Ready to crush those pull-up goals? If getting a pull-up or chin-up is a goal of yours, it’s important to understand how to properly progress your training to reach that goal. Learning the different pull-up progressions will definitely help you reach your goal faster.
No more struggling and giving up. We’ll start at the beginning and go through each pull-up progression so you’re ready to rock as you get stronger.
Pull-Up Progressions So You Can Reach Your Pull-Up Goal!
Smith Machine Chin-ups
First up, if you are a beginner at pull-ups or chin-ups, we are going to start with chin-ups on the Smith Machine. (If you don’t have one of these in your gym, that’s ok! Skip down to the next section!)
This is an awesome way to build strength and confidence for your first full-bodyweight chin-up.
Here’s how to do it:
First, set up the Smith machine bar to a height you can easily grab while seated.
Next, sit directly under the bar and grab it with an underhand grip with your hands about shoulder-width apart.
Start with your feet on the ground and focus on pushing your legs into the floor for some added assistance. The more you bend your knees, the more help you’ll get.
Now, pull your shoulders back and engage your core.
Bend those elbows to pull your chin toward the bar, using your legs to help as you go. Once your chin clears the bar, slowly lower yourself back down, keeping it controlled.
Aim for 8-12 reps and hit 2-4 sets, prioritizing form over everything else.
Why is this helpful?
Leg-assisted chin-ups build strength in your back, biceps, and shoulders, the key players in completing that full chin-up or pull-up, making it the perfect place to start our pull-up progressions.
The more you practice, the more muscle memory you’re building.
Here’s a form video so you can make sure you’re starting off strong!
Assisted Pull-Up Machine
Most gyms have one of these machines!
The machine works to counterbalance your weight so you can begin training the pull-up with proper technique without having to lift your entire bodyweight. These machines are also great because you can easily increase or decrease your load between sets or reps.
To set up, you’ll select a weight on the machine. It’s important to note that, on most machines, this is the amount of weight that will be subtracted from your body weight.
So, if you weigh 150 pounds and you select 40 pounds, you’ll be pulling up 110 pounds. So, feel free to start with a higher weight selection and decrease as you get stronger.
This feature makes it a great machine for pull-up progressions because you can decrease the weight until you’re close enough to your bodyweight to give it a try!
You can either kneel or stand on this machine depending on the type your gym has, so just scope that out before you hop on!
Banded Pull-Up Progression
If you feel like you’re strong enough to graduate from the assisted pull-up machine, banded pull-ups might be the right fit.
Loop a long band around a high bar (often found near the squat racks) and place your feet or knees in the loop.
The band works by, again, decreasing the total load of your body weight so you can execute the pull-up through the full range of motion. However, the band provides less overall stability than the pull-up machine, so it is a more challenging progression.
If one band is not enough, you can also use two bands, putting one knee or foot into each loop. This way, you can train the stability and full range of motion while decreasing the weight load even more.
Then, once we’ve mastered this, we can move on to our final pull-up progression.
Full Bodyweight Pull-Up
Just because you are now strong enough to do a single bodyweight pull-up doesn’t mean we don’t stop there.
If you’re new to full-bodyweight pull-ups, combine bodyweight pull-ups with banded pull-ups as the body fatigues to help build muscular endurance and strength without sacrificing form.
Here is a video outlining each of these progressions from Coach Kierstin!
Where do you think you fall on your journey through these pull-up progressions?
Are you just starting, or are you already at the banded pull-up stage?
No matter where you are in your journey toward your pull-up goals, feel free to reach out to us. You can DM us on Instagram @dancerswholift we’d love to help you with a form video or talk you through any struggles.
Want more tips for getting stronger in the gym? Give these a read: Find Your Perfect Deadlift and Squat Stance (And any variation!), The Eccentric Push-ups: Training Tip Tuesday, 4 Signs You Need A Rest Day
