We reveal 7 exercises you can use to get your first pull up and beyond!

Ahh the humble pull up…

An exercise that looks so deceivingly simple but never fails to remind us time and time again of its true devilish difficulty.

I hate pull ups.

Ok, maybe that’s a bit far.

But it’s definitely a love-hate relationship if you know what I mean.

I would’ve done 1000s of reps over my training career.

And no matter what variation I choose, they never get easier (sigh).

But I must say, there’s no better feeling than being able to powerfully hoist yourself above a bar with absolutely no regard for human life.

And we’re here to help you get your first (and hopefully, many many more!)

Before we do though, we need to cover some ground rules of what a ‘real pull up’ actually is.

Because frankly, I see way too much disrespect for how this exercise is regularly performed by gym-goers all across the globe.

Here goes nothing…

A ‘proper pull up’ starts from a dead-hang position (arms fully extended) with the wrists pronated (facing forwards).

From there, you pull yourself up until your chin comfortably clears the bar.

Now, here’s where most people screw it up.

They go halfway down and then back up thinking they’re doing pull ups.

Facepalm.

Many of you might know this is called ‘half-repping’ and if you want to avoid becoming the local gym fool, then I suggest you don’t do it.

So, after you’ve reached the top, lower yourself down until your elbows are almost locked out (keep the slightest of bends).

Anyway, enough gab.

Let’s do some pull ups…

#1 - Bar Hangs

Simply put, you can’t do pull ups if you can’t hang off the bar.

Having grip strength akin to a common bench vice definitely makes pull ups (along with a ton of other exercises) a heck of a lot easier.

This aspect of our training can be addressed through the bar hang or ‘dead hang’.

Which is exactly what it sounds like, hanging from a bar (go figure).

In all seriousness though, bar hangs are a brutal static exercise that strengthen our:

• forearms and grip

• abdominals

• lats

• traps and rhomboids

• shoulders

• and biceps

They also do wonders for stretching out and decompressing the spine as an added bonus.

 To perform the bar hang:

• Find a stable bar

• Grab the bar with a pronated grip (palms facing away from you), keeping your arms fully extended

• Step off the ground and allow yourself to hang freely

• Hold this position for as long as you can, trying to minimise any swaying

At first, you’ll probably only be able to hang for around 5-10 seconds before your grip decides to painfully give out.

However, before long you’ll start noticing you’re able to last 15 seconds, then 20, then 30, until you’re comfortably chit chatting your way through sets past a full minute.

Time is all it takes.

Needless to say, you’ll never offer a weak handshake again.

#2 - Scapular Pull Ups

The scapula or the ‘shoulder blade’ as many of you may know it, is absolutely essential on our quest to conquer the mighty pull up.

The scapula is heavily involved at the start of the exercise and is what allows us to initiate the pulling movement.

If you find you struggle to get out of the bottom position of a pull up, then these are going to do wonders for you!

Scapular pull ups primarily target the lats, rhomboids, traps and serratus anterior, helping keep our shoulders healthy and developing proper movement patterns.

To perform scapular pull ups:

• Find a stable bar and start in a dead hang position

• Keeping your elbows straight, pull your shoulder blades down to raise the body in a reverse shrug like motion

• Hold the position for 1-3 seconds and then lower back down to a dead hang

• Repeat and enjoy!

The only movement that should occur is at the shoulder blades, so don’t let me catch you bending those elbows!

As scapula strength increases, you’ll notice you’ll be able to lift your body higher and higher.

This exercise is criminally underrated, so if you want the upper hand on all your buddies during a pull up contest, make sure you keep those shoulder blades moving!

#3 - Inverted Rows

There’s a few reasons I love this exercise.

1, because it’s extremely effective.

2, because it’s dangerously versatile.

And 3, because it’s also known as the ‘Australian pull up’ (G’day mate!)

It’ll probably make sense in just a minute but I’ll give you a hint as to why it’s called that HERE.

Anyway, inverted rows are a bodyweight staple when it comes to building the lats, rhomboids and bicep muscles.

The beauty of these is that they can be adjusted to pretty much any strength level by the angle your feet are placed on the ground.

To perform the inverted row:

• Find a bar around waist height (the smith machine works well)

• Grab the bar with a pronated grip (slightly wider than shoulder-width)

• Laying underneath the bar, place your heels firmly on the ground

• Once your body is in a straight line, squeeze your shoulder blades together and pull your chest towards the bar (just under the nipple)

• Once your chest touches the bar, pause for a second and lower yourself back down

Make sure you don’t let your butt sag and remember to keep those elbows tucked at around a 45-degree angle (avoid flaring them).

