in your fitness program in 30 days.
Related: Pull Up Bar Exercises – Workout Your Full-Body Muscle
How to Get Your First Pull-Up
If you’re new to fitness or bodyweight training, completing your first pull-up may be a daunting task for you. But that is not the case. If you have the patience, focus, and a few practice steps, completing your first pull-up isn’t that difficult. Here are 5 of the best tips to help you complete your first pull-up.
Build Upper Body Strength: Focus on exercises that target the muscles used in pull ups, such as lat pulldowns, assisted pull-ups using resistance bands, and inverted rows.
Negatives: Start by focusing on the lowering (eccentric) portion of the pull-up. This will help you build strength for the full movement.
Assisted Pull-Ups: Use resistance bands or an assisted pull-up machine at the gym to reduce the amount of body weight you need to lift.
Scapular Retraction Exercises: Strengthening the muscles that control your shoulder blades will help with the initial pull-up motion. Practice scapular retractions and hang from the bar.
Work on Grip Strength: Train your grip strength with exercises like dead hangs and farmer’s walks.
How to Get Better at Pull-Ups
Improving your pull-up performance involves a combination of strength training, technique refinement, and targeted exercises. Here are some strategies to help you get better at pull-ups:
Strength Training
Focus on compound movements like lat pulldowns, chin-ups, and rows to build overall upper body strength.
Incorporate exercises that target the muscles used in pull ups, such as biceps, forearms, and back muscles.
Variations and Progressions
Incorporate different variations of pull ups, such as wide grip, close grip, and weighted pull-ups to challenge your muscles in different ways.
Use progressions like assisted pull ups with bands or machines to gradually decrease assistance as you get stronger.
Negatives and Isometrics
Perform negative pull-ups by emphasizing the lowering phase to build strength. Slowly lower yourself from the bar to full arm extension.
Practice isometric holds at various points during the pull-up motion (e.g., chin over the bar, halfway up) to develop strength and stability.
Scapular Retraction Exercises
Exercises such as scapular retractions, scapular pull ups, and dead hangs can be beneficial.
Grip Strength Training
Work on improving your grip strength with exercises like dead hangs, farmer’s walks, and using grip trainers to enhance your ability to hold onto the bar.
Core Strength
A strong core contributes to better stability during pull ups. Incorporate core exercises such as planks, hanging leg raises, and wood chops into your routine.
Consistency and Frequency
Incorporate pull-up-specific training into your routine at least 2-3 times per week to allow for adequate rest and recovery between sessions.
Proper Form and Technique
Focus on maintaining proper form during each repetition. Engage your back muscles, avoid excessive swinging, and aim for a full range of motion.
How to do a Proper Pull-Up
A proper pull-up involves using the correct form and technique to target your back, arms, and shoulder muscles effectively. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to do a proper pull-up:
Hang from the Bar
Keep your body hanging from the bar, arms fully extended, and shoulders relaxed during the exercise to avoid injury. Keep your core engaged and your legs straight or slightly bent.
Initiate the Pull-Up
Start the pull-up by engaging your back muscles and pulling your shoulder blades down and back (scapular retraction). This will help activate the muscles needed for the movement.
Pull Yourself Up
Drive your elbows down towards the floor as you pull your chest up towards the bar. Focus on using your back muscles to lift your body weight.
Chin Over the Bar
Continue to pull yourself up until your head and chin are over the bar. Aim to get your chin over the bar while keeping your core tight and avoiding excessive swinging or kipping.
Lower Yourself Down
Lower yourself down in a controlled manner, fully extending your arms and returning to the starting position. Avoid dropping down quickly, as this can strain your shoulders.
Repeat
Perform the desired number of repetitions with proper form, focusing on the quality of each repetition rather than quantity.
How to Add Challenge to Your Pull-Ups
When you reach a certain level of exercise, do you want to increase the difficulty of your pull ups? Adding challenge to your pull-up routine can help you break through plateaus and continue making progress. Here are some ways to increase your workout challenge.
Weighted Pull-Ups
Use a dip belt or weighted vest to add extra weight to your body while performing pull ups. This increases resistance and helps build strength.
Variations
Try different pull-up variations such as wide grip, close grip, commando pull ups, or mixed grip pull-ups to target different muscle groups and challenge your body in new ways. You can achieve this using a pull up bar station.
Towel Pull-Ups
Drape two towels over the bar and grip them instead of the bar itself. This engages your grip strength and forearm muscles more intensely.
L-sit Pull-Ups
Lift your legs straight out in front of you as you pull yourself up, holding them parallel to the ground. This engages your core and increases the difficulty of the exercise.
Clapping Pull-Ups
Explosively pull yourself up so that your hands leave the bar, allowing you to clap before catching the bar again. This plyometric variation adds explosiveness and power to your pull ups.
One-Arm Pull-Up Progressions
Work on progressions toward a one-arm pull-up, such as archer pull-ups, assisted one-arm pull-ups, or using a towel for assistance.
Pause Reps
Pause at various points during the pull-up motion (e.g., halfway up, at the top) to increase time under tension and enhance strength and control.
Grip Variations
Experiment with different grip types, such as fat bars, rotating handles, or fingertip pull-ups, to challenge your grip strength and forearm muscles.
Eccentric Emphasis
Focus on the lowering (eccentric) phase of the pull-up by performing slow and controlled descents, emphasizing the negative portion of the movement.
How to Improve Your Pull Ups in 30 Days
Improving your pull ups in 30 days is an achievable goal with consistent training and the right approach. Here’s a structured plan to help you progress in your pull-up ability over 30 days:
Day 1-10: Building a Foundation
Start with an assessment of your current pull-up ability. How many strict, full-range pull ups can you perform?
If you can’t do a full pull-up yet, work on assisted pull-up variations or negative pull-ups (lowering phase) to build strength and familiarity with the movement. You can practice by using pull up tower.
Perform pull-up-specific exercises 3-4 times per week. Focus on exercises that target back, arms, and grip strength, such as inverted rows, lat pull-downs, bicep curls, and dead hangs.
Day 11-20: Incremental Progress
Aim to increase your pull-up repetitions by at least 1-2 reps every other day. For example, if you start with 3 pull-ups, aim for 4-5 by day 20.
Incorporate variations like chin-ups, wide-grip pull-ups, and commando pull-ups to target different muscles and prevent plateauing.
Continue to train 3-4 times per week, allowing for rest days in between to promote recovery.
Day 21-30: Fine-Tuning and Testing
By now, your pull-up strength should have improved noticeably. Focus on perfecting your form and maintaining consistency in your workouts.
Test your maximum pull-up repetitions again on day 30. You should see a significant improvement compared to your initial assessment.
If you’ve achieved your pull-up goal, consider adding additional challenges such as weighted pull-ups or advanced pull-up variations to continue progressing.
