Benefit: The correct grip will allow you to get the proper contraction of the muscles in your upper back and shoulders. This will make you stronger and allow you to easily lift your weight to the bar.
How to do it: Stand on a box or bench so that your hands can reach the bar. Grab it lightly, with your hands slightly wider than your shoulders. Squeeze your hands three times. The third time, imagine that you are trying to squeeze the bar in your hands. Hold yourself like this while doing pull-ups.
Reverse Shrug
Benefit: Takes some of the work off the trapezius muscles. Shifts the load to the latissimus dorsi and teres major muscles.
How to do it: Hang from the bar, overhand grip. Move your shoulder blades down and back. You will feel your lats tighten in your armpits and your shoulders move away from your ears. If you're not ready to hang from a bar yet, start by doing a reverse shrug on a pull-up machine.
Prepare to strike
Benefit: Most men perform pull-ups with an arched back. However, this undermines your efforts and risks back injury. Tighten your stomach as if you were about to be hit in the solar plexus to keep your back straight and firm.
How to do it: Hang from the bar and imagine that you are pulling your belly button towards your ribs. Maintain this tension throughout the exercise.
Squeeze your buttocks
Benefit: Squeezing your glutes and squeezing your hips together will increase the stability of your lower body so your legs don't flop around, taking power away from your upper body.
How to do it: Squeeze your buttocks as hard as you can. The pelvis should move up a little, and the back should curve down a little.
Bend your body
Benefit: This position will force your lats to work together with your abs. This will increase your stability, allowing you to focus on lifting your body towards the bar.
How to do it: Tighten your abs, squeeze your hips together, and point your legs slightly forward so your body forms a wide “C.” Maintain this position throughout the entire exercise.
Move as one
Benefit: A stiff body from crown to toe not only recruits more muscles, including the glutes, hamstrings, and core, but also increases pulling power in the lats and arms.
How to do it: Tighten all your muscles, from your fingers to your toes. Don’t relax your body at all, keep the tension from hang to hang.
Reach the bar with your shoulders
Benefit: Reaching the bar with your upper chest and shoulders, rather than just your chin, helps maintain proper shoulder position.
How to do it: Look straight ahead and arch your torso slightly back so that your chin passes the bar. If you can, try to touch the bar with your collarbone.
Hang below
Benefit: Fully straightening your arms after each pull-up ensures that you don't use momentum to do rep after rep. This is more difficult, but will give greater muscle mass gains in the long term.
How to do it: Straighten your elbows fully between repetitions.
Exhale on the way up, inhale on the way down
Benefit: Exhaling as you rise increases core tension, making it easier to move as one unit.
How to do it: Don't exhale all the air at once. Instead, use your abs to forcefully squeeze the air out of your lungs throughout the entire lift. On the descent, inhale as you straighten your arms.
Do not fall
Benefit: Going down can help you gain strength even more than going up. This means you can’t let your body just fall down. Keep your descent under control.
How to do it: Straightening your arms should take at least 1 second.
Allows you to build strength and endurance. The result of precise execution of pull-ups is the strengthening of the back, biceps, forearm, and abs.
Exercise technique is the basis for success
The question of whether this is correct is reflected in technology:
- Use a full grip with your thumb on the bar. This is a basic rule that allows you to load well and therefore take a step towards rapid progress.
- Cross your legs or bend your knees to prevent the body and pelvis from swaying. The answer to the question of how to do pull-ups correctly is obvious: only the arms and back.
- You need to learn pull-ups slowly - don’t try to do the maximum load right away, don’t work for speed.
- Breathe steadily: when lifting, inhale, and at the maximum point, exhale.
- Keep the working muscles tense throughout the entire exercise, even when lowering. This works to increase strength.
When asking how to do pull-ups correctly, beginners usually don’t know where to start training. Each lesson is preceded by a warm-up - you cannot immediately jump on the horizontal bar, this increases the risk of injury to muscles and joints. For those who do not know how to learn to do pull-ups correctly and are unable to do even one repetition, excellent advice will help - you should hang on the horizontal bar for a minute or longer. As soon as your grip gets stronger, you can add weights in the form of a backpack with dumbbells, and then try to do pull-ups. Partial repetitions can be given for half an hour a day, the main thing is regularity. When you can do one full pull-up to the chin, it’s time to improve the technique.
