Buzz
"Being able to do a pullup" is a goal many people strive for in fitness. If you commit to the work—through negative pullups, inverted rows, and more—eventually, you'll reach that milestone. Celebrate this achievement for a moment, but don’t abandon the exercises you were doing before you could do a pull-up.
It’s easy to feel like it’s time to change up your workout routine, especially since you spent so much time (weeks, months, or maybe even years) working on exercises for when you couldn’t do a pull-up. You might have been practicing negative pullups, starting at the top and lowering yourself slowly. Or maybe inverted rows, pulling yourself towards a low bar or rail. You could have also worked on assisted pullups using a machine, banded pullups with progressively thinner bands, lat pulldowns, dumbbell rows, and others.
However, your first pull-up doesn’t mean you’re done with all that. You should continue using resistance bands and lat pulldown machines. These tools are still vital in the next chapter of your progress.
You need to solidify that first pullup.
So, you managed a pullup today. That doesn’t guarantee you’ll be able to do one tomorrow. I know that sounds confusing, so let me clarify.
Each of us has a range of abilities on any given day. For instance, if you squatted 225 pounds last week, it doesn’t necessarily mean you can do it again today. Your “range” might be 200-225, and on a good day, you might hit the high end of that range. But even on a bad day, you know you can still manage at least 200.
Pullups work the same way. When you first started working on pullups, your strength might have been in the range of 50-55% of what’s needed for a pullup. After you get your first one, your range could increase to around 95-100%. The day you achieve your pullup is a 100% day, but the next day, maybe you're only at 99%. You might wonder why you can’t do it again right away.
Your next goal is to make doing one pullup the minimum of your range. If you're currently stuck between 0-1 pullups, work to expand that range until you can consistently hit 1-3. Eventually, on the days when you can do two or three pullups, you’ll be able to do one every day.
Just so you know, everything I’m saying applies to chin-ups as well. (A pull-up has your palms facing away from you; a chin-up has your palms facing toward you.) Chin-ups are a bit easier than pull-ups, so if you can do a pull-up occasionally, you may already be able to perform chin-ups consistently. Feel free to incorporate both chin-ups and pull-ups into your training.
How to achieve your second pull-up
Getting your first pull-up doesn’t open up a whole new world of exercises; it simply adds another tool to your arsenal. You already have a variety of exercises in your routine that build pull-up strength, and you can perform those at different rep ranges and levels of difficulty. Now, you can add the goal of doing “one pull-up.” But that single pull-up isn’t enough to replace the other exercises.
If you need a quick reminder on excellent pull-up accessories, here’s a list:
Negative pullups (gradually lowering yourself down). You can do these for multiple reps, or try making each set a slow, controlled movement lasting 10 to 15 seconds.
Banded pullups (using a resistance band to support your feet—either suspended from the pull-up bar or stretched across a rack beneath you). You can do more reps with a heavier band, or fewer reps with a lighter one. These are most effective when performed with slow, controlled reps.
Box or bench pullups, with one or both feet on a surface below you. Push with your foot just enough to complete each rep.
The lat pulldown machine or the assisted pull-up machine. Both target your upper body pulling muscles, though they aren’t as effective for training your core or body position.
Rows, rows, rows. My favorites are Kroc rows with dumbbells heavy enough to require body twisting (this is beneficial since it engages your core). Other great rows include barbell rows, seated cable rows, bent-over dumbbell and kettlebell rows, and bodyweight inverted rows. When you’ve finished your other pull-up exercises for the day, try adding a few sets of rows.
Your pull-up routine may have included other exercises like planks and core work, or even stretches for your shoulders. Keep doing those as well. If you've only been focusing on one or two exercises from the list above, feel free to add a few more.
Don’t feel pressured to do everything. I’d recommend choosing one pull-up variation each day—such as negatives, banded, or foot-assisted—and then adding two more exercises from the list (like one machine exercise and one row, or two different row variations).
How to increase your reps
That one pull-up you can do, at least occasionally? Be sure to do it at the start of your workout. Perform one pull-up, rest for a minute or two, then attempt it again. Once you fail, move on to the rest of your workout, including negatives, rows, and other exercises.
If you can do a pull-up more than once in a day, you’re getting close to doing two or three in a single set. If doing a pull-up feels easy, go ahead and try for a second rep. Before long, you'll be knocking out sets of two or three.
Once you can consistently complete at least three pull-ups, you can begin making this a key part of your workout routine, rather than just a fun bonus. Perform three sets of three each day you do upper-body exercises, and now you can eliminate one of your other pull-up variations. (But be sure to keep doing the rows.)
At this stage, if you're looking for a more challenging routine that has you doing pull-ups almost every day, try the “3RM” version of the Fighter Pullup Program. Once you can reliably do sets of five, I’d suggest switching to the Armstrong Pullup Program, which is more sustainable in the long run. Before you know it, you’ll be cranking out pull-ups in sets, rather than just getting through one.
