Pull Ups: Challenges and solutions to improve your performance
- Jake Hicks
- Mar 5
- 6 min read
Updated: Mar 5
Pull ups are one of the hardest exercises for people to improve, partly due to the fact that it's hard to use variable resistance. It's easy to add weight, but more difficult to take weight off for those who lack the ability to complete a rep. Below I'll give you concrete strategies to finally improve your pull ups!
I've spent years in the sports performance world training younger athletes, many of which can't do a pull up. This forced me to find the best ways to put athletes in the best place to ensure success, and I feel some of the strategies from the sports performance world is still hasn't made its way over to the every day gym goer. I've seen powerlifters that can deadlift 2x bodyweight struggle to do one pull up. People that you would consider strong still can struggle with pull ups, so what's the deal? Many factors should be considered but a couple main factors will always be your relative upper body strength, and then the time you spend doing pull ups.
Pull Ups as a primary exercise
What is a primary exercise? It's simply any exercise that you would deem valuable enough to spend more time on in relation to other exercises in your training session. If you ask me, pull ups should definitely be a primary exercise. I think pull ups and chin ups are the best exercise to increase upper body strength and size within the muscles and planes of movement involved. So the first issue I believe is committing the same time to doing pull ups as you would a squat or bench press. Many people are placing pull ups further down in the their sessions and aren't doing enough volume, and rarely do I see or hear of people intensifying their pull ups with load in the same way they are with squats, deadlifts and bench press. So tip number 1:
COMMIT TO PULL UPS AS A PRIMARY EXERCISE
The nature of pull ups makes every pull up session the same weight, or more if you add weight. But think about it, you're never doing less than your natural body weight. Every other barbell exercise you are able to lift lighter until you're able to lift heavier, except pull ups. Don't worry I've got the solution to this below.
Overcoming barriers
If you cannot perform a single pull up, you'll need to come up with a system for assisted pull ups. Here are the top solutions I've seen people use for those unable to a pull up.
+Isometric Holds: Jump up and hold as long as you can. Sure this can help I'm sure, but the pull up is on a descending strength curve meaning it's the hardest at the start of the pull up and easiest at the end of the concentric phase. So you're not really targeting the hardest part of the issue. No hate, just not the end all be all here for solving the problem.
+ Slow Negatives: Jump up, maybe hold, maybe not but slow as you can lower yourself down. This may address the issue some, but in my opinion, slow eccentrics feel like they are doing a lot more than they are. You get a lot of soreness, they feel hard but they aren't allowing you to learn to pull harder especially at end range. Again no hate but I just can't see this as THE solution
+Partner Assistance: I see this more in the team setting where a teammate will simply provide assistance as the feet. Not bad, my complaint here is this assistance is neither reliable or consistent. Here is the solution....
Banded assisted pull ups
But NOT by attaching a band from the top. The band from the top is providing a single amount of assistance which often times is too much assistance and I don't like how it changes your body positions often times requiring you to bend one leg so the band can pull up your your knee. The real solution, the last solution you'll ever need is the band assisted pull up placing a band ACROSS a power rack for you to stand on. The video below details the whole thing, but you're able to INDIVIDUALIZE the assistance you need by changing the band strength or the height of the band. This allows you to make small changes over time, using less assistance, adding weight just like you do on any other exercise until you reach your bodyweight.
Do your pull ups in a power rack
After watching that video you will realize the best place to do your pull ups will be inside a rack. Some might be thinking, pull ups in the squat rack??? No, that's not a squat rack. That's a power rack so if anyone gives you flack let them know the power rack is for MANY exercises. Just not bicep curls. In the performance world EVERYTHING is done inside the power racks. There are no stand alone benches, you simply wheel a bench in the rack, set to your degree of incline for bench presses, we do RDL in the rack, seated or standing overhead presses AND Pull ups. The power rack is going to give you the ability to add the individualized band assistance you need for your pull ups.
Top exercises to improve your pull ups
Pull ups (Assisted or weighted)
Inverted rows
Lat Pulldowns
DB row variations
Bent over barbell row
Power row
Specificity is king for any goal, so if you want to improve pull ups, pull ups will be your number 1 exercise. However, after your time spent doing pull ups it would be very wise to spend more time on other exercises that can also increase your upper body strength specifically upper body pulling in both the horizontal and vertical planes. Inverted row is the horizontal pull up, and it's also heavily reliable on your relative strength. There are 4 variations of the inverted row you can use to match your ability that many might not know about.
Easiest version is an inclined row such as a TRX row or set a bar higher up that you are rowing in an incline, the more upright you stand the easier it is. The more upside down you go the harder it gets
Little harder is you are completely parallel to the ground but your knees are bent feet flat on the ground
To make it a bit harder straighten the legs, heels only on the ground
Finally the hardest version is elevating your feet on a box or a bench.
4 Week Pull Up Program
Pre Test
- Hands shoulder width apart
- Full extension each rep
- Eyes above bar for each rep to count
- Write down results
Training
Perform this protocol 2x per week for 4 weeks with at least 2 days rest in between
Each training session day starts with 1 set of as many pull ups as you can. Following that set, perform the following training reps:
+If you did 5 reps or less: 5 sets of 1 rep
+If you did 6-10 reps: 5 sets of 2 reps
+If you did 11-15 reps: 5 sets of 3 reps
+If you did 16-20 reps: 5 sets of 4 reps
+Perform one final set at the end of a max isometric hold at the top as long as you can. Fight to keep your eyes above the bar until you fail.
*If you cannot do any reps, you must use a band for assistance that allows you to do AT LEAST 10 reps. Use the SAME band assistance for the final set for the max iso hold.
After your pull ups, use more accessories to train your upper body pull such Bent Over Row, Lat Pulldowns etc. Do at least 2-3 more compound back exercises. I would suggest doing 5 sets of 6 for each of them each day. Finish the days with rear delt flies, bicep curls and lat pull overs all sets of 10+ to failure.
You can add weight for your "training reps" and if you were using band assistance you can use less but the quality of reps must be HIGH and that's the priority.
The rationale for the "training reps" is it is taking your max reps and doubling it. So if you can do 5 reps, you likely can't do 5 reps again, but you can do 5 sets of 1. Each of the levels for the training reps, the math checks out.
After 4 weeks re test and see how much you've improved.
All of my programs use pull ups and each of them caters to your level. Whether you are a beginner or you're already great at pull ups, we use appropriate methods to challenge both. Some of my advanced lifters learn pull up variations from me that they have never seen. Specifically loaded pull ups, as well as some advanced grips and advanced tempos such as deadhang pull ups, speed drops, and sport reps. Click below to start a free 10 day trial, the advanced pull ups would be found on Super Sets, Powerlifting programs or the Advanced Barbell programs within reps and sets.
You can also schedule a free call with me by clicking the button below!
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