Basic Elements of Progress
There are a few mandatory rules to remember:
- Don't take breaks due to laziness. Every missed week is a step back, a loss of results.
- To learn how to do a proper pull-up, you need to go all out: it's better to do five reps with your chin raised above the bar than 10 partial pull-ups.
- Start training with pull-ups, which require a lot of strength, so any exercise performed before them reduces effectiveness.
Many people advise learning how to do pull-ups on parallel bars correctly before mastering the horizontal bar. This exercise is called when the legs are placed on the floor or on a hill, and the body, due to the strength of the arms, shoulders, chest and back, rises to the crossbar.
Features of building muscle and strength on the horizontal bar
Bodybuilders are concerned about how to do pull-ups correctly to gain mass. You need to rise quickly, lower slowly and with muscle tension. Do not chase the number of repetitions, perform no more than 10 times in a row, rest for about 3 minutes between approaches. You need to load your muscles about twice a week, give them a good rest, and also replenish your energy with high-calorie foods (lean meat, cereals, cottage cheese, eggs).
Working on strength involves the opposite approach: rise slowly and quickly lower, increase the number of repetitions, reduce the pause time between approaches. To increase endurance, you should train on the horizontal bar more often; you can use the game moment to include training based on the pyramid principle or supersets (typical for CrossFit).
Over time, you can make pull-ups more difficult with additional weight, but only after the usual exercise seems too easy.
Pull-ups are arguably the best exercise for strengthening your upper body, but they can be incredibly difficult if you're just starting out. Luckily, with a little persistence and dedication, you can improve your performance and increase the number of pull-ups you do, even if that number is currently zero.
Steps
Improve your execution method
- In particular, try to engage the latissimus dorsi and posterior deltoid muscles ("deltoids").
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Cross your legs while doing the exercises. As you pull yourself up, try crossing your legs at the ankles. While this may seem unnecessary, it will help relieve pressure on your arms and make it easier for you to maintain proper positioning during the exercise.
- When crossing your legs, you can either bend your knees or leave them straight. None of these options will affect the overall performance, so choose whichever you're most comfortable with.
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If you can't do it, pull yourself up with the help of a partner, a machine, or another object. This way you can perform the same basic movements as a regular pull-up, but with a little extra help to make the process easier. Since it's similar to a real pull-up, this variation is great for getting into shape before attempting to do it yourself. You can try the following options:
- use a counterweight pull-up machine;
- tie an elastic band around the bar, and then put your feet or knees in the loop to support part of your weight while doing pull-ups;
- stand on a chair with one leg;
- Ask your partner to hold your feet or legs during the workout.
Push yourself
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Vary the types of pull-ups you do. Even the most common up-and-down pull-up has several variations that you can switch between as you please. Different styles use different muscles, which means some pull-ups will be easier for you than others. Here are some styles you can incorporate into your workouts:
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Add negative pull-ups to your workouts. Negative pull-ups are essentially the other half of a regular pull-up. Start in the following position: your chin is above the bar and your chest is as close to it as possible. After this, lower yourself as slowly as possible. This exercise is less intense than full pull-ups, so try using it as a warm-up to get ready for the real workout.
- Be sure to start from the top position each time.
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Try to do one more pull-up each workout. Every time you start your next workout, remember how many pull-ups you did last time, and strive to do at least one more repetition this time. And while it may seem impossible when you're feeling tired and exhausted, push yourself and keep trying until you literally can't hold on to the bar anymore.
- In addition to your individual workout goal, try setting a long-term pull-up goal for added motivation.
- You don't have to measure your success by doing full pull-ups! When you can’t pull yourself up to the bar, try to pull yourself up another half or quarter higher each time.
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Perform pull-ups 2-3 times a week. Although improving your form or changing your technique can make the process easier, dedication is the only sure way to achieve your goals in this type of exercise. The more you train, the stronger you will become and the more reps you can perform. For a balanced but targeted regimen, aim to perform 3-4 sets of pull-ups 2-3 times per week.
- Be sure to skip at least one day between workouts to give your arm and back muscles time to rest and recover. If desired, use this time to work on your abs or lower body.
Build strength and energize
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Do exercises to strengthen your back and arms. Pull-ups use a lot of upper body muscles, so working each one individually can make your main workout much easier. Before performing standard pull-ups, try some of the following exercises:
- Traction on a high block. Sit at a counterweight pull-up machine, spread your arms shoulder-width apart, grab the bar and slowly pull it down towards your collarbone. Your shoulders should be straightened and your torso slightly arched back. This exercise will strengthen your upper back and latissimus dorsi muscles.
- Exercises for biceps. Hold a dumbbell in each hand, then squeeze your biceps to move the weight up and down.
- Traction on a low block. Sit in front of a weighted rowing machine and pull the handles toward your waist in a slow, steady motion. This exercise will strengthen your back and latissimus dorsi muscles.
- Exercises with dumbbells while lying on your stomach. Lie face down on a bench with dumbbells in each hand, then lift the dumbbells to the sides and lower them back down. This exercise is great for strengthening the deltoid muscles.
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Eat lean and healthy foods. To build big, strong muscles for pull-ups, try to eat a balanced diet that includes lean protein, nutritious carbohydrates, and healthy fats. At first glance, such a change in diet may seem unpleasant, but your diet can be enriched with truly tasty and nutritious food. Here are some examples:
- proteins: chicken breast, lean beef and pork tenderloin, lentils, beans, milk, eggs and fish;
- good carbohydrates: whole grains, bread, pasta, quinoa, barley and bulgur;
- healthy fats: nuts, avocados, olives, tofu and soy products.
To begin, warm up for 5-10 minutes. Warming up will speed up your blood circulation and protect you from injury. To warm up, do some cardio exercise, such as brisk walking or jogging (if you have a pull-up bar in your home, a treadmill will do the job, otherwise you can walk or jog in place). It's also worth taking some time to do some active stretching, such as doing circles or arm swings.
Straighten your shoulders and arch your back. If you have a hard time doing pull-ups, you may have a natural urge to “tuck” yourself into the exercise, which will put extra stress on your neck and back muscles, making the entire workout more difficult. To avoid this, roll your shoulders back and keep your spine arched.
Use your back muscles, not just your arms. To a person who doesn't understand what's what, it may seem that pull-ups depend mainly on arm strength. However, the back muscles are no less important in this matter, if not more. To make your workout easier and more effective, try to use your back and armpit muscles to help you pull yourself up.
- This is a very simple, but at the same time very effective exercise. In addition, all you need to perform pull-ups is a bar in the yard or a wall-mounted horizontal bar at home. In principle, there is no need to visit the gym, but you can get even better results.
This article is devoted to pull-ups on the horizontal bar. You will learn about this exercise everything you need to know in order to get the maximum benefit from it and achieve an excellent result.
What do pull-ups give us?
It would seem like an ordinary yard exercise that kids indulge in on sports fields. But not everything is as simple as it seems. In fact, pull-ups have very great potential and improve many physical qualities of an athlete. Namely:
- Increased strength and mass
- Increased stamina
- Strengthening your hands
- Increased grip strength
- Giving muscles relief
- Improving the functioning of the cardiovascular system
- Improving overall fitness
Main types of pull-ups
A type of pull-up involves changing the width of the grip and the grip itself (direct or reverse). The emphasis of the load placed on certain muscles depends on these changes.
So, for example, wide-grip pull-ups place the main emphasis on developing the back muscles, and when doing close-grip pull-ups, the main load falls on the biceps.
There are three types of grip widths: narrow, medium and wide. With a narrow grip, the hands are as close to each other as possible, with a medium grip, approximately shoulder-width apart, and with a wide grip, the hands should be placed at the maximum distance from each other, but within reason, of course.
- Pull-ups with a straight wide head grip. This type of pull-up develops the latissimus dorsi muscles and makes them wider, in other words, gives your back a triangular shape.
- Pull-ups on the horizontal bar with a straight wide grip to the chest. Similar to the previous one, this type of pull-up also develops the latissimus dorsi muscles, but in this case the muscle increases not in width, but in thickness.
- Pull-ups with a straight narrow grip. These pull-ups perfectly pump up the lower lats and also significantly engage the biceps.
- Reverse close grip pull-ups. Here the back muscles receive minimal load, and the main emphasis falls on the biceps. This type of pull-up will be a real “lifesaver” for those who have stagnated biceps growth when using barbells and exercise machines.
- Medium grip pull-ups are a compromise option between training the biceps and back muscles. These are the kind of pull-ups that beginners should do, and then move on to narrow or wide ones.
There are also special types of pull-ups that are based on the basic ones, but slightly modified. They are a little more difficult to perform, but their effect is much greater.
- Pulling up the Gironde
This type of pull-up is named after the famous Vince Gironda, a bodybuilder, trainer and designer of some exercise equipment. Its peculiarity is that here the lats receive a much greater load than in classic pull-ups to the chest.
- Rocky Pull-Ups
This type of pull-up is more difficult than the previous one. By alternating between head pull-ups and Gironda, the exercise becomes more intense.
- Side to side pull-ups
By shifting the weight of the body to different sides, we also transfer most of the load to the left and right side of the latissimus muscles. Thus, loading them alternately, but with a stronger load than in conventional straight pull-ups.
- One arm pull-ups
The hand that holds not the belt, but the crossbar, receives a significantly greater load than the other. Using this type of pull-up and gradually holding the belt lower and lower, you can do it on one hand - hence the name.
How to do pull-ups correctly?
When performing pull-ups, as in other exercises, the main thing is not quantity, but quality! To achieve good results and protect yourself from possible injuries, you need to perform pull-ups technically correctly.
Here are a few rules on how to do pull-ups correctly:
- Pull-ups should be performed without swinging.
- Movements should not be jerky.
- At the top of the exercise, the chin should be higher than the bar (if using a medium or narrow grip). With a wide grip, you should try to touch the bar with your chest.
- The position of the body must be strictly vertical
- Don't forget to breathe properly. When moving up, exhale, and when moving down, inhale.
- When performing pull-ups on the horizontal bar, you should also not forget about grip strength.
Different Purposes of Pull-Ups
You can do pull-ups for different purposes. This could be increasing muscle endurance, giving them more volume, or tightening to make the muscles stronger.
All this is possible, but the main thing is to know how to do pull-ups in order to pursue the goal with which you approached the horizontal bar.
Endurance pull-ups
To make the body and target muscles more resilient, you need to perform pull-ups as often and as much as possible, again within reason, of course.
Thus, the most optimal endurance training program would be to perform 4-5 sets of pull-ups with the maximum number of repetitions. It is worth exercising in this mode 4-5 times a week.
Pull-ups to develop strength
A slightly more cunning method already works here. During any exercise, muscles work in two phases - “positive” and “negative”.
When the weight is lifted (in this case, lifting the body), the muscles work in the “positive” phase, and when the weight is lowered, in the “negative” phase. The growth of strength and volume indicators of your muscles directly depends on these two phases.
Thus, in order to extract maximum strength results from pull-ups, it is necessary to force the muscles to work mainly in the “positive” phase. This means that when doing pull-ups, you should do slow lifts and fast lowers. Approximately 2-3 seconds to rise and 1 second to lower.
This type of pull-up is quite heavy and therefore you need to train in this mode for 3-4 approaches with a number of repetitions of 6-8; if you get more, then you should start doing pull-ups using weights, for example, hanging a weight from your belt. You should exercise in this mode no more than 3-4 times a week.
Pull-ups to develop mass
Pull-ups on the horizontal bar make it possible to acquire a decent volume of muscles and their mass. To do this, it’s worth using the rules of the “positive” and “negative” phases to force the muscles to work mainly in the “negative” phase.
Pull-ups should be performed by quickly raising the body and slowly lowering it. I use 2-3 seconds to lower and 1 second to rise. Do 2-3 sets of 8-12 times, again, if you can do more, use weights.
This regime involves a strong load on the muscles, because it is in the “negative” phase that the muscle fibers receive the maximum micro-tears. Therefore, muscles need more time to recover and you should train in this mode no more than twice a week.
Conclusion
Of course, pull-ups, to one degree or another, involve all the goals described above, but using a certain pull-up pattern you can place maximum emphasis on increasing endurance, strength or muscle mass.
Having analyzed all of the above, we can conclude that pull-ups are a truly universal exercise, which, despite all its simplicity, has an amazing effect!
By the way, here’s an optimistic and motivational video of a man doing 80 pull-ups! Too bad to repeat? :)
We hope that this article will be useful to you and help you improve your results. Leave your questions and opinions on this matter in the comments to the article.
16.04.2018 23.07.2019
Pull-ups are one of the key bodyweight exercises that are important to perform for developing upper body muscles. Being able to do a pull-up is a good assessment of your fitness and strength.
In this article, we will look at an important issue: how to learn how to do pull-ups from scratch on a horizontal bar for men and women, and we will also look at the technique of doing pull-ups and useful tips on how to learn how to do pull-ups.
Why do you need to learn how to do pull-ups on the horizontal bar?
Anyone can learn to do pull-ups on a horizontal bar, regardless of whether they have had successful pull-up experience in the past. This exercise helps to simultaneously work all the muscles of the arms and torso: pectoral muscles, back and shoulder muscles, biceps and triceps. At the same time, to perform pull-ups, you only need a horizontal bar, which can be easily installed at home or found on the sports field. Pull-ups count most effective exercise with your own body weight to develop the muscles of the arms and back.
Benefits of pull-ups:
- Pull-ups on the horizontal bar develop the muscles of the upper body and form a beautiful relief of the muscles of the arms, shoulders, chest and back.
- Regular pull-ups help strengthen joints and ligaments.
- Pull-ups can be done at home or outdoors; all you need is a horizontal bar or bar.
- Pull-ups strengthen the muscle corset and help maintain a healthy and functional spine.
- The ability to do pull-ups on a horizontal bar is a good demonstration of your physical strength and endurance.
- If you learn how to do pull-ups on a horizontal bar, it will be easier for you to master exercises such as handstands, as well as exercises on parallel bars and rings.
Many people wonder how quickly you can learn to do pull-ups from scratch? It completely depends on your physical fitness and training experience. If you previously knew how to do pull-ups, then it will be much easier for your body to “remember” the load than to learn a new skill from scratch. Usually 3-5 weeks are enough to start doing pull-ups on the horizontal bar at least several times. If you have never done a pull-up before, you can learn how to do this exercise well in 6-9 weeks.
What can prevent you from performing pull-ups:
- Excess weight and large body mass
- Poorly developed upper body muscles
- Lack of pull-up practice in the past
- Unproven technology
- Trying pull-ups without prep work
- Weak functional training
- Ignorance of exercises leading up to pull-ups
To learn how to do a pull-up from scratch, you must prepare not only your major muscle groups, but also your stabilizing muscles, joints, and ligaments. Even if you are strong enough to perform barbell rows or heavy dumbbell lifts, it is not at all certain that you will be able to do a pull-up. That is why it is not enough to simply pump up the main muscle groups that are involved in pull-ups (arms and latissimus dorsi). You will need fully prepare your body to pull-ups using lead-up exercises - they will be discussed below.
Contraindications for performing pull-ups:
- Scoliosis
- Herniated discs
- Osteochondrosis
- Spinal protrusion
- Arthrosis
In some cases, regular pull-ups or even just hanging on a horizontal bar help get rid of spinal diseases. But if you already If you have back problems, be sure to consult your doctor before you start doing pull-ups. Exercises on the horizontal bar can aggravate existing spinal diseases.
There are several types of pull-ups depending on your hand grip:
- Straight grip. In this case, your palms face in the opposite direction from you. This grip is considered the most preferable; when performing, the main load is placed on the latissimus dorsi muscles and shoulders.
- Reverse grip . In this case, the palms and wrists are facing you. It is easier to pull up with this grip, since most of the load is taken by the biceps, which help pull the body towards the horizontal bar.
- Mixed grip . In this case, one hand holds the horizontal bar with a direct grip, and the other with a reverse grip. These pull-ups can be performed when you have already mastered both grips and want to diversify the load on your muscles. Be sure to alternate hands when performing these pull-ups.
- Neutral grip . In this case, the palms of the hands face each other. Pull-ups with a neutral grip place an accentuated load on the lower region of the latissimus muscles.
At first, you can only do pull-ups with a reverse grip if it is easier for you. But gradually try to master pull-ups with both direct and reverse grip to work the maximum muscle group.
Depending on the position of the hands, pull-ups are:
- With a narrow grip: maximum load falls on the hands (the easiest version of pull-ups).
- Wide grip : maximum load falls on the latissimus dorsi muscles (heaviest version of pull-ups). It is not recommended to combine a wide and reverse grip at the same time, as this can damage the ligaments.
- With a classic grip (shoulder-width apart): The load is distributed proportionally, so this is the most preferred type of pull-up.
Different types of grip and hand positioning allow you to work all muscle groups of the upper body using essentially one exercise with your own body weight - pull-ups. By learning how to do pull-ups, you can improve your body even without using free weights and machines. At the same time, you can always complicate this exercise: just do pull-ups with one arm or use weights (backpack, belt).
How to do pull-ups on the horizontal bar correctly
Before moving on to a detailed diagram of how to learn how to do pull-ups from scratch for men and women, let’s focus on correct technique for performing pull-ups .
So, for classic pull-ups, place your hands on the horizontal bar at shoulder width or slightly wider than shoulder width. The shoulder blades are brought together, the body is fully straightened, the stomach is tucked, the shoulders are lowered, the neck is not pressed into the shoulders, the fingers are firmly grasping the bar. As you inhale, slowly pull your body up, your chin should be higher than the bar. Hold for a split second and, as you exhale, lower your body to the starting position.
The pull-up is performed slowly at each stage of the movement: both on the ascent and on the descent. You should feel maximum tension in the muscles of your arms and back; you should not make unnecessary movements, trying to simplify the task for yourself. In terms of muscle efficiency, it is better to perform one technical pull-up than five non-technical ones. You can try pull-ups with any type of grip; first, choose the easiest option for you.
Be sure to ensure proper breathing during pull-ups, otherwise your muscles will not receive enough oxygen, which means their strength and endurance will decrease. Breathe deeply through your nose (when lifting the body to the bar) and exhale through your mouth while relaxing (when relaxing your arms and lowering your torso).
What to do it is forbidden while performing a pull-up:
- Rock and twist your body
- Make jerks and sudden movements
- Bend your lower back or arch your back
- Hold breath
- Press your head into your shoulders and strain your neck
Step-by-step instructions on how to learn to do pull-ups from scratch
In order to learn how to do pull-ups from scratch, you need to perform a series of lead-up exercises , which will prepare your body for the load. By regularly practicing these exercises, you will be able to master pull-ups on the bar, even if you have never done them before and even if you don't believe in your strength. These exercises are suitable for both men and women, the degree of load is regulated independently. Strengthening exercises will help you strengthen not only your muscles, but also your ligaments and joints.
Thanks to YouTube channels for the gifs: OfficialBarstarzz, Abnormal_Beings, Colin DeWaay, Xenios Charalambous, Matt Cama 2.
1. Exercises with additional weight for muscles
Exercises with additional weight will help you strengthen the latissimus dorsi and biceps muscles, which are involved in pull-ups. You can use dumbbells instead of a barbell. Perform each exercise in 3-4 sets, 8-10 repetitions. Rest 30-60 seconds between sets. Choose a weight such that the last exercises in the set are performed at maximum effort.
