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Pull - Up - How To Do
Pull - Up - How To Do
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Introduction
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Strict pull ups are the ultimate show Our founder Rich launched Gravity in
of strength. It’s just you and your 2015 after he started doing
bodyweight against gravity. So why calisthenics and realised the
are they so damn hard to master? importance of mastering his own
bodyweight. Back then there were
The fact is, good-looking pull ups
almost no brands promoting
aren’t just a matter of muscling
calisthenics or making quality
through the movement. Pull ups
functional kit. There is now - Gravity
demand strength, stability, and
Fitness! And our famous Portable
muscle activation.
Pull Up Rack has always been a
That’s why we wrote this “Couch to customer favourite.
Pull Up” eBook. Inside, you’ll find the
Ready to get strong, build muscle,
activation exercises, strength tips,
and show off your new-found pull up
and progressive movements which
skills? Let’s get to it. We love hearing
will take you from zero to pull up
from people building their
hero in the shortest time possible.
calisthenics skills – get in touch to
Gravity Fitness is the British brand share your progress at
known for innovative functional Support@BornActive.com.
fitness kit.
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COUCH TO PULL UP
How to get from zero to your first pull up – no experience needed!
Page 3 Intro
Page 4 Index
Page 5 - 6 Warm up exercises
Page 7 - 8 Dead hangs
Page 9 - 12 Scapula pull ups
Page 13 - 15 Scapula pulls
Page 16 - 17 Hollow body holds
Page 18 - 20 Biceps strength
Page 21 - 22 Lat strength
Page 23 - 25 Band assisted chin ups
Page 26 - 29 Bodyweight rows
Page 30 - 35 Assisted chin ups and negatives
Page 36 - 39 Banded lock offs
Page 40 - 45 Banded chin ups
Page 46 - 47 Bodyweight chin up
Page 48 Negative pull up
Page 49 - 50 Pronated grip lock offs
Page 51- 52 Banded pull ups
Page 53 Full bodyweight pull up
Page 54 Pull up FAQs
Page 55 Join the community
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HOW TO WARM UP FOR PULL UP EXERCISES
Before you start working on any push or pull exercises,
make sure your wrists and shoulders are warm.
Wrist warm up
1. Start on all fours with your fingers pointing forwards
2. Lean your weight into your wrists and gradually and rock back and forth
3. Use your fingers to push yourself back (not your hips)
4. Gradually increase the range of motion
5. Repeat this for 20-30 seconds
1. Get back into the all-fours position with fingers pointing forwards
2. Start to move your wrists in a semi-circle motion
3. Repeat this for 20-30 seconds
1. Get back into the all-fours position with fingers pointing outwards to the sides
2. Repeat the movements above
3. Use your thumbs to push your bodyweight (they should be pointing forwards)
Final wrist exercise – this one is for the other side of your hands, wrists and forearms
1. On all fours, place the back of your hands on the floor, palms up, fingers towards you
2. Spread the fingers out, then curl them up and lift onto your fists as if you’re striking
the floor
3. Open your fingers and then slowly load down back onto the hands straighten your
arms and lean side to side
Shoulder warm up
1. Reach overhead with straight arms
2. Reach as high as you can and then drop your shoulders down, keeping your arms
straight
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COUCH TO PULL UP EXERCISES
Let’s get into the exercises which will take you from your start point to your first
strict pull up. If you’re not sure how to programme these into your workouts, or
you hit a plateau, check the FAQs at the end of this guide for help.
This dead hang exercise will build wrist and forearm strength and help you get
used to feeling your bodyweight going through your shoulders. If your pull up bar
is high (you can’t touch the floor) then use a chair or other stable surface to help.
1. Keeping your body vertical, drop through your shoulders allowing yourself to
hang on your joints
2. Use your feet behind you to assist your weight as much as possible
3. Hold for 30 seconds before progressing
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SINGLE LEG ASSISTED DEAD HANG
This is similar to the foot assisted dead hang we’ve just done, this time
using just one foot.
The goal is to add more weight through your wrists and shoulders by
reducing the assistance from your legs.
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FULL DEAD HANG
This time we are completely taking our legs off the ground so that we are
holding all of our weight.
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FEET ASSISTED SCAPULA PULL UP
Your scapula refers to the supporting muscles around your shoulder
blades. The scapula muscles assist with lots of the movements in the
body that are an essential part of calisthenics.
During pull ups, we use retraction of the scapula (pinching the shoulder
blades together) and depression of the scapula (keeping the shoulders
down away from the ears).
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SINGLE LEG FEET ASSISTED SCAPULA PULL UP
This time we are just using one foot to take some of the bodyweight as we
practice that vital scapula retraction.
The goal is to add more weight through our wrists and shoulders by
reducing the assistance from your legs.
