Assisted Pull-ups & Chin-ups

"I get by with a little help from my bands"

So far, we have worked towards building a strong foundation for our pull-up goal, but now it's time to start training for the full pull-up movement.

After the first 3-4 weeks of this program, you should have noticed a substantial increase in your pull-up strength. Although, you might not quite yet have the strength to achieve a fully unassisted pull-up. This is where scaling options like exercise bands really come in handy.

Even if you can perform a pull-up or two, scaling options will allow you to train the full movement with enough volume to further increase your strength. Below we have an example of an exercise program you can use to help you progress towards a full unassisted pull-up.

Assisted Pull-up (with band)

• Hang your exercise band over the top of your pull-up bar, centred in the middle of the bar.
• Loop your band through itself.

• Step through the bottom of the band with your foot or knee, crossing over your leg if necessary.

• Place your hands shoulder-width apart and begin the pull-up motion.
• With a controlled motion (no bouncing or swinging), slowly pull yourself upward over the course of two seconds until your chin comes over the bar.
• Hold at the top for a moment, and then slowly come back down for another two seconds.
• Repeat 5-10 times and adjust resistance bands accordingly.

Suggested Workout

1. Shoulder Circles (warm up) | Repeat 10 times in each direction

1. Assisted Pull-ups (max effort) | 5-10 repetitions

Finish off with 4 rounds of:

1. Chin-up Negative | 5-10 sec hold, 3-5 sec lower, 5 sec active hang
2. Shoulder Pull-ups | 3-5 repetitions

*Take a rest between rounds as needed
*Approximate workout time: 15-20 minutes

Decrease your resistance bands as you begin to perform more than 10 reps of assisted pull-ups. 

Go back to see more Pull-up Exercises