Pullups Are Hard. So How Many Should You Actually Be Able to Do?
THE IS one of the cornerstone exercises in fitness. The bodyweight staple grows your back, builds strength, and provides a solid benchmark of real-world capability.
The downside? It's really hard to do properly.
Your bodyweight plays a massive role in how many reps you can crank out—more so than almost any other exercise. Even if you're stacked with muscle, the heavier you are, the harder pullups become. And if you've never done a single rep, just getting comfortable on the bar (let alone building the strength to haul yourself up) can feel like an insurmountable challenge.
But none of that is a reason to skip them; almost everyone is capable of doing multiple pullups—you just need a smart progression plan. Below, we break down what a solid pull-up goal looks like and how to get there, with tips from Men's Health fitness director Ebenezer Samuel, C.S.C.S.
What's the Ideal Number of Pullups?
Like most fitness questions, the answer is: it depends.
'Determining a set number of pullups guys should do is hard because it's tied to their body weight, arm length, form, and other factors, " says Samuel.
That said, Samuel points to five pullups as a solid, realistic goal for most guys—but your expectations should be balanced against where you land with all of those variables. Generally speaking, the lighter you are, the easier pullups get, especially if you're relatively lean. A 160-pound guy will almost always have an edge over a 220-pound guy, even if that extra weight is Dwayne Johnson-levels of muscle.
How you do your pullups also matters just as much as how many you can do. Picture ideal form: a full dead hang at the bottom, a clean pull until your chin clears the bar, and a controlled two-second descent. Nail that, and your rep count might take a hit, but your training quality won't. Strict pullups are far tougher (and more effective for building muscle and strength) than kipping, bouncing, or racing through half-reps.
"Especially if your goal is to build muscle and strength, you'll want that two-second lowering phase," says Samuel. "This will torpedo your numbers, but you'll also get so much more out of your pullup."
The two-second descent lines up with current research on strength training, which emphasizes the portion of the movement where your muscles are most lengthened. During a pullup, that occurs when your body is nearest to the ground."This is the hardest part of the pullup," says Samuel. "Don't waste that moment, even if your numbers do take a hit."
So, what is the ideal number of pullups to be able to do? More than you can do right now. If you've never done a single pullup, your goal is simple: get one clean rep. From there, Samuel says to work up to eight to 10 reps with good form.
If you're already banging out sets of 10, add weight and build your way back up. And if you're a bigger dude, every extra rep is a legit accomplishment.
How to Do a Perfect Pullup
Proper form is key to getting the most out of your pullup sets. The steps below walk you through each phase of the pullup to help you maximize your progress.
Start by grabbing the bar with your palms facing away from you. Step up to it if it's out of reach—don't jump and flail your way into position.
Find your grip. A wide grip limits your range of motion (and recruits more back), while a narrower grip brings your biceps into play and makes the move slightly easier.
Pull your shoulder blades down and back to engage your lats.
Brace your abs like you're about to get punched.
Squeeze your glutes and keep your legs slightly in front of your torso—your body should form a slight "hollow" position, not hang limp like a scarecrow.
Rotate your elbows forward to externally rotate your shoulders.
Drive your elbows down and slightly back—think about pulling them into your back pockets—to bring your chin above the bar.
Pause briefly at the top. No bobbing, no bouncing.
Lower yourself slowly, with control, until your arms are fully extended. That's one perfect rep.
What If I Can't Do a Pullup?
Doing a single pullup is a big-time milestone for many people, but getting there can feel impossible. You can't scale pullups quite as easily as machine-based movements (like the lat pulldown), but there are a handful of regressions you can train to get your first pullup.
Integrate one or two of these moves into your training on a daily basis, and gradually, over time, you'll get closer to your first pullup rep. "The key is razor-sharp consistency," Samuel says. "The pullup is a skill, and you'll have to train it like a skill, drilling it every single day."
Do three to four sets daily, alternating principles—and in a few months, you can expect to hit your first pullup.
Exercise 1: Static Hold
Stand on a box beneath your pullup bar and jump to the top position of the pullup.
Hold there for as long as you can, squeezing your back muscles.
Sets and reps: 3 sets of 20-second holds
Exercise 2: Eccentric Pullup
Set a box under a pullup bar, stand on the box, and grip the bar a little wider than shoulder-width apart.
Jump up so that your chin is above the bar and resist the downward pull of gravity so that you are suspended.
Slowly lower yourself for a count of three to five seconds.
Sets and reps: 3 sets of 3 to 5 reps
Exercise 3: Inverted Row
Start with a bar placed in a rack or Smith machine, lying on your back underneath. Adjust the bar to a height just above your reach with your arms extended.
Reach up and grab the bar with an overhand grip, with your hands just wider than shoulder-width apart. Put your feet together, forming a straight line from your feet to your shoulders. Pull yourself up off the floor, squeezing your shoulder blades, abs, and glutes to create full body tension.