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FULL BODYWEIGHT SCAPULA PULL UP
This time we are using our scapula to lift all of our bodyweight vertically up
and down. It’s a small movement (not a full pull up) – focus on retracting
the shoulder blades back and down to move the body slightly upwards
towards the bar.
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BAND PULL APARTS
With these banded exercises, we are looking to retract and depress the
shoulder blades by squeezing them together, backwards, and then
downwards.
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LEG ASSISTED RETRACTED SCAPULA PULL
It’s time to move onto the bar with your new knowledge about scapula
control.
1. Take hold of the pull up bar with your feet supported behind you
2. Retracting your scapula to create a diagonal position with the upper
body
3. Think about depressing your shoulder blades back and down like you
did with the band.
4. Remember, this is a small movement that comes from the shoulder
blades not the arms
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SINGLE LEG ASSISTED RETRACTED SCAPULA PULL
This time we are just using one foot to take some of our bodyweight. The
aim is to add more weight through your wrists and shoulders by taking
away one of the supporting feet.
1. Take hold of the pull up bar with your feet supported behind you
2. Lift one foot so only one foot is taking any weight
3. Retracting your scapula to create a diagonal position with the upper
body
4. Think about depressing your shoulder blades back and down like you
did with the band.
5. Remember, this is a small movement that comes from the shoulder
blades not the arms
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FULL BODYWEIGHT SCAPULA PULL
Here’s where you’ll really start feeling like you’re getting close to doing a
pull up. By now we’ve done a lot work around awareness and strength in
the scapula. Doing this kind of full scapula pull helps you feel how strict
pull ups are not about swinging the body, or sheer muscle strength – it all
starts with that important scapula movement.
If your shoulders and upper back are aching at this point, take 5 minutes to
stretch them out – it’s surprising how much you can feel these small
bodyweight movements!
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HANGING HOLLOW BODY HOLD
The next step in your journey to full pull ups is getting used to the hollow
body position. The posterior pelvic tilt and core control is a vital part of
building strength for a strict pull up.
Test your max hold and only move on when you can hold this position for
20 seconds or more.
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HANGING KNEE RAISES TO HOLLOW BODY
1. Hanging on the bar, retract and depress your scapula again
2. Put your feet and knees together with your legs straight
3. Point your toes forward and tuck your tail bone (think hips to ribs)
4. Engage your abs to create a “hollow body” banana shape
5. Lift your knees up towards your chest to a minimum of 90 degrees
6. Control the legs back down – don’t swing
7. Maintain that hollow body position throughout
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BAND BICEPS CURL
Why are we including isolated biceps work in a calisthenics programme?
We haven’t gone all bodybuilder on you. The fact is there’s more to pull ups
than a strong back. You also need arm strength.
1. Use the same band you used for the scapula work
2. Step on the end of it with your feet shoulder width apart
3. Take the other end in one hand
4. Keep the elbow tucked into your hip
5. Flex your wrist and curl the band up towards your shoulder, twisting
your little finger towards your face as you do
6. Think about squeezing your bicep throughout the movement and
again at the top
7. Lower each rep with control
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SHORTER BAND BICEPS CURL
Do exactly the same as the previous exercise, but stand further down the
band to shorten the length of it – this will create more tension and build
more muscle strength.
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DOUBLE HANDED BICEP CURL
1. Stand in the middle of the band
2. Take each end in your hands
3. Perform biceps curls with both arms together
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SINGLE ARM BANDED LAT PULL DOWN
A strong back is an essential part to unlocking the pull up, so it’s time to
work on the big back muscles (the lats).
1. Loop the band over the pull up bar and thread it back through itself
2. Grab the free end of the band with your hand, using a pronated grip
(palm facing down)
3. Move backwards until your arm is straight
4. Keep your elbow locked and squeeze your triceps
5. Squeeze your shoulder blades back and down again to engage your
lats
6. Pull the band down towards your hips
7. Once you get to the bottom slowly control the negative back to the
start
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BANDED PULL DOWN
Loop the band over the bar, but this time don’t loop it through itself – leave
it hanging over from its centre.
Do 5 reps
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HALF ROM GREEN BAND ASSISTED CHIN UP
1. Loop a green band over the bar again, threading it through itself
2. Step into the band with both feet
3. Grab the bar in a supinated grip (palms facing you), hands shoulder
width apart
4. Start in a dead hang
5. Retract and depress your scapula
6. Then engage your biceps to break at the elbow and pull up to half way
as shown
7. Slowly control the negative back to the start
Do 5 reps - and if this is too easy you can use a lighter band or even no
band at all.
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HALF ROM PURPLE BAND ASSISTED CHIN UP
Repeat the exercise we’ve just done, but this time use a purple band.
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BODYWEIGHT HALF ROM CHIN UP
All that banded work should mean you now have enough strength to do 5
reps without a band at all – let’s put it to the test!
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SUPINATED BODYWEIGHT ROW
If you’ve got one of our Portable Pull Up Racks, set it up as shown below. A
good alternative is placing a barbell in a rack (if you’re in the gym) or using
any strong, stable bar at about hip height. You need to be able to lie
underneath and pull yourself up to the bar.
To make this movement easier, adjust your feet position so they are further
back – this changes the angle to put your body in a more upright position.
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PRONATED BODYWEIGHT ROW
Do exactly the same as the previous exercise, but change your grip so you
are using a pronated grip (palms facing away from you).
Again, do 5 reps.
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HORIZONTAL SUPINATED BODYWEIGHT ROW
In the next two exercises, you’ll again do a supinated and a pronated
bodyweight row to the bar. But by changing the feet to be flat on the floor,
you’ll alter the angle which means you’ll need more strength to pull up.
Do 5 reps
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HORIZONTAL PRONATED BODYWEIGHT ROW
1. Start with your feet flat to the floor
2. Hold the bar with a pronated grip
3. Drive your hips up into a glute bridge position
4. Engage your biceps in the same way as before to pull your chest to the
bar
5. Pull the bar to further down the body (lower than the sternum) which
will recruit more lat strength
Do 5 reps
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FEET ASSISTED BAR CHIN UP
Set up a bar at about chest height – once again, the Gravity Fitness
Portable Pull Up Rack is great for this (so versatile!) But if you don’t have
one yet, set up a bar in a rack at the gym.
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GREEN BAND ASSISTED CHIN UP NEGATIVE
1. Loop your green band over a pull up bar as before
2. Ideally use a platform so you can start with your chin above the bar
(we suggest using a Gravity Fitness parallette)
3. Take hold of the bar with a supinated grip
4. Retract and depress your shoulder blades
5. Step into the band with both feet
6. Start at the top of the chin up and slowly lower your body down with
control
The goal is to lower down as slowly as you can to straight arms, then
release the scapula at the bottom.
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PURPLE BAND ASSISTED CHIN UP NEGATIVE
1. Loop your purple band over a pull up bar as before
2. Use a platform so you can start with your chin above the bar (we’re
using a Gravity Fitness parallette in the video)
3. Take hold of the bar with a supinated grip
4. Retract and depress your shoulder blades
5. Step into the band with both feet
6. Start at the top of the chin up and slowly lower your body down with
control
The goal is to lower down as slowly as you can to straight arms, then
release the scapula at the bottom.
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BLACK BAND ASSISTED CHIN UP NEGATIVE
1. Loop your black band over a pull up bar as before
2. Use a platform so you can start with your chin above the bar (we’re
using a Gravity Fitness parallette in the video)
3. Take hold of the bar with a supinated grip
4. Retract and depress your shoulder blades
5. Step into the band with both feet
6. Start at the top of the chin up and slowly lower your body down with
control
The goal is to lower down as slowly as you can to straight arms, then
release the scapula at the bottom.
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RED BAND ASSISTED CHIN UP NEGATIVE
1. Loop your red band over a pull up bar as before
2. Use a platform so you can start with your chin above the bar (we’re
using a Gravity Fitness parallette in the video)
3. Take hold of the bar with a supinated grip
4. Retract and depress your shoulder blades
5. Step into the band with both feet
6. Start at the top of the chin up and slowly lower your body down with
control
The goal is to lower down as slowly as you can to straight arms, then
release the scapula at the bottom.
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BODYWEIGHT CHIN UP NEGATIVE
It’s time to get rid of the bands and do those negative chin ups with no
assistance – bodyweight only.
Feel free to stay at this point for as long as it takes, you need to be able to
do 3-5 reps before we move on to the next set of exercises.
And don’t forget to take a minute to celebrate how far you’ve come –
you’re already doing the negative part of a full bodyweight pull up!
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GREEN BAND CHIN LOCK OFF – TOP
These next few exercises will teach your body to build strength and control
in various parts of the pull up movement.
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GREEN BAND CHIN LOCK OFF – MIDDLE
1. Loop the green band though itself over the bar
2. Put both your feet into the band
3. Take hold of the bar with a supinated grip (palms towards you)
4. Start with a 90-degree bend in the elbows, and keep your elbows in
front of the body, as you retract and depress scapula
5. Pull your head to bar height
6. Hold a pause in this middle position by squeezing your biceps and
back
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PURPLE BAND CHIN LOCK OFF – TOP
These next few exercises will teach your body to build strength and control
in various parts of the pull up movement.
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PURPLE BAND CHIN LOCK OFF – MIDDLE
1. Loop the purple band though itself over the bar
2. Put both your feet into the band
3. Take hold of the bar with a supinated grip (palms towards you)
4. Start with a 90-degree bend in the elbows, and keep your elbows in front
of the body, as you retract and depress scapula
5. Pull your head to bar height
6. Hold a pause in this middle position by squeezing your biceps and back
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CHIN LOCK OFF – TOP
1. Take hold of the bar with a supinated grip
2. Use a step or parallette to help you jump into position
3. Start with a 90-degree bend in the elbows
4. Drive your elbows into your sides as you retract and depress scapula
5. Hold a pause at the top of the movement by squeezing your biceps
and back
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CHIN LOCK OFF – MIDDLE
1. Take hold of the bar with a supinated grip
2. Use a step or parallette to help you jump into position
3. Start with a 90-degree bend in the elbows
4. Keep your elbows in front of the body
5. Retract and depress scapula
6. Hold a pause in the middle of the movement by squeezing your biceps
and back
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GREEN BANDED CHIN UP
1. Start in a dead hang with your feet in the green band
2. Retract and depress the scapula first
3. Then engage your biceps and back and pull the bar to your chest
4. Maintain that good body position throughout
5. Lower back with control
Do 5 quality reps
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PURPLE BANDED CHIN UP
1. Start in a dead hang with your feet in the purple band
2. Retract and depress the scapula first
3. Then engage your biceps and back and pull the bar to your chest
4. Maintain that good body position throughout
5. Lower back with control
Do 5 quality reps
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BLACK BANDED CHIN UP
1. Start in a dead hang with your feet in the black band
2. Retract and depress the scapula first
3. Then engage your biceps and back and pull the bar to your chest
4. Maintain that good body position throughout
5. Lower back with control
Do 5 quality reps
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RED BANDED CHIN UP
1. Start in a dead hang with your feet in the red band
2. Retract and depress the scapula first
3. Then engage your biceps and back and pull the bar to your chest
4. Maintain that good body position throughout
5. Lower back with control
Do 5 quality reps
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BODYWEIGHT CHIN UP
By now you’ve already done at least 20 banded chin ups. It’s time to get rid
of the bands and do this movement with your full body weight. You are so
close to getting your first legit pull up!
Do 5 quality reps
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THE SWITCH TO PRONATED GRIP FOR PULL UPS
OK, it’s time for the final piece of progress in your journey from zero to pull
up hero. The difference here is in the grip. So far, we’ve been using a
supinated grip (palms facing you) which uses more arm strength. By
switching to pronated (palms facing away) we are working on true pull up
technique.
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PULL UP - NEGATIVE
1. Use a platform to help you start with your chin above the bar with a
pronated grip
2. Retract and depress your shoulder blades
3. Start at the top of the pull up and slowly lower your body down
4. The goal is to lower down as slowly as you can to straight arms, then
release the scapula at the bottom
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BODYWEIGHT LOCK OFF – TOP
1. Use a platform to help you start with your chin above the bar with a
pronated grip
2. Retract and depress your shoulder blades
3. Bend your elbows and bring them into your body
4. Hold this top position with chin above the bar
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BODYWEIGHT LOCK OFF – MIDDLE
1. Use a platform to help you start with your forehead at bar height, with
a pronated grip
2. Retract and depress your shoulder blades
3. Bend your elbows and keep them in front of your body
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PURPLE BANDED PULL UP
Do 5 reps
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BLACK BANDED PULL UP
1. Loop the black band around the bar
2. Take hold of the bar with a pronated grip
3. Start in a dead hang
4. Retract and depress the scapula
5. Engage your biceps and back and pull the bar to your chest
6. Pause at the top before lowering down with control
Do 5 reps
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BODYWEIGHT PULL UP
It’s time! You’ve built the strength, you understand the technique, and you
can retract your scapula like a calisthenics pro.
Get rid of the bands and do exactly what you’ve already done…but with
your full body weight.
What do I do next?
This eBook will get you to your first bodyweight pull up. Once you can do 5 unassisted
pull ups, use a resistance band to work on getting your reps up (then remove the band to
work on the same reps at bodyweight).
The other bit of kit we use in this eBook is our medium pro parallettes. Our athlete uses
them as a step to get into the assisted and negative positions for some exercises, but
obviously they’re designed to be used for a whole host of calisthenics exercises including
push-ups and l-sits.
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JOIN THE COMMUNITY
The Gravity Fitness store has everything you need to go from couch to pull
ups and beyond. We’ve got the pull up rack, resistance bands, and parallettes
you see in these videos – plus every ither calisthenics and functional training
tool you can think of! Check out our traditional and more innovative bits of kit,
some of which you won’t find anywhere else. Shop the range.
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