Routine for Pull-ups

[linenthesand]

Soo I finally got a pull-up bar, but at the moment I can’t even do one pull-up from a hanging position. I’ve heard that deadhangs, negatives and scapular pull-ups help to get your first pull-up, but other than that I feel kinda lost xD

What kind of routine did you follow to get your first pull-up(s)? Especially asking for rep and set count recommendations because I feel like I rest a lot (because the skin on my fingers hurts) and therefore it takes a lot of time to get to failure… Also is there anything that helps with hurting skin or do I just have to wait until my skin has gotten used to it?

I want to do one dedicated upper body day a week (I do lower body/ cardio/ full body on the others) but I feel like maybe I should do a quick session for pull-ups everyday/ every other day to speed things up? I would really appreciate tips and ideas, I’m hyped about my pull-up bar and can’t wait to get my first pull-up

Edit:
Got my first pull-up today! Thank you all so much!

 

[hotairballoon]

@linenthesand i just did negatives for some months and eventually got it

also you should do 2 upper body days, if you cant then do a pullup day

but you should also do rows, it was probably the reason it took me so long to get it

also band assisted/feet assisted pullups will also help

also are you sure your gripping the bar correctly? make sure your fingers are in contact but your palms arent

 

[linenthesand]

@hotairballoon Thanks!

 

[lorrainegodslittlegirl]

@hotairballoon Rows all the way, after 2 weeks I could do a single complete pull up!

 

[hilda]

@hotairballoon Why shouldn't the palms have contact with the bar?

 

[hotairballoon]

@hilda since youll end up getting calluses on the palms and not the fingers and on the palms its way more rough

 

[katieac3]

@hotairballoon Who cares?

 

[hotairballoon]

@katieac3 your palms are gonna bleed, it can tear way more than the fingers+it's not very comfy

 

[budsmorningsky]

@linenthesand Put a chair underneath. Push with your legs into the chair as much as you need to get 6-12 reps. As time goes by, decrease the push into the chair. One day you won't need it for 6-12 clean reps. Good luck!

 

[cacajamo]

@linenthesand I started doing banded pull ups, 1-2 more than I can normally do but I pause top and mid maybe it works.

 

[johnjake]

@linenthesand Going to start this program next week:
https://www.houseofpullups.com/blog/20-pull-up-program

 

[powersforgood]

@linenthesand

 

[dawn16]

@linenthesand I did body-weight rows and dead hangs then added negative pull-ups to this list of exercises when I could manage them. My first pull-up took about 4 months for me. I'm 6' and I weighed 200lbs at that time. Early on in this guy's video on pull-ups, he covers getting into a good pull-up grip. The whole video is worth a watch imo. I find that putting a mix of petrolatum and lotion on my hands daily helps with the soreness.

 

[renee4]

@linenthesand Took about a month and a half for me to go from 0 pulls up to 1 Full ROM Pull Up using Pull Up Negatives. Getting new reps from there takes less time. So just do those and you'll get them eventually, trust the process!

 

[whalstib]

@linenthesand Pull-up progression from the Recommended Routine

https://www.reddit.com/r/bodyweightfitness/wiki/exercises/pullup/

 

[amyrusso1013]

@linenthesand I've found that doing 3 full-body sessions a week is enough for a beginner and I still haven't tried split programs after years of weightlifting. As far as pull-ups go, my advice would be: don't overthink and overcomplicate it.

I had a regular doorway pull-up bar just around the same height as me and I would use my legs to kick myself off the ground, then cross the legs behind me and try to pull my chin and chest toward the bar as far as they would go and then slowly lower myself down. It was kinda half a positive rep and then a full negative rep. I did it almost every day until one morning I could finally do one single pull-up without using my legs. Wow! Epic win for me. After that, I'd simply do one pull-up, get off the bar, rest for a minute or two and try to repeat one rep again.

I didn't have the perfect technique when I started (i.e. pulling your shoulders downward and pinching the shoulder blades together to focus on the lats) and mostly did it using my arm muscles. It makes your lats grow anyway though and once they are strong enough you can work on your technique. For this reason, I didn't do any dumbbell rows - from my experience, you need to have lats that are pretty developed to really reap the benefits of the exercise and know how to focus on the lats.

 

[fogprince]

@linenthesand I did negatives for ages to get to my first pull up. It was brutal and I wouldn't recommend it. It's like telling someone who has never bench pressed to start with 300 lbs doing only negatives.

If you have access to a gym I would recommend using an assisted pull up machine at an assistance where you can do 6 good technique pull ups. Work your way down in assistance until you are using next to no assistance and then migrate to unassisted pull ups.

If you don't have access to one, you can use assistance bands - the downside of bands is that they help you significantly more in the bottom of the movement which is the most hypertrophic portion of the pull up. Still, better than negatives in my opinion - if you are just starting out negatives are really fatiguing on your ligaments. Your body just isn't used to that much weight yet

 

[robjoseph]

@linenthesand Your skin gets used to it eventually. Calluses are not uncommon.

 

[nathanastle]

@linenthesand Like most others, I started with hangs, negatives, and band assisted pull ups. Also, not sure where your bar is mounted, but if it's somewhere you pass frequently, make a habit of getting a few reps of whatever stage you're at every time you pass. These micro -sets will get your body used to the mechanics and build strength over time.

 

[aldoboymusic]

@linenthesand I really recommend using a thick band to take a lot of your bodyweight out of the equation.

This is the sequence I use starting from a dead hang with a pronated grip:
1. Externally rotate the shoulders (elbows turn forward)
2. Shoulder blades draw together (Retract)
3. Elbows pull down (pull from your lats).

I could not do any of this without taking a ton of bodyweight off the table. Get the movement, add one rep per workout. When you get to 5 sets of 8, get a lighter band and start back at 4 or 5 reps. I do 5 sets, 2x per week, intense but not to complete failure.

Fucked up my arms doing negatives with poor alignment. Tennis elbow in one, and golfers in the other. Took 6 months to get rid of that which is a lot of wasted time.