Pull up and Chin Up Fitness Guide

 

Fitness Goal Do your first pull up

For some, pull ups can bring back haunting memories of middle-school gym class. Others might have no such memories — or any experience with pull ups whatsoever. No matter your background, the benefits of chin-ups and pull-ups are many and they are also an excellent indicator of a person’s upper body strength.

Fitness coaches typically recommend that adult women should be able to perform between 1 and 3 modified pull ups. At the lower end, the ability to perform 1 modified pull up would indicate a borderline level of fitness while the ability to complete 3 or more would indicate a good fitness level.

If you’re interested in doing your first pull up or chin up but are unsure about where to begin, we’ve set out a few back exercises for beginners that will help you on your path to getting over that bar!

Set your Fitness Goal

If you're interesting in setting out on a path to achieve your first pull up, we recommend that you first have a clear picture of what success will look like. Here's an example of what a SMART Fitness Goal for this might look like:

Initial thought: I want to do a pull-up

  • Specific: I will perform one pull-up unassisted (i.e. no bands or steps) using the proper pull-up form.
  • Measurable: My progress will be measured in my ability to fully pull my chest up to a chin-up bar, starting from a passive hang.
  • Attainable: I will workout for 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week, performing back, shoulder, and grip exercises at an increasing rate.
  • Relevant: Being able to perform this exercise will improve my upper body strength, confidence, shoulder mobility, and posture. It may also save my life should I ever be left in a cliff hanger type situation (what, it could happen?).
  • Time-Based: I will do my first pull-up in 30 days. 

SMART Fitness Goal:

I will perform one pull-up unassisted within 30 days by exercising my shoulders, back, and arms 5 days a week for 15-30 minutes each day. This will allow me to build my upper body strength, shoulder mobility, and confidence in myself.

Suggested Pull Up Workouts

  1. Bar Hangs and Shoulder Activation Exercise
  2. Pull-up & Chin-up Negatives Exercise
  3. Inverted Rows and Modified Pull-ups
  4. Assisted Pull-ups & Chin-ups

Pull up Fitness Equipment

Other Resources