Pull-ups are one of those bucket list fitness goals for many people.
Just as it’s popular to want to break a certain mile time barrier—like 10 minutes, 6 minutes, or even 4 or 5 minutes—or bench press your weight in pounds, being able to do full bodyweight pull-ups is a feat of strength and marker that tantalizes beginners and experienced athletes alike.
Most people don’t have the same degree of back strength necessary for pull-ups that they do in the opposing pushing muscles in the chest.
Therefore, even if you’re adept at push-ups and can bang out a good set with no trouble, you might not be able to do more than one or two pull-ups, if any.
The good news is that by following a pull up workout plan with specific pull up training exercises, it should be possible to conquer the seemingly indomitable bodyweight pull-up exercise.
In this guide, we will cover the basics of pull up training and present a pull up workout plan that we’ve created to help you get your back in gear to clear the bar.
We will cover:
- How to Perform a Pull-Up
- Pull-Up Training Exercises
- Pull Up Workout Plan for Beginners
Let’s jump in.
How to Perform a Pull-Up
A pull-up uses an overhead bar.
Unlike a chin-up, in which you use a supinated grip on the bar so that your palms are turned towards your face, with a pull-up, you use a pronated grip so that your palms face away from you.
This engages your back muscles more than your biceps.
Here is how to perform a pull-up:
- Grab onto a pull-up bar with a shoulder-width grip to properly engage your lats. Use a pronated grip so that your palms are facing away from your face.
- Hang from the bar, lifting your feet off the ground by bending your knees if you are too tall.
- Pull yourself up by engaging your core, contracting your lats, and pulling your elbows down toward the floor.
- Raise your body until the bar is at chin or chest height.
- Lower your body back down in a controlled fashion until your arms are fully straight.
- Repeat, doing as many repetitions as possible.
Pull-Up Training Exercises
Pull-ups work your lats and biceps, along with your deltoids, rhomboids, and core.
The following exercises can help you prepare for doing pull-ups.
#1: Assisted Pull-Ups
If you’re not yet strong enough to do an unassisted pull-up, you can use an assisted pull-up machine to offset some of your body weight.
You can also modify the intensity with a regular pull-up bar by looping a thick resistance band from the bar to under your knees to provide some lift.
As you get stronger, use a thinner resistance band or take off less of your body weight on the assisted pull-up machine.
Once you master standard bodyweight pull-ups, you can wear a weighted vest to increase the difficulty. For a really challenging progression, you can also try doing single-arm pull-ups.
#2: Cable Face Pulls
This is a good exercise for pull-up training because it targets your posterior deltoids, which can help you properly retract your shoulder blades during a pull-up.
- Affix the double-rope attachment to the high pulley on a cable machine.
- Step back from the cable attachment so that when you grasp the handle, your arms are fully extended.
- Grip the handle so that your palms are facing the floor.
- Keeping your upper arms parallel to the floor, pull the handles towards your face, splitting the rope on either side of your face.
- Slowly return the cable to the starting position, keeping tension on it throughout.
#3: Inverted Rows
You can do this pull-up training exercise with a suspension trainer or using a barbell.
The inverted row is a fantastic exercise for strengthening your lats, rhomboids, shoulders, and arms.
The more parallel you are to the floor (rather than angled upright), the harder the exercise will be.
- Use a barbell on the squat rack or suspension trainer straps set to roughly chest height.
- Grip the bar or straps with your palms facing away from your face.
- Walk your body underneath, so that you’re in an inverted push-up position.
- Engage your glutes and abs and then squeeze your shoulder blades to pull your body up to the bar, bending your elbows. To properly engage your back, it helps to envision pulling the bar down to your chest.
- Slowly lower yourself back down by straightening your arms.
#4: Lat Pull-Down
A good pull up workout plan isn’t complete without lat pull-downs. This exercise targets many of the same muscles you use in pull-ups, such as the latissimus dorsi, and the muscles in your shoulders.
To better engage the lats, use a wide grip on the bar and think about driving your elbows straight down into the floor.
#5: Negative Pull-Ups
Negative pull ups are a great pull up workout plan exercise when you aren’t yet ready to go full pull-ups.
They involve just performing the lowering part of the exercise, which is easier because your muscles are stronger during the eccentric phase of the movement.
All you have to do is jump up so that you are in the finishing position of a pull-up with your chin or chest at the height of the bar.
