Build Upper-Body Strength With This Brutal Pull-Up Workout

young bodybuilder training in the gym: back - Wide-Grip Front Pull-Up

By John M. Cissik STACK.com

Pull-up strength is important for upper-body development, injury prevention and performance. Pull-Ups are one of the most effective upper-body exercises. They require neither a lot of equipment nor complicated technique, and you don’t need a spotter for safety. Pull-Ups develop the muscles of your upper back, shoulders, biceps and even forearms. They are a great exercise to balance out all the pressing that athletes tend to do.

The best way to improve an exercise is to perform it a lot. The challenge is that if you cannot perform even a single Pull-Up, it’s difficult to train the exercise. This article recommends exercises you can use to improve your Pull-Up and presents a sample program to get your Pull-Ups on track.

First, a few principles for Pull-Ups:

Avoid crutches. You have to perform Pull-Ups to get better at them. Pull-Ups require skill, and there is a psychological component to getting over the bar.
The easiest kind of Pull-Up is done with the hands close together and palms facing you. Start with these. As you get good at them, add other types.
To perform Pull-Ups, you need to strengthen the muscles of your upper back, biceps and shoulders.
Prioritize Pull-Ups. If you want to improve, make them the first workout of the week and the first exercise in your workout.

Several exercises can help your Pull-Ups. They include Negative Pull-Ups, Bent-Over Rows and Pull-Downs.

Negative Pull-Ups

Grip the bar with the same grip-width you would use for a Pull-Up.
Jump up so your chin is over the bar. From this position, take as long as possible to lower yourself all the way down until your arms are fully extended.
Jump up and repeat.

Perform sets of 5 or 6 reps, taking as long as possible to lower yourself down. This exercise teaches the pull-up movement and helps develop the strength you need to perform them.

Bent-Over Rows

Stand up and grip the bar with a supinated grip (palms face away from you).
Place your hands shoulder-width apart. If you want to get better at Pull-Ups, don’t go wider.
Pull your shoulders back and stick your chest out.
Bend your knees slightly.
Push your hips back, bend at the waist and lower your upper body until it is almost parallel to the ground.
Allow the bar to hang down until your arms are fully extended.
Keeping your arms close to your body, pull the bar toward your stomach.
Lower and repeat.

Pull-Downs
Pull-Downs should not be a main exercise for someone trying to improve Pull-Ups. If you can perform 10 Pull-Downs with your body weight, it doesn’t mean you can perform 10 Pull-Ups. It’s a different skill. Having said that, this is a good exercise for strengthening the muscles involved in the Pull-Up. Perform Pull-Downs with the same grip you use on Pull-Ups.

Sample programs
This first program is for someone who cannot do any Pull-Ups. It is meant to build the foundation to perform them. Once you can perform even one, move to the next program.

Beginning program

Day One

Negative Pull-Ups: 3×5
Lat Pulldowns: 3×8-12
Bent-Over Rows: 3×8-12
Bicep Curls: 3×12-15

Day Four

Lat Pulldowns: 3×12-15
One-Arm Dumbbell Rows: 3×12-15 each arm
Negative Pull-Ups: 3×5
Dumbbell Curls: 3×12-15 each arm

Intermediate program
Once you can do one Pull-Up, move on to the intermediate program. This involves performing sets of Pull-Ups at the beginning of each session and performing as many as possible each set (even if it’s only one). The other exercises build on this.

Day One