How to Do a Pull-Up: A Plan for Your First Rep

0 to Elite course · Lesson 58 of 100 · Level 3: Novice to Intermediate

The pull-up is one of the most satisfying milestones in training. If you can’t do one yet, you’re in good company. This lesson gives you the technique, the steps that build up to it and a simple weekly plan.

What a good pull-up looks like

A pull-up is done with your palms facing away from you. A chin-up has palms facing you and is usually a little easier because your biceps help more. Either counts as a first milestone.

1. Grip. Hands just outside shoulder width, thumbs wrapped around the bar.
2. Start position. Hang with straight arms, then gently pull your shoulder blades down away from your ears. Brace your midsection and squeeze your legs together so you don’t swing.
3. Pull. Drive your elbows down towards your back pockets until your chin clears the bar.
4. Lower. Come down under control to a full hang. That’s one rep.

Cues: “elbows to your pockets”, “chest to the bar” and “stay long, not curled up”.

The progressions that get you there

In lesson 18 on the lat pulldown vs pull-up you learned the vertical pull pattern on a machine, and in lesson 17 on rows you built your upper back. Now use these steps, roughly in order:

• Dead hangs. Simply hang from the bar. Build to 30 seconds. This builds grip and gets your shoulders used to hanging.
• Scapular pull-ups. From a hang, pull your shoulder blades down without bending your arms, then relax. This teaches the very first part of the pull.
• Inverted rows. Lie under a bar set at waist height and pull your chest up to it. Make them harder by walking your feet forward.
• Negatives. Use a box to jump or step to the top position, chin over the bar, then lower yourself as slowly as you can, aiming for 3 to 5 seconds. These are the single most useful step for most people.
• Band-assisted pull-ups. Loop a resistance band over the bar and under a knee or foot. Use thinner bands over time.
• Heavy lat pulldowns. Keep these in your plan to build strength with load you can measure.

A simple weekly plan

Train pulling two or three times a week, on non-consecutive days, at the start of an upper body session when you’re fresh:

• Dead hang: 2 holds, as long as you can with good form
• Negatives: 3 sets of 3 slow reps
• Band-assisted pull-ups or inverted rows: 3 sets of 5 to 8
• Lat pulldown: 3 sets of 8 to 10

Every week or two, try one strict pull-up at the start of the session. When you get it, move to several sets of single reps, then doubles, then triples. This is progressive overload in its simplest form. For more ideas to strengthen the whole posterior chain, read the full guide to back strengthening exercises.

Common mistakes

• Kipping and swinging. Using momentum hides weakness. Keep it strict for now.
• Half reps. Start from a full hang every time.
• Chin poking up. Reaching with your neck doesn’t count. Pull your chest towards the bar.
• Only doing assisted reps. Bands help most at the bottom, where you’re strongest. Negatives fill the gap.
• Ignoring body weight. Your body is the load. Gentle fat loss, if that’s one of your goals, makes pull-ups easier too.
• Testing when tired. Trying a max pull-up at the end of a long session tells you nothing. Test fresh.

After your first pull-up

Once you can do one, build to sets of five strict reps over the following months by adding a rep to one set each week. After that, the pull-up becomes a main lift in its own right: you can add weight with a dipping belt or a dumbbell held between your feet, using the same small, steady jumps as your barbell lifts. Keep rows in your plan too, because vertical and horizontal pulling build the back in different ways.

Negatives can cause more muscle soreness than you expect, so start with low numbers. If you feel sharp pain in the elbow, shoulder or neck, stop and see a GP or physiotherapist rather than pushing through.

Your action steps

1. Test your starting point: longest dead hang, number of strict pull-ups (zero is fine) and your best 8-rep lat pulldown. Write them in your log.
2. Add the weekly plan above to two upper body sessions for the next six weeks.
3. Film one set of negatives and check you’re taking at least 3 seconds to lower.
4. Retest your strict pull-up every two weeks at the start of a session, never at the end.

Frequently asked questions

How long does it take to do your first pull-up?

It varies a lot with your strength, body weight and consistency. Many people get there in a few months by training pulling two or three times a week with negatives and assisted reps.

Are chin-ups easier than pull-ups?

Usually, yes. With palms facing you, your biceps help more, so most people can do a chin-up before a pull-up. Both are great exercises.

Do negative pull-ups work?

Yes. Slow negatives build strength through the whole movement and are one of the most effective steps towards a first strict pull-up. Start with low numbers as they cause soreness.

Keep going

Previous: Lesson 57: The Barbell Overhead Press: Technique Step by Step

Next: Lesson 59: The Hip Thrust and How to Train Your Glutes

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