From Movement guides
A band-free guide to chin ups and pull ups
A realistic progression for pull ups without using bands. We go from hangs all the way to full range of motion using only the upper body.
Published
by Adarsh Gopal
Pull ups are hard. You are hauling your body against gravity to a bar using your arms and upper back.
This is not a move anyone is born performing. It takes time, energy and effort.
In this video, I layout a realistic progression. It could take a month to a year to achieve this based on your starting strength levels and persistence.
There are enough tutorials out there that incorporate bands, so I gave that approach a skip.
Breakdown of the pull-up progression
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Supported Hang
Begin by comfortably hanging from a bar with your feet or knees supported on the floor. This helps you get used to supporting some of your weight.
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Full Dead Hang
Progress to a full hang with your legs straightened and off the floor, holding this position for 15-30 seconds. This builds crucial grip strength and upper back engagement.
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Scapula Engagements
Practice engaging and relaxing your scapula (upper back muscles) from a dead hang position. This teaches you to use your upper back effectively, preventing a common mistake of not going into a full dead hang during pull-ups.
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Top of a Chin-Up Hold
Set a bar at chin level and learn to hold yourself in the top position of a chin-up with your chin over the bar and knees tucked. Gradually transfer more weight from your legs to your arms and upper back, aiming for a 15-20 second hold.
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Controlled Descent (Eccentric)
Focus on slowly lowering yourself down from the top of a chin-up position. This eccentric phase is easier and helps build the muscle strength needed for the upward pull. Aim for a 5-10 second descent.
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Assisted Chin-Ups
Use a box or bench to assist your upward movement, gradually reducing the amount of leg assistance until you can perform the full range of motion using only your upper body.
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Variations
Once you can do a few chin-ups, explore different pull-up variations like chin-ups, neutral grip pull-ups, or using rings to further build strength and engage different muscle groups.
If a pull up is something you’ve wanted to do, this is a reasonable guide. The lack of brevity is because I wanted it to cover all the bases and be realistic.