Pull yourself up, imagining that you're pulling the bar down to your chest. Pause for a count at the top of the movement.
Lower yourself back down under control.
Sets and reps: 3 sets of 10 to 15 reps
How to Increase My Pullup Reps
Once you can do a pullup, work up to eight to 10 body weight reps. This is no easy feat. It's not unreasonable to expect to put in months of work before reaching this next milestone.Do all of the moves below on the same day in the order they're listed twice a week. This workout is a bit more demanding than the previous program, so don't add additional back work if you feel it's detracting from your pullup progress. If you do have the bandwidth for another exercise, make it a row since this program consists of all vertical pulling movements.
Exercise 1: Low-Rep Drill
Hang from a pullup bar with an overhand grip, hands set slightly wider than shoulder width apart.
Pull yourself up until your chin clears the bar.
Let go of the bar and land on the ground, absorbing the impact by slightly bending your knees.
Rest for a few seconds and then do another rep.
Sets and reps: Do five sets of 1 rep during week 1; 4 sets of 2 the next week; 3 sets of 3 the next week, and so on until you can do a set of five strict pullups.
Exercise 2: Assisted Pullup
Hang a resistance band over the bar, pulling the shorter loop through the longer one.
Place your feet or knees on the bottom loop.
Hang from the bar and do pullups following the instructions above.
Sets and reps: 2 sets of 8 reps.
Exercise 3: Scapular Pullup
Get into a good hanging position on the bar.
Once your arms are extended, elevate your neck as much as you can.
Pause for a count, then lower back down.
Sets and reps: 3 sets of 8 to 10 reps
Exercise 4: Rest-Pause Drill
Set a target number of pullups for each set, and make that number larger than what you can comfortably do in one go-round (say, 5 for a beginner, 10 if you've been doing pullups for awhile).
Do as many reps as you can. When you can no longer do any more good-form reps, dismount from the bar, count to 5, and go right back to doing reps. Again do as many as you can.
Repeat this pattern until you've hit your target number of reps for the set. Then rest 90 seconds.
Sets and reps: 2 to 3 sets.
"I love this method," says Samuel, "because it gradually teaches your body to manage higher volumes." This only works once you've learned basic pullup technique, but it's a powerful way to train your body to consistently pile up higher rep counts in each set.
How to Level Up Pullups for Progression
Pullup training doesn't end once you can do multiple sets of eight to 10 reps. If you're at this point, congrats, you're undoubtedly stronger and more muscular. Now it's time to ramp up the intensity of your pullup training by implementing the techniques below.
Unlike the plans above, this isn't a specific regimen. Instead, these are three different ways you can modify your pullup sets to make them harder.
Add Weight
The simplest way to make pullups more challenging is to add weight.
Once you can hit 10 clean bodyweight reps, add 10 to 20 pounds and see how many you can do. When you find a load you can move for four to six solid reps, stick with it and focus on building your volume. Add a rep or two each week until you're back at 10 clean reps—then tack on another 5 to 10 pounds and repeat the cycle.Weighted Vest (with Plates, 8.75lbs)
$169.99 at amazon.comTraining Weight Vest 2.0
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You can add resistance by: Wearing a weighted vest, holding a dumbbell between your feet, or knees or attaching a weight plate to a dip belt worn around your waist. Pick whichever method feels the most comfortable for you and make sure your form doesn't break down under load.
Push Past Failure
Half-reps won't do much if that's all you ever do, but they're a powerful finisher when used strategically.
Recent research has found that lengthened partials— half reps performed in the stretched position of an exercise—can drive muscle growth nearly as effectively as full-range reps. For pullups, that means training the bottom of the lift.
To do them: After your last set of full-ROM pullups, immediately start pulling yourself about half way to the bar from a dead hang. Do as many partial reps as you can; you'll probably only be able to get a few extra. Focus on pulling your elbows toward your ribs and feeling the burn right under your armpits.
Train Pullups More Often
If you want to get better at something, you need to practice. Pullups are no different.
Try training pullups hard three times per week. We suggest starting each workout with pullups if they're a priority for you. And depending on your workout split, you can make pullups the main exercise on your back or pull day and then tack it onto two training days that don't target your back—so chest day and leg day, for example. This ensures that your pullup sets won't interfere with the rest of your training.
Don't do the same set and rep scheme each workout, either. Now that you can tolerate more volume, use periodization training to focus on a different skill each workout—endurance, strength, and hypertrophy (or muscle gain). Here's how it could look:
Day 1—Weighted Pullup: 5 sets of 5 reps
Day 2—Bodyweight (or weighted) Pullup: 3 working sets of six to 12 reps
Day 3—Bodyweight Pullup: 3 sets of AMRAP (as many reps as possible)
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