Holding the bar with your normal overhand pull-up grip, slowly lower your body all the way down going as slowly as possible.
When your arms are fully straight, let go and then jump back up for the next rep.
#6: Dead Hangs
This exercise is an important component of a pull up workout training plan because it improves grip strength, which is often one of the limiting factors in performing a full pull-up.
Simply hang from the bar using the proper pull up grip and body position with your arms straight.
#7: Farmer’s Carries
Farmer’s carries are a great way to improve your grip strength for pull-ups, while strengthening most of the major muscles in the body.
- Stand upright with good posture holding a heavy dumbbell or kettlebell in each hand. Your arms should be down at your sides.
- Keeping your core tight, your chest up, and your shoulders even, walk forward for 20-30 meters or so.
- Turn around and walk back.
#8: Hollow Holds
This core exercise is helpful for pull up workout training because the posture mimics how you want to hold your body during a pull-up.
Rather than pushing your hips forward when you do a pull-up, you want to engage your back and core exactly as you do in the hollow hole.
This gives you more pulling power and optimizes the angle of pull for your back and core muscles.
- Lie on your back with your arms extended overhead.
- Engage your core, lifting your head, upper body, and lower body so that your arms and legs are at about a 45-degree angle with the floor.
- Hold this position, breathing slowly throughout.
- Slowly release after the time is up.
Pull Up Workout Plan for Beginners
Now that we’ve covered some of the best exercises to do to train yourself to do pull-ups, we can sequence them together in a 30-day pull up workout plan for beginners.
This pull up challenge requires three workouts per week. You can add the exercises to your existing workout routine.
Progress the weight you use as you get stronger. You should be hitting complete fatigue by the end of each set. If you can easily finish all the reps with good form, it’s time to bump up the weight.
Of course, proper form is paramount, so always err on the lighter side if you are not confident in your technique or strength.
| Workout #1 | Workout #2 | Workout #3 |
| Assisted pull-ups: 2 sets of 8-12 reps at 50-60% of your body weight Inverted rows: 2 sets of 6-10 reps Hollow holds: 2 x 20 seconds | Negative pull-ups: 2 sets of 4-6 reps Wide-grip lat pull-downs: 2 sets of 8-10 reps Cable face pulls: 2 sets of 6-8 reps | Dead hangs: 2 x 30 seconds Bent-over dumbbell rows: 2 sets of 8-12 reps Farmer’s carries: 2 sets of 20-30 meters down and back |
| Assisted pull-ups: 3 sets of 8-12 reps at 60% of your body weight Inverted rows: 3 sets of 6-10 reps Hollow holds: 2 x 30 seconds | Negative pull-ups: 3 sets of 5-6 reps Wide-grip lat pull-downs: 3 sets of 8-12 reps Cable face pulls: 3 sets of 6-8 reps | Dead hangs: 2 x 40 seconds Bent-over dumbbell rows: 3 sets of 8-12 reps Farmer’s carries: 3 sets of 20-30 meters down and back |
| Assisted pull-ups: 3 sets of 8-12 reps at 60-70% of your body weight Inverted rows: 3 sets of 8-12 reps Hollow holds: 3 x 30 seconds | Negative pull-ups: 3 sets of 6-7 reps Wide-grip lat pull-downs: 3 sets of 8-12 reps Cable face pulls: 3 sets of 6-8 reps | Dead hangs: 2 x 50 seconds Bent-over dumbbell rows: 3 sets of 8-12 reps Farmer’s carries: 3 sets of 30-40 meters down and back |
| Assisted pull-ups: 3 sets of 8-12 reps at 70-80% of your body weight Inverted rows: 3 sets of 8-12 reps trying to start at a more horizontal position Hollow holds: 3 x 45 seconds | Negative pull-ups: 3 sets of 6-8 reps Wide-grip lat pull-downs: 3 sets of 8-12 reps Cable face pulls: 3 sets of 8-10 reps | Dead hangs: 2 x 60 seconds Bent-over dumbbell rows: 3 sets of 8-12 reps Farmer’s carries: 4 sets of 20-30 meters down and back |
| Pull-up test! |
Diligently following this pull up workout plan should help you be able to do full pull-ups.
Take your time and repeat the workouts if you’re not yet strong enough or are starting with a lower level of fitness.
You can do it, take on this pull up challenge!
For other exercise goals, check out our 30-Day Fitness Challenges!