If you do not have access to machines and free weights, then to prepare for pull-ups, you can immediately begin the exercises on the horizontal bar, which are presented below.
The Australian Pull-Up is the perfect exercise to help you learn how to do a Pull-Up from scratch. To perform it you will need a low crossbar, approximately at waist level (in the gym you can use the bar on a Smith machine). Please note that during the Australian pull-up, your body should remain straight from your heels to your shoulders. You cannot bend down or bend up; the whole body is tense and taut.
The most important advantage of the Australian pull-up is that it will absolutely everyone can do, since its complexity is determined by the angle of inclination. The more vertical your body is, the easier it is to perform the exercise. Conversely, the more horizontal the body is, the more difficult it will be to perform the Australian pull-up. The load also depends on the height of the crossbar - the lower it is, the more difficult it is to pull yourself up.
When performing Australian pull-ups, we recommend changing your grips: wide grip, shoulder-width grip, narrow grip. This will allow you to effectively work all muscle groups from different angles and adapt to pull-ups. You can perform 15-20 repetitions with different types of grips.
3. Pull-ups with loops
If you do not have a bar for performing Australian pull-ups or you want to better prepare for classic pull-ups on the horizontal bar, then you can do pull-ups with loops. The gym usually always has such devices, but at home there is a good alternative - TRX hinges. This is a very popular exercise machine for exercising with your own body weight and developing all muscle groups. With TRX you can learn to do pull-ups even faster.
4. Leg-supported pull-ups
Another lead-up exercise is pull-ups on a low bar with your feet resting on the floor. To practice this exercise, it is not necessary to have a low bar; you can place a box or chair under a regular horizontal bar and rest your feet completely on it. This is much simpler than regular pull-ups, but is ideal for muscle training.
5. Chair pull-ups
A slightly more complex version of the previous exercise is a pull-up with one leg resting on a chair. At first, you can completely rest one leg on the chair, but gradually try to support your weight with the muscles of your arms and back, leaning less and less on the chair.
Another simple but very effective exercise that will help you learn how to do pull-ups from scratch is hanging from a horizontal bar. If you cannot hang on the horizontal bar for at least 2-3 minutes, then it will be difficult for you to pull yourself up. Hanging on a horizontal bar is useful for strengthening your wrists, developing your back muscles, and straightening your spine. This exercise will also help your ligaments get used to the weight of your body.
Please note that when hanging on the horizontal bar, your shoulders should be down, your neck should be extended and not pressed into your shoulders. The body should remain free, the spine elongated, the stomach tucked. You can perform the exercise in several approaches for 1-2 minutes.
If you calmly hang on the horizontal bar for several minutes, then you can move on to the next stage - pull-ups with an expander. One end of the rubber band is attached to the crossbar, and the other secures the leg. The expander will take on some of your weight and pull your body up. Rubber loops can be purchased on Aliexpress; details with links to the product are in the second part of the article. By the way, this type of expander is suitable not only for pull-ups, but also for many strength exercises.
8. Jumping pull-ups
Another basic exercise that will help you learn how to do pull-ups from scratch is the jumping pull-up. If you've never done a pull-up before, you may not be able to do it, so it's best to start by practicing the exercises presented above. If your muscle strength allows you to perform a jumping pull-up, then this exercise will perfectly prepare you for regular pull-ups.
Its essence is as follows: you jump as high as possible to the horizontal bar, hold yourself for a few seconds and slowly lower down. This is one of the options negative pull-up.
9. Negative pull-ups
Any exercise has two phases: positive (when the muscles tense) and negative (when the muscles relax). If you can't handle both pull-up phases yet (that is, pull yourself up on the horizontal bar and lower yourself down), then perform only the second phase of the exercise or the so-called negative pull-up.
For a negative pull-up, you need to hold the position with your arms bent over the bar (as if you had already done a pull-up), using a chair or the help of a partner. Your task is to stay at the top as long as possible and then very slowly lower down, tensing the muscles of your arms and back as much as possible. The negative pull-up is another great exercise to help you learn how to do a pull-up from scratch.
