Intentional Stress Challenge: Pull-Up
Progressive challenge series to condition the skill of pull-ups.
One of the most functional movements a human can do is a pull-up.
Every time you pick up an object, reach above your head, open a door, or even sit upright, you’re engaging muscle groups involved in a pull-up.
Pull-ups condition grip endurance, back and arm strength, core stability, proper posture, and functional fitness.
If you had to climb, pull yourself onto a ledge, lift something heavy, or carry/hold onto another person, you would need neuromuscular strength that can be enhanced by pull-ups.
I would venture to guess that pull-ups are one of the most common functional movements that the majority of humans can’t do.
This is mainly because pull-ups suck.
Repetitively pulling yourself up is hard. In a short amount of time, this foundational exercise will test resilience regardless of physical conditioning.
Physical, mental, and spiritual fortitude is required to both develop and build upon the skill of pull-ups.
The ability to raise your body despite gravity is one of the purest ways to express athletic performance.
As with any functional movement, it is as much of a neurologic problem as it is muscular. If you’re never encouraging movement through pulling, plasticity will lead to degradations in that capability.
This is why the first piece of equipment I often recommend people get for a home gym is a pull-up bar. All other functional movements can be done cost-free. Squatting, pushing, lunging, hinging, carrying, jumping, rotating, and moving don’t need specific equipment to be conditioned. (You also technically don’t need a pull-up bar if you’re willing to get creative outdoors with tree branches or other ledges that can support your weight, but I stand by my recommendation for the initial gear consideration…)
Injury/disability aside, the skill of pull-ups is attainable for anyone.
Start small, condition your body, progressively overload.
Elevate your life by pulling yourself up.
Basic Challenge: Do one unassisted pull-up.
If you can already do a pull-up, still read through this section to consider modifications that may be needed for progressive training to complete the advanced and elite challenges.
If you’re not even close to being able to do a pull-up, this basic challenge may take longer to accomplish than the next two.
Good.
You have the most opportunity for growth.
Modify, modify, modify,
My recommended approach to progressively get to an unassisted pull-up:
Platform assisted pull-ups: Start with a chair or stable object you can stand on. Ideally, a surface that is tall enough for your head to reach the pull-up bar while standing up straight. Use this platform to support as much of your weight as needed while practicing the motion that is a pull-up. Engage your back and arm muscles, maintain good posture, grip the bar tightly, and move up and down until you feel fatigue. When you feel like you can do ten repetitions without engaging your leg muscles too much, you’re ready to progress onto the next modification.
Negative pull-ups: Using the platform or jumping from the ground, begin in the top position of a pull-up and simply support your weight in that position. When ready, descend at a slow, controlled pace. Take a moment to recover and then perform another repetition. When you’re able to complete five to ten negative pull-ups, you’re ready to progress onto the last modification.
Band-assisted pull-ups: Resistance bands, like a platform, support your weight while training proper technique for a pull-up. Simply wrap a band around your bar and then insert one of your feet to begin performing this modification. The less resistance in a band, the more strength required to complete a pull-up. When you’re able to complete five to ten band-assisted pull-ups, you’re ready to try an unassisted pull-up.
If you attack this challenge using modifications consistently, you’ll experience incredible progress in a short amount of time.
Take a moment to celebrate the win and impressive adaptation you’ve caused once you’ve complete your first pull-up.
Okay, moment is over. Time to make it harder.
Advanced Challenge: Do five sets of ten pull-ups a day for one week.
Strict pull-ups, not kipping or using other movements to assist your body in pulling up is the goal.
Use the modifications from the previous challenge to progressively overload your current capabilities.
Take as much time as needed in between sets to include hours. The goal is five sets of ten reps a day. Break times and when you complete each of the sets is completely up to you.
Able to do five pull-ups unassisted? Great. Do five more band-assisted to complete your first set. Use whatever modification necessary for the remaining sets.
Go for six unassisted next time around. If you’re still at five, no worries.
Stay the course.
Modified reps are better than no reps.
Do the work and experience the benefits of plasticity.
You’ll become more capable each session whether it’s obvious or not.
Elite Challenge: Do the 5x5 pull-up challenge.
The 5x5 pull-up challenge is a series of five different pull-up variations each requiring five repetitions before moving on to the next.
5x5 pull-up challenge:
5 regular pull-ups
5 mixed grip pull-ups
5 chin-ups
5 mixed grip pull-ups (opposite side)
5 wide grip pull-ups
Goal is to do them all without touching the ground and without kipping/bringing your knees up and engaging other parts of your body to generate momentum.
As you will see in the below video, I’m still working on being able to consistently complete this challenge with strict form.
This challenge requires half the reps of the advanced challenge but they’re unbroken and require transitions. Extremely difficult for anyone who is not exceptionally adapted at pull-ups.
Modifications can include any of the previously mentioned ones to condition your system, particularly for the transitions and later reps.
Simply decreasing the rep counts initially, such as doing two repetitions for each movement instead of five, is another excellent way to set a foundation that can be build upon.
Show up, work hard, get better.
It’s that simple.
Pull-Up to Level Up
Anyone can eventually do a pull-up if willing to put in the work.
Pull-ups are the hardest functional bodyweight movement for me. This is exactly why I need to continue working on them.
Doing things that are perceptually difficult improves your perspective and approach to adversity.
Pursue elite challenges so inevitable hardship in life can be managed more effectively.
Specific and systematic approaches to training lead to the best outcomes.
Train resilience with deliberate discomfort.
I need to work on pull-ups. The equipment is the hardest part, especially since the doorways in my house don’t have lintels that work for the bar that I bought. Going to have to find a different solution since it’s -26 C outside and those tree branches are frosty!
Serious #homegymgoals This makes me want to go out and get a pull up bar, love these modifications!