How to Get Your First Pullup: A Complete Beginner Progression

If you cannot do a pullup yet, my preferred solution is simple:

Do pullups with assistance.

I generally do not start beginners with weeks of static holds, partial repetitions, or negative pullups while waiting until they are somehow strong enough to perform the real exercise.

Instead, make the pullup easier.

Use an assistance machine or resistance bands to remove enough of your bodyweight that you can perform complete repetitions. Then progressively reduce the assistance as you become stronger.

The basic progression is:

More assistance → less assistance → bodyweight pullups → weighted pullups

This is the same basic idea used in almost every other strength exercise. You start with a load you can handle, train it consistently, and make the exercise harder as you improve.

What Counts as a Pullup?

Before worrying about programming, establish what you are trying to achieve.

My standard for a pullup is:

• Start from a dead hang
• Do not kick or swing to create momentum
• Pull until your chin is clearly above the bar or handles

I do not require an exaggeratedly slow lowering phase. Lower yourself under reasonable control and begin the next repetition from the bottom.

The same standard applies to assisted pullups.

If you can only get your chin above the bar by kicking, shortening the range of motion, or starting with bent elbows, use more assistance.

I would much rather see a beginner perform a complete pullup with 50 pounds of assistance than a half-rep with 25 pounds of assistance.

Step 1: Find Your Starting Strength

If an assisted pullup machine is available, I like using it to establish a baseline.

Think of this somewhat like finding a one-repetition maximum on another strength exercise, except the numbers work backward: less assistance means a harder pullup.

Start with plenty of assistance and gradually reduce it until you find the smallest amount of assistance that still allows you to perform one clean repetition.

For example, you might discover that:

• 80 pounds of assistance is easy
• 65 pounds is challenging
• 50 pounds allows one clean repetition
• 35 pounds does not

For tracking purposes, I would consider 50 pounds your current minimum assistance.

You do not need to repeat a true maximum test every workout. Its main purpose is to understand your starting point.

What if maximum assistance is not enough?

This can happen, particularly for larger beginners.

Someone who weighs well over 250 pounds may still be moving a substantial amount of weight even when an assisted machine is set to its maximum assistance.

If you cannot perform a complete assisted pullup yet, that is fine.

Temporarily build strength with exercises such as:

• Lat pulldowns
• Dumbbell rows
• Other machine rows

Then periodically return to the assisted pullup machine and test again.

The goal is to move toward training actual pullups as soon as you can perform them through a complete range of motion.

Step 2: Train Mostly in the 3-to-10 Rep Range

Once you can perform assisted pullups, I generally want your working sets to fall somewhere between 3 and 10 repetitions.

That does not mean sets above 10 are useless. Higher-repetition pullups can be productive, particularly for endurance.

But for a beginner whose primary goal is getting stronger, I use 10 repetitions as a signal that it is time to make the exercise harder.

My basic rule is:

• 10 reps: reduce the assistance
• 3–9 reps: productive working range
• Fewer than 3 reps: increase the assistance

This creates an extremely simple progression system.

You do not need to estimate RPE or accurately determine whether you had exactly two repetitions in reserve.

Those methods can be useful, but I find that beginners often do not yet have enough lifting experience to judge precisely how close they are to failure.

Instead, I am comfortable allowing beginners to work to technical failure.

Do as many clean repetitions as you can. The set is over when another repetition would require you to kick, shorten the range, or otherwise stop performing a proper pullup.

Step 3: Use Ramping Sets

I do not normally use the same amount of assistance for all five sets.

Instead, I begin with easier sets and gradually reduce the assistance.

A workout might look like this:

Remember that the numbers work backward on an assistance machine.

100 pounds of assistance is easier than 70 pounds of assistance.

The first two sets in this example reached 10 repetitions, so I immediately made the next set harder.

At 70 pounds of assistance, the trainee entered the productive 3-to-10-rep range, so I kept the assistance there for the remaining sets.

Next workout, the goal is improvement.

That improvement does not have to mean a dramatic personal record.