Inverted rows are fiercely underrated and are absolutely awesome at building the strength required for real pull ups.

You’ll also find they’re pretty good for your posture too.

Do them for 6-8 sets per week with a couple minutes rest in between each and watch how the back gains roll in!

You won’t be disappointed!

#4 - Negative Pull Ups

These are the closest thing to a pure cheat code when it comes to learning pull ups.

In all honesty, you could probably get your first pull up almost solely off training negatives alone.

Conveniently, they’re also one of the hardest exercises on this list.

And by hardest, I mean most painful.

Let me explain…

Our muscles can handle more load in the eccentric (negative) phase of a rep compared with the concentric (positive).

So basically, the ‘down part’ of a rep is always easier than the ‘up part’.

This means we are able to work our muscles in a range of motion that concentrically is too challenging BUT can be trained eccentrically instead.

So, if you want to go up, practice going down!

To perform negative pull ups:

• Find a stable bar

• Either jump or use a platform to prop yourself up into the ‘top’ of a pull up position

• From there, lower yourself down as slow as you possibly can until you reach the ground again

• Repeat and enjoy!

The key here is to lower yourself down as slow as humanly possible.

In the beginning, you’ll likely drop down to the bottom almost immediately.

As you gain strength, you’ll be able to control your descent much better and eventually work up to negatives that last 10+ seconds.

Just a word of warning – these will make you incredibly sore because of the way eccentric training tends to overload our muscle fibres.

So, if you wake up barely being able to lift your arms above your head – you can blame the negatives.

#5 - Lat Pulldowns

Ahh the infamous lat pulldown.

Beloved by gym bros all over the planet, this exercise does indeed have its place when training for pull ups.

The lat pulldown primarily hits the lats, rhomboids, rear delts and biceps – all the same muscles that are engaged during the pull up.

To perform the lat pulldown:

• Sit at the machine and adjust the thigh pad until your legs are tightly secured

• Grab the bar with a pronated grip (slightly wider than shoulder-width)

• Keeping your chest up and back straight, pull the bar towards the chest until just below the chin

• Remember to tuck your elbows (no flaring) and squeeze your shoulder blades together (imagine pulling your elbows down)

• Control the weight as you return the bar to its original position

If you’re overweight, lat pulldowns can be a necessary starting point to help slowly gain the strength for other bodyweight exercises that are more specific to training the pull up itself.

If this sounds like you, then you want to make sure you’re consistently hitting your daily protein goal and sticking to a calorie deficit.

As you lose fat and gain strength in the lats, arms and upper back, you’ll be able to start incorporating exercises like inverted rows and negatives to get yourself well on the way to cracking that first pull up.

#6 - Jumping Pull Ups

Ok, here’s where things get interesting.

Jumping pull ups are going to help us work the concentric part of the movement using a bit of momentum.

To perform the jumping pull up:

• Find a bar high enough that you have to jump to grab

• Jump up towards the bar while simultaneously pulling yourself up until your chin clears the bar

• Slowly lower yourself back down and repeat!

As you get stronger, you can jump with less power to decrease the amount of assistance.

If you want to add an extra element of difficulty, perform a slow negative once you get to the top.

This is called the jump-negative pull up and is definitely not for the faint of heart.

#7 - Band-Assisted Pull Ups

You’re almost there!

If you’ve made it this far, you’re a bee’s whisker away from being able to do your first pull up.

This exercise employs the use of a resistance band to provide assistance during the pull up.

To perform the resistance band pull up:

• Choose a suitable band

• Loop the band around the bar by placing one end through the other

• Grab the bar with a pronated grip (slightly wider than shoulder-width)

• Place both feet inside the bottom of the band until secure

• Initiate the movement by pulling yourself up until your chin is over the bar

• Slowly lower yourself back down and repeat!

While these aren’t essential to learning pull ups, they mimic the real movement much better than other alternatives like the assisted pull up machine.

So, if you’ve got a resistance band handy, then I suggest looping that bad boy around the bar and getting some reps in.

Once these start feeling easy, try taking one foot out of the band to further reduce the level of assistance.

From there, you’re literally one step away from doing regular, unassisted pull ups.

But wait, how do I actually train for pull ups?!

Now, to wrap it all up and tie it in a nice bow…

Here’s a sample pull up workout you can do 2-3 times/week to have you launching yourself above the bar in no time:

• Scapular pull ups – 3 sets x 8-12

• Negative pull ups – 3 sets x AMRAP

• Jumping pull ups – 2 sets x AMRAP

• Inverted rows – 2 sets x 8-12

AMRAP = as many reps as possible – with good form of course!

Happy Pull Up Training!!