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How to do a pull up if you can’t even do one

Pull ups are very important in regards to FOUNDATIONAL strength. They are a compound exercise that call for many different muscle groups, so they’re very effective at strengthening many weak links all at once.  Most notably, they strengthen the upper back muscles. The very same ones that are often weak and in a stretched out state because we sit in chairs all day with our shoulders forward/rounded, making us more kyphotic than ever.  If you think in terms of pushing or pulling, it’s like we’re stuck in a “push” position. Adding pull ups to your exercise routine can help to balance all that out. It’s helped make it much easier for me to maintain good posture throughout the day.

So anyway! If you can’t even do ONE pull up… here’s a video I made that explains how to build up to one.

Some more tips

  • When the palms are facing you, they’re called chin ups.  This grip is recommended to start out with because it is often a little bit easier.
  • The slower you lower yourself down, the more you get out of this exercise.
  • Go for 5 sets of 8 negative chin ups.  Rest for just a minute or two between sets.
  • You’ll get there if you do this every other day.

Help! I can’t even do these eccentric pull ups properly! What other exercise can I do that will help me?

Click here to expand the answer.

Then you have to start with Inverted Rows aka Horizontal Rows. These are easier than pull ups (or even eccentric pull ups) because your feet are supported on the ground. The lower the bar, the more difficult the exercise will be.

They look like this:

Question: Hey yo, I can finally do ONE pull up! How can I do even more?

Click here to expand the answer.

First of all, congrats!  I knew you’d get there.  Don’t drop the negative/eccentric pull ups out of your routine just yet.  We still need to keep using them to get the practice in.  There’s no point in doing just one pull up and stopping there.  Simply start your set with your one or two pull ups and fill the rest of the set with the negative/eccentric reps.

So again, go for 5 sets of 8 chin ups, with the first few possibly being normal chin ups and the rest being eccentric!

And last but not least…

When it comes to bodyweight exercises, the greater your…well… body’s weight… the more difficult everything will be.  If you are overweight, the benefits of losing weight will be significant.  Even losing just a few pounds creates a very noticeable difference in performance.  But anyway, no matter your starting point, you CAN do pull ups.  And you WILL do pull ups if you want to. It’s just a matter of practice.  With practice, you could achieve anything and with baby steps, you could climb any mountain.

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