The workout could become:

• 100 × 10
• 85 × 10
• 70 × 9
• 70 × 7
• 70 × 5

That single extra repetition is progress.

Or perhaps the trainee gets:

• 100 × 10
• 85 × 10
• 70 × 8
• 70 × 8
• 70 × 6

The best set stayed the same, but total training volume increased.

That is also progress.

The Beginner Pullup Workout

For most beginners, I would train pullups about twice per week.

A basic workout could look like this:

1. Assisted pullups

5 working sets

Start with enough assistance to perform approximately 10 repetitions.

Each time you reach 10 clean repetitions, reduce the assistance for the next set.

Once your repetitions fall below 10 but remain at 3 or more, you have reached your harder working sets.

Rest approximately one to two minutes between sets. If you need somewhat longer to reproduce good repetitions, take it.

2. Dumbbell rows

3 sets of approximately 8 repetitions

The exact repetition target is not particularly important. Something around 6–12 repetitions works fine for this purpose.

Rows strengthen many of the muscles involved in pulling, but I still consider them supplemental work.

If your goal is getting better at pullups, assisted pullups deserve priority over doing increasingly large amounts of rowing.

3. Curls

2–3 optional sets

Curls are not necessary for achieving a first pullup.

They can still be useful.

The biceps contribute to pulling, curls are easy for beginners to learn, and many new lifters simply enjoy doing them.

They are also an easy way to introduce the idea of exercise variation. You can use:

• Dumbbells
• Barbells
• EZ bars
• Cables
• Hammer curls
• Seated curls
• Standing curls

Do not let curls replace your pullup training, but there is nothing wrong with including them.

Why Pullups Should Come First

Perform your pullups first in the workout.

I treat them as the main lift.

There are two reasons.

First, you are strongest when you are fresh.

Second, performing pullups first gives you better information about whether you are progressing.

Your sleep, food intake, stress level, and activity earlier in the day can already cause some variation between workouts. If you perform five other exercises before your pullups, you introduce another major source of fatigue.

Putting pullups first makes your results easier to compare from session to session.

How to Progress Every Workout

Beginners benefit from having an obvious target.

My progression system is deliberately simple.

If you get 10 reps

Reduce the assistance on the next set.

Use the smallest practical increment when possible.

I would rather make many small increases over time than repeatedly make large jumps that send your repetitions crashing down.

If you get 3–9 reps

Stay at that assistance level and try to beat the previous workout.

Progress might mean:

• One additional repetition on your best set
• One extra repetition on a later set
• More total repetitions across all five sets
• Eventually reaching 10 and reducing the assistance

If you get fewer than 3 reps

Increase the assistance.

You made the exercise too difficult for the rep range I want.

If all five sets reach 10

Begin the next workout with less assistance than you used previously.

You have outgrown that starting point.

Why Small Improvements Matter

Beginners sometimes think progress only counts when they reduce the assistance or perform their first bodyweight pullup.

That can make a long progression unnecessarily discouraging.

Imagine your previous workout was:

8, 7, 6, 5, 4

and today’s workout is:

8, 7, 6, 6, 4

You improved by one repetition.

That is a successful workout.

One reason I like programming this way is psychological. When a beginner can look at a training log and regularly find some measurable improvement, it becomes much easier to believe the program is working.

The first unassisted pullup might still be months away, but strength is improving right now.

Assisted Pullup Machine vs. Resistance Bands

Both work.

I have a preference for resistance bands, but I would not tell someone with access to a good assisted pullup machine that they need to buy bands before they can make progress.

Why I prefer bands

A band-assisted pullup feels more like a normal pullup to me.

Your body is freely suspended rather than supported by the platform or knee pad of a machine, so you still have to control and stabilize yourself.

Band assistance also changes throughout the repetition.

At the bottom, the band is stretched farther and provides more assistance. As you rise, the band shortens and provides less.

I like this because it rewards pulling aggressively from the bottom rather than slowly grinding through every inch of the movement.

That habit can also be useful later if you become interested in explosive pullups or muscleups.

The disadvantages of bands

Bands are less precise.

An assistance machine may say that you are using 50 pounds of assistance. With a band, you usually just know that one band assists more than another.

Bands also:

• Cost money
• Wear out over time
• Can gradually lose tension
• Can break
• Require a secure setup
• May be awkward to get into and out of

Inspect bands for visible damage and replace worn equipment rather than trying to squeeze another year of use out of it.

For many beginners, an assisted pullup machine is simply more convenient.

That is completely fine.

How to Progress With Bands

The same 10-rep rule still works.

Suppose you are using a thick band.

Your goal is to increase repetitions until you can perform 10 clean pullups.

Once you reach 10, make the exercise harder by:

• Switching to a thinner band
• Using a combination that provides less total assistance

Then build your repetitions again.

You will not have the same precise numbers available on an assistance machine, so keep a simple training log noting which band you used and how many repetitions you completed.

Consistency matters more than knowing the exact number of pounds of assistance.

Why I Prefer Assisted Pullups to Negatives

Negative pullups are not useless.

Neither are static holds, partial repetitions, scapular pullups, or rows.

I simply think they are often given too much attention in beginner pullup programs.

If your goal is to get better at pullups and you have access to a way to perform full-range assisted pullups, I would rather have you practice the actual movement.

With assistance, you can train:

• The full range of motion
• Multiple repetitions
• The transition through the entire pull
• The coordination of the movement
• Progressive overload

A negative only trains the lowering portion.

A static hold only trains a position.

A row is a different pulling movement.

Use those exercises when they solve a specific problem. Do not automatically use them instead of pullups.

What About Dead Hangs?

Dead hangs can be useful if grip strength is preventing you from training your back and arms effectively.

If your hands consistently fail before the pulling muscles do, some additional grip work may make sense.

Otherwise, I would not make hangs a centerpiece of a first-pullup program.

Performing assisted pullups already requires you to hold onto the bar while also training the movement you actually want to improve.

When Should You Attempt an Unassisted Pullup?

You do not have to attempt an unassisted pullup every workout.

You also do not need to wait for some perfect mathematical threshold.

When you can perform high-repetition sets with relatively little assistance, start trying.

For example, someone performing 10 repetitions while receiving only a small amount of assistance is probably close enough that attempting a bodyweight pullup makes sense.

Exactly what counts as “small” depends heavily on bodyweight and on the machine or band being used.

Do not become obsessed with an online one-rep-max calculator. Assisted-machine numbers are useful for tracking progress on that machine, but the easiest way to find out whether you can perform a pullup is eventually to try one.

I often test at the end of the workout

This is unusual.

If your only goal is maximizing your chance of completing a first pullup on a specific day, testing while fresh makes sense.

But when I am coaching a beginner who is getting close, I often like the attempt at the end of the workout.

Why?

Confidence.

If someone completes their first pullup after five hard sets of assisted pullups, they know they can do it.

There is no question about whether they were unusually rested or whether everything had to be perfect.

They just performed a pullup while tired.

I have found that moment extremely satisfying for beginners.

If you want to try while fresh instead, that is perfectly reasonable. The important part is that once you are close, you actually begin attempting the movement.

The Mental Barrier to the First Pullup

Strength is not always the only obstacle.

Someone might comfortably perform several repetitions with only a small amount of assistance and then fail when the assistance disappears.

The jump from “assisted” to “unassisted” can feel much larger psychologically than it really is physically.

I have seen beginners finally perform their first pullup and discover that they were probably already strong enough to do it.

In some cases, I would not be surprised if someone who finally achieved a first bodyweight repetition could already have performed one with a few pounds added.

That is another reason to attempt the movement once your assisted numbers suggest you are close.

At some point, stop waiting for permission from the machine.

Try.

What If You Are a Larger Beginner?

Pullups are particularly intimidating for heavier trainees because bodyweight itself is the resistance.

A 150-pound person and a 250-pound person are not beginning with the same task.

That does not make pullups a bad exercise for larger people.

It means assistance becomes more important.

If you are heavy enough that even maximum machine assistance does not allow a complete repetition, begin with pulldowns and rows until you can enter the assisted-pullup progression.

If overhand pullups feel especially difficult or uncomfortable, try a neutral grip.

The goal is not to prove that you can use the hardest possible variation immediately.

The goal is to create an exercise you can progressively train.

What If Progress Stops?

First, do not panic over one bad workout.

Performance fluctuates.

Maybe you slept poorly.

Maybe you ate less than usual.

Maybe work was stressful.

Maybe you are getting sick.

Maybe you simply had a bad day.

I care about the trend, not whether every single number improves forever.

If two or three workouts pass without improvement, look at recovery first.

Ask:

• Am I sleeping enough?
• Am I eating normally?
• Have I been sick?
• Has my schedule changed?
• Am I unusually sore or fatigued?

If those factors look normal, I would consider adding some volume.

That might mean:

• Another assisted pullup set
• A few more total pullup repetitions
• Additional rowing volume
• Some additional curl work

Do not completely rewrite the program because you failed to improve for one week.

Do Beginners Need Deload Weeks?

I do not usually schedule deliberate deloads for beginners.

For many recreational lifters, life creates natural breaks.

Work gets busy. You travel. School becomes demanding. A family event takes up the weekend.

Someone misses a workout or gets several extra days of recovery without deliberately scheduling a “deload.”

If fatigue is clearly accumulating, take extra recovery.

But I would not automatically interrupt productive beginner progress every fourth week simply because a calendar says you are supposed to.

An 8-Week Beginner Pullup Framework

This is not an eight-week promise.

Some people will achieve a first pullup faster. Others may need many months or longer.

Bodyweight, starting strength, sex, training history, consistency, equipment, and individual differences all matter.

Instead, treat this as an eight-week example of how I would structure training.

Twice per week

Each session:

Assisted pullups

• 5 sets
• Begin with an assistance level you can perform for around 10 reps
• Reduce assistance after any 10-rep set
• Keep harder sets in roughly the 3–10 rep range

Dumbbell rows

• 3 × approximately 8

Curls

• 2–3 optional sets

Unassisted attempt

• Optional initially
• Begin attempting regularly once assistance becomes relatively low

Weeks 1–2: Establish your numbers

Learn the movement and find your working assistance levels.

Your main goal is consistency and accurate tracking.

Weeks 3–4: Beat the logbook

Try to add repetitions or reduce assistance somewhere in every workout.

Small improvements count.

Weeks 5–6: Keep pushing the progression

Do not change exercises simply because the routine feels familiar.

If the numbers are still improving, the program is still working.

If you have stalled for several workouts, check recovery and consider adding a small amount of volume.

Weeks 7–8: Attempt the goal when appropriate

If you are performing high-repetition sets with low assistance, attempt an unassisted pullup.

If you do not get one, continue the progression.

There is nothing magical about Week 8.

Week 9 can look exactly like Week 8.

Keep getting stronger.

How Long Will It Take to Get Your First Pullup?

I do not think giving everyone the same timeline is useful.

I have coached two beginners with very different starting points.

One began as a larger trainee at roughly 210 pounds and initially needed about 65 pounds of machine assistance. Over roughly two years, he progressed beyond bodyweight pullups and eventually performed multiple repetitions with 25 pounds added.

Another began unable to perform an unassisted pullup and had relatively little gym experience. Training roughly twice per week, she reached reliable unassisted singles in approximately six months despite occasional interruptions from travel and school.

Those timelines are not promises or predictions.

They illustrate the opposite.

People start in different places.

Instead of asking whether you should already have a pullup by Week 6, ask:

Am I stronger than I was last month?

If the assistance is decreasing and the repetitions are increasing, the answer is yes.

Keep going.

What to Do After Your First Pullup

Do not immediately abandon assisted pullups.

One bodyweight repetition gives you a new tool, but it does not yet give you enough repetitions for much training volume.

Start adding unassisted singles while keeping your assisted work.

For example:

• Perform one clean unassisted pullup
• Rest
• Perform another single later
• Complete the rest of your training with assistance

As your strength improves, you can accumulate more bