07/06/2026
Want your first pull-up?
Consistent practice if these 4 steps will ensure anyone can do a pull up
1. Mobilise scapula - because most of us spend our days hunching forward, our upper back becomes stiff, and when the scapula (shoulder blades) can't move properly we cannot engage our lats (our stronger muscles) to pull us up and rely solely on our arm muscles (the weaker ones) to do all the lifting.
2. Activate lats - same as the reason above, when don't use our lats they are hard to turn on when needed. Work on activating your lats with tempoed lat pull-downs, pull down hard then lower slowly for up to 5 seconds
3. Strengthen lats - to be strong enough for a pull-up, you need to maximise your lat strength. Dumbbell rows are the most effective for this. Go heavy and focus on pulling from your lats.
4. Practice technique - most people skip this one. You need to learn proper technique to engage the correct muscles and make the most of the strength you have. Proper technique in the pull-ups requires engaging the core, rolling back the shoulders and pulling aggressively
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