Pull-Up Progression

One of the most frequent goals I hear from people walking into the gym is a resounding vote for pull-ups. I still remember my first one and am a proponent for working towards strict pull-ups over kipping or butterfly. While those may be useful in a WOD for speed, strict pull-ups take the cake in terms of strength, control, and translating over into things like muscle ups. So where do you start? There are so many options, but the one I most commonly start with for my athletes are ring rows. These are almost infinitely scalable and, if you don't have access to rings, you can mimic something pretty similar through setting a bar up on a rack or using an outdoor fitness park that has a low bar.

Above you can see the start and finish positions of a ring row. The further back you stand, the more assist you get. The further forward you move your feet, the closer it is to mimicking a pull-up. See below for an example of the feet being moved forward for more stimulation.

Key points to remember on your ring rows are:
-body remains engaged plank (even at the bottom of the position)
-rings are set approximately shoulder-width apart
-continue pulling up until the rings touch the sides of your chest

If you are still working to move through the whole range of motion while keeping all of those points in tact, take a step or two back, try again, and see if that angle is a better fit! This is a very versatile way to scale, as you can scale up and down depending on number of reps and sets. For a longer set, you may need to walk back a bit, but for a shorter set, you may be able to walk a little further forward for your start position. Remember, this is about you and finding the right start for your body, not the one you see other people doing or you think you "should" be able to do.

Once you have worked on your ring rows, you can elevate the feet. They do not need to be as high as the picture below, but you get the idea!

Regardless of how my strict pull-ups are feeling, I keep ring rows in my tool belt. They are valuable for remaining strict in the movement and challenging your pulls.

The next part of the progression can be strict banded pull-ups or jumping pull-ups. When I teach these, I specifically ask my athletes to come down slowly, however that looks for them. The first time I tried these, there was nothing slow about my descent. However, I had not been practicing tempo ring rows! Ring rows will help so much with your foundation. The jump progression looks like this:

Pull-ups are considered a rep when the chin makes it over the bar, but a little extra pull to get all the way to below the collar bone will help you with things like muscle ups, where you need more than just the bare minimum.

For your jump, you can keep the box under you as you build the strength to descend slowly. This way, your shoulders have a safety-net (notice how my legs have to bend when standing on the box) and you only remove the box for your finish when you know your shoulders have the strength to support you through the whole movement. When you're ready to remove the box for your finish, you can simply move it back a bit so you can jump from the box to get over the bar, but there is enough room to land without it beneath you (see above.) The last couple inches of descent are the most important. These are the ones that are the easiest to just drop into, but they are so crucial for your initial pull! When you're finally ready to get that first pull-up, if your focus has not included control in these bottom two inches, you will be hard pressed to suddenly find the strength to pull up from the bottom.

So you have the movements and the progression order, but...
You may be wondering "How many should I be doing?"
First, find which progression works for you-- high rings, jumping pull-ups, banded

Your assignment:
Three to five times weekly: 5 sets of 3 negative pull-ups at your progression of choice. They should be at a level that is hard, but you do not fail. We're training success here! The negative simply entails that you will go slow on your descent. Three seconds should suffice.

3-5 Times Per Week (Pull-up Version You Can Successfully Execute While Challenged):
5 sets x 3 reps w/ a 3 second descent. 90 sec - 2 min rest.

Once you have done this consistently and you are feeling ready to go to the next level, either adjust your feet for ring rows, move up to a box, change your box height, or even try tempo jumping pull-ups! Once you have three sets on your jumping pull-ups, move it up to 4 sets of 4-6 reps twice a week and one day of tempo ring rows with your feet elevated.

2 Times Per Week (Jumping or Banded):
4 sets x 4-6 reps w/ a 3 second descent. 3 minute rest.

1 Time Per Week (Feet Elevated Ring Row):
5 sets x 3 reps w/ a 3 second descent. 2 min rest.

For my friends out there wondering where kipping and butterflies come in, they enter after your strict pull-ups are consistent. Think a set of three to six. Why? Your strict pull-ups will give you a strong foundation to build your kip and butterfly technique. While you're up there swinging around, you will absolutely need that strength to support you as you have your shoulders working in various states of momentum. The more strict pull-ups you have, the more kipping and butterfly you will be able to bust out once your technique is there. The reverse is not the same. Riddle me this: If you are not currently able to control yourself down on a strict pull-up, how are your shoulders going to do it as you fly down on a kip? Work through the not-so-glamorous steps. Your shoulders, strength, and overall development as an athlete will thank you later!

I spent the first year of training with very little targeted focus. When I finally began using this progression, my first pull-up came in a matter of months and consistency in multiple reps came in a matter of months after that. We all start at different places, so the timelines will naturally be different, but the work can be similar. This same mentality of targeted practice is the same reason muscle ups (something I told myself for about six years were impossible for me) came in a matter of months, once I applied these principles of scaling and consistency.

There is a reason you are here reading this article. You can get the pull-up. Start training and prove the little voice wrong. Train like there is no other option as an outcome and you will get there.

Tighten up your ponytail, chalk up, and go prove it.

xo

-Holly

P.S. Please let me know when you get yours!