It’s time to get your first pull up. It’s by far one of the best upper body exercises, and a great overall marker of strength. Having coached hundreds of athletes over the years, it can be very hard to get your first pull up without a solid program. This program is designed to be done in conjunction with whatever fitness routine you already do, and it’ll have you crushing pull ups in no time. Keep reading for more.
Before we get into the details of the program, I want to cover its intent, and the audience it is written for. This program is designed for someone who has familiarity with the gym, but currently cannot do any pull ups. If you have some pull ups, this program will be helpful as well. This program is not designed for athletes that already have pull ups, and want to increase them.
I should also clarify that when I say pull ups, I mean strict overhand pull ups. I have no issues with kipping, but the goal of this program is to increase your upper body strength, so you can get your first strict pull up. Here are some of the key points of the program.
Get Your First Pull Up Program Key Points
- To be done 3 days per week
- Take a minimum of 2 days of rest between sessions
- You will need a barbell and bench, dumbbells, a rack, and somewhere to do pull ups
- Try not to pair these workouts with other upper body heavy workouts
While this program requires minimal equipment, you will need some basics listed above. You should also make sure that you are doing this program on days that aren’t targeting these same muscle groups. I recommend that you do them after a lower body heavy day, or as a separate gym session. Either way is fine, just make sure you are fresh for the workouts. Let’s get into the first week!
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The 6 Week Program to Get Your First Pull Up: Week 1
You can see that each session has a primary and accessory move. You can do a few lighter sets on the movements, and then start counting sets once you reach your target weight. Warm up sets aren’t working sets!
Make sure you check out the video for examples of each movement, as well as some useful techniques. You can use lifting straps to assist your grip (Amazon Affiliate Link). Don’t use these straps on all movements, but on heavy dumbbell rows they are almost mandatory so you can use a very challenging weight.
You should be able to finish both movements in around 15-20 minutes of work. I recommend taking around two minutes of rest between sets. As the program goes on you may need to extend the rest interval to three plus minutes.
Video and Exercise Demos
The 6 Week Program to Get Your First Pull Up: Week 2
The first thing you’ll notice is that we are increasing the total volume for all movements. This is a must, as increasing load and volume allows you to gain strength. There are only two ways you can increase in strength. One, increase your neuromuscular efficiency, allowing you to use your current muscle fibers more efficiently. Or you can also increase the size of your muscle fibers. This program will do both.
Make sure to pay attention to the notes for each movement. For some movements you will go down in reps, with the expectation that you increase the total weight lifted. Other movements you will try to increase the number of reps you will be doing.
Make sure you are focusing on moving the weight as quickly as possible. You should try to accelerate the weight quickly, on the upward portion of the lift, and control the weight down at a slower pace. Lifting quickly is the best way to increase strength and power production.
If you want to work on gaining strength and muscle mass in a complete program, then check this out!
The 6 Week Program to Get Your First Pull Up: Week 3
We are cranking up the intensity this week. You’ll notice that even if reps are going down on some movements, the weight you will be moving should be going up. You should also be increasing total reps on many of the bodyweight movements as well.
We’ve also added more sets to the weight lifting movements. If you need to add a little more rest to make sure each set is a quality set that is ok. This isn’t a WOD, there are no points for finishing this work quickly.
By now you’ll have noticed that this program uses both rowing and upper body pulling movements primarily. This ensures that the lats, and associated pulling muscles of your upper body, are worked through all ranges of motion. It also allows you to use heavier weights than if you just focused on movements similar to regular pull ups.
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The 6 Week Program to Get Your First Pull Up: Week 4
This week starts to really challenge you. By now you should notice that you are increasing in strength. It takes most athletes about 3-4 weeks before they can notice any changes in their real world performance. The weights should be hard, but you’re ready to handle them.
You will also notice that on session 10 I have added in pull up attempts. This is your chance to put your hard work to the test! Start from a dead hang, and attempt to do a strict pull up. If you get a pull congratulations! If not, don’t worry. I still want you to work on pulling your body as high as it can go. Try a few reps of your pull up or pull up attempts, and then move to your flexed arm hang. See the video above for an example.
The 6 Week Program to Get Your First Pull Up: Week 5
This is the second hardest week in the program. You will be lifting very heavy, but that’s what you need to keep progressing in strength. Feel free to try and add weight to the latter sets, as you can probably lift more than you think you can. If you are finishing sets feeling like you could have done more, you aren’t working hard enough!
Continue to work on pull up attempts or single pull ups. Take as much time as you want on this portion of session 13, but you still have your flexed arm hang to do. I would also caution you not to try and cheat on the bent over barbell row, by heaving the weight up with your lower back. Some torso movement is to be expected, but that’s not what lifts the weight.
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The 6 Week Program to Get Your First Pull Up: Week 6
You’ve reached the promised land! This is the last week of the program, and I bet you are feeling very strong on these pulling exercises. Hang in there because this is a challenging week.
You’ll see a lot of sets of seven here and those can be exhausting. It’s ok if you need a little more break. You can also consider doing this workout as a separate gym session, if you find you don’t have the energy to add it on to your regular programming.
Nutrition Resources
I think most athletes know that just working hard in the gym won’t guarantee solid results. You need to pay attention to your nutrition. While we aren’t getting ready for a bodybuilding show, we at least need to make sure we are eating a reasonable amount of protein, carbs, and fats. Check out this article where I provide a free nutrition calculator that will get you started on the right track.
Recovery Resources
You may also find that you are having a hard time recovering when adding in this additional work. You need to make sure you are sleeping 8 hours a night, and eating nutritious food. I also recommend you read this article where I detail a few recovery methods that are scientifically proven. Hint, Hint, you can skip the cryo therapy!
Final Thoughts
If you work at this program diligently you should be able to get your first pull up in 6 weeks. Many of you will probably be able to do multiple pull ups. However, if you still aren’t there yet you don’t need to fret. We all progress at our own pace. You can either repeat this program, or you can try a different full body strength program. Either way, as long as you consistently work on your weaknesses you will improve as an athlete. Now get out there and get training!
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