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Crush Your PR With the Best Pull-Up Program EVER

A fit person performs a pull-up as part of a training program in a gym

Get a tried-and-tested method for smashing your pull-up goals.


Master Coach Craig
January 13, 2025

The best pull-up program? That might sound like a bold claim, but hear me out.

This program took me to 24 pull-ups in full kit when I was in the military and is the reason I’ve hit 20 reps at my current body weight of 260 pounds. 

It’s gotten 30+ soldiers to double-digit pull-ups for the first time. 

It’s taken 15+ women to their first body weight pull-up ever.

And it took my favorite client ever, Trudy, to 17 full body weight pull-ups… at 67 years old. 

Here’s How It Works

You’re going to do pull-up training twice per week.

Day One

  • Use the grip you most want to improve (neutral, underhand, overhand, etc.).

  • You’re going to hit three 3 sets of pull-ups. Your first week you’ll pick a difficulty that allows you to hit 7 reps on the first set, stopping at 10 if you get that far. 

  • For your next two sets, do as many as you can again, stopping at 10 if you get there.

  • Now stay with this initial level of “resistance” until you can hit 3 sets of 10.

  • Once you can get 3 sets of 10, you’re going to either add weight (with a weight belt) or go down one level of band help if you’re not hitting these at full body weight.*

*Bands are better than assisted chin up machines but I’ll explain why at the end.

Day Two

  • Choose a grip that’s different from your day one grip. If you’re doing overhand pull-ups on day one, you can use an underhand grip, a neutral grip, or a V-handle if you like—it doesn’t matter which, as long as it’s not the same. 

  • On this day,  find a weight that’s challenging for 4 sets of 6 reps and stick with it until you can hit 4x8, then you’ll up the weight, or decrease the assistance. Just ensure you do so SLOWLY.

  • When you get to your second week, if you hit 4x6 last week and think you can hit 4x8 this week… don’t. 

  • Instead, do 2x8 and 2x6. The next week do 3x8 and 1x6, then you can move to 4x8. The following week, make it a little bit harder and go back to 4x6. 

This isn’t a race. Slow improvements will serve you best, and if you’re able to make a small jump in performance and still have something in the tank… GOOD!

Important Tips to Keep in Mind

Bands are better than an assisted machine: The reason for this is called the strength curve. At the bottom of a pull/chin-up, you need the most help, so when you’re using a machine you have to set it for your weakest position. But that means when you’re in a stronger position near the top, you still have the same help you needed at the bottom. 

Because a band stretches, it helps you more at the bottom and progressively less as you come up. This means you get to work more in the areas where you’re capable of doing more work and, as a result, you’ll get stronger, faster. 

Keep your form tight: Do not sacrifice your form to get in another rep or an extra pound. It’s a slippery slope and will pay off for a week or two before you realize you’re fooling yourself and missing out on the real progress you could’ve been making. 

I know this sounds too simple: Don’t let that stop you from doing it. Seriously, it works. Ninety percent of the people who didn’t follow the program told me it was because it didn’t seem hard enough. Interestingly, none of them made half as much progress with a “harder” program… and all of them got smashed by Trudy. 

Good luck, and don’t forget to tag me in a social post on the Bodybuilding.com app when you crush your pull-up PR!

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