How to do a pull-up in three simple moves

when it comes to adding Strength and volume for your backOne move you can’t stand Not in your arsenal is clouds. It’s an essential ingredient Body weight movementbut it builds muscle just as effectively as any other muscle Iron or dumbbells moves. Muscle building aside, being able to lift your own body weight against gravity is a great functional skill with a lot of real work—most people should strive to keep it in the locker for as long as possible.

All that said, many people struggle with pinning those first few reps, and if you haven’t hung from a bar since middle school, it can feel like a daunting move to handle. With that in mind, we’ve put together a three-move strategy that will get you from zero to one in no time on flat, building new strength and lifting your core and back.Ice all the way.

Three exercises to highlight the pull-up

1. Inverted rows

A great place to start and a beneficial movement in its own right, inverted rows will jump-start your journey by strengthening, as well as increasing the muscles in your upper back, arms, and core. Your grip strength And make you comfortable moving your entire body through the space.

How do: Holding a barbell at hip height, walk your feet forward so that you are hanging straight arms under the bar (a), keeping your elbows at a 45-degree angle from your body, and row yourself toward the bar. Focus on pulling your elbows down into your pockets and squeezing your shoulder blades together as your chest makes contact with the bar – pause here for a second (B) Before you lower yourself under control back into a full hold, repeat.

the plan

With legs fully extended (or even lifted) and arms hanging straight, just below the bar, aim for five unbroken sets of 10 reps, with a strong chest to hold each rep, before moving on to the second move.

Even though you’ve ‘graded out’, inverted rows are still a very valuable muscle-building movement, no matter how long your training journey is – so remember to revisit them weekly for 4-5 sets, and even up the weight, if you can.

2. Domain withdrawals

Getting to the “proper” withdrawals area will require some help. Using a resistance band will relieve some of your body weight, making each rep a little easier and allowing you to perform enough reps to move the needle in your goals.



How do: Spin the resistance band over your pull-up bar and then back through itself (or stretch a bar across a set of j-pegs at chest height in the rack). Hold the bar with an overhead handle, hands wider than shoulder-width apart and come into the band, hanging at full extension (a). Pull your shoulder blades down together before pulling your chest up toward the bar. Think of pulling your elbows down and “into your pockets”. Pulling the bar will help you ascend. When your chest touches the bar (B), press hard and pause here for a count of “one” to build strength, before slowly lowering yourself over 2-3 seconds into a dead hold. repeats.

the plan

Start with a thickness of the range that allows you to get up to 8-10 reps, with the last 1-2 reps of each set being a real challenge. Once you can perform 15 repetitions, press your chest into the bar on each rep, upgrade to a thinner bar and start working your way up to the reps again.

Once you’ve upgraded the straps once or twice, you’ll move on to the third and final move, though – keep 3-5 sets of strapped pull-ups in your workout routine at least once or twice a week to keep the groove “lubricated” and improve your skills and strength.

3. Jumping pull ups cranky

You see the final piece of the puzzle working with your entire body weight, if only for half of the movement. The “eccentric” or bottom of the pull-up is the part of the movement where you are strongest – we’ll take advantage of this to build more power, until the first pull-up crashes.



How do: Place a box or bench under the pull-up bar, at a height that will allow you to hold the bar (a) Then you jump up, touching your chest to the crossbar (B). Each time you jump, try to hold yourself above the bar for a second or two, before slowly lowering yourself for 2-3 seconds, at full hang. Return to the box and repeat.

the plan

Start with your box at a height that requires absolutely no effort from your upper body to reach the bar. Once you can do 8-10 reps, take full control of the lower pull-up (this is where you build more strength), then upgrade to the lower box.

Continue like this, lowering your box or switch to just pushing up with one leg, using progressively less help until you don’t need the box at all and can simply lift yourself up to the bar.

Congratulations, you’ve mastered clouds! But don’t get complacent—keep that form taut, and make sure you focus on those big pushups at the top of each rep and lower yourself under tight control on the way back down.

Continue to use some of these dips in your training to add extra bulk until you are comfortable performing sets of 10+ full pull-ups.

Once you’ve got a strict 10-15 reps in the bag, it’s time to start thinking about those muscles, right?