Number of repetitions per last three exercises depends on your capabilities. At first, you will probably do only 3-5 repetitions in 2 sets. But with each lesson you need to increase your results. Aim for the following numbers: 10-15 repetitions, 3-4 sets. Rest 2-3 minutes between sets.
Pull-up training diagram for beginners
We offer you a ready-made diagram of how to learn how to do pull-ups from scratch for men and women. The scheme is universal and suitable for all beginners, but you can adapt it to your capabilities by slightly lengthening or shortening the plan. Train 2-3 times a week. Before doing pull-ups, be sure to warm up and at the end, stretch the muscles of your back, arms, and chest:
Ideally, start your workout with back exercises. (barbell row, vertical and horizontal rows), but if this is not possible, you can only train on the horizontal bar. If you are faced with the task of learning how to do pull-ups on a horizontal bar from scratch in a short time, then you can practice 5 times a week. But not more often, otherwise the muscles will not have time to recover and there will be no progress.
The plan below is designed for beginners. If you are already a fairly experienced practitioner, then feel free to start with 3-4 weeks. The diagram indicates only the approximate number of repetitions; it is always better to focus on your physical capabilities. Be sure to record how many reps and sets you did to track your progress. You can rest for 2-3 minutes between sets or dilute the pull-ups with other exercises.
First week:
- 5-8 reps 3-4 sets
Second week:
- Leg-supported pull-ups: 10-15 reps 3-4 sets 30-60 seconds in 2 sets
Third week:
- 5-8 reps 3-4 sets45-90 seconds in 3 sets
Fourth week:
- 10-15 reps 3-4 sets90-120 seconds in 3 sets
Fifth week:
- 3-5 reps in 2-3 sets 10-15 reps 3-4 sets90-120 seconds in 3 sets
Sixth week:
- 3-5 reps in 2-3 sets
- Pull-ups with a chair (leaning on one leg): 5-7 reps in 2-3 sets
Seventh week:
- Pull-ups with rubber loops: 5-7 reps in 2-3 sets
- Pull-ups with a chair (leaning on one leg): 5-7 reps in 2-3 sets
Eighth week:
- Negative pull-ups: 3-5 reps in 2-3 sets
- Pull-ups with rubber loops:
Ninth week
- Jump Pull-Up: 3-5 reps in 2-3 sets
- Pull-ups with rubber loops: 7-10 reps in 2-3 sets
Tenth week
- Classic pull-up: 2-3 reps in 2-3 sets
- Jump Pull-Up: 3-5 reps in 2-3 sets
You can speed up your training plan if you are experiencing more progress than what is indicated in the plan. Or vice versa, slow down the pace of increasing the number of repetitions if you are not yet able to achieve the desired result. Don't worry, sooner or later you will be able to achieve your goal!
1. Do not make jerks or sudden movements while doing pull-ups. Exercises should be performed only using muscle strength; do not make it easier for yourself by swaying and inertia.
2. Don’t force your training on the horizontal bar, especially if you’re trying to learn how to do pull-ups from scratch. Hasty, fast movements and excessive stress can damage joints and ligaments. Always strive to improve the quality of your exercises, not to increase the quantity.
3. The lower your initial weight, the easier it is for you to learn how to do pull-ups on the horizontal bar from scratch. Therefore, work on pull-ups should go in parallel with the process of getting rid of excess fat.
4. Do not hold your breath while doing exercises, otherwise this will lead to rapid fatigue.
5. Whatever lead-up exercise you do on the horizontal bar or bar, try to gradually increase the number of repetitions and approaches. For example, if at first you can only perform 3-4 Australian pull-ups, then gradually increase their number to 15-20 repetitions and increase the difficulty of the inclination angle.
6. In order to progress in the quantity and quality of pull-ups, you should perform not only lead-up exercises, but also train the whole body. Work with dumbbells, barbells, machines and push-ups for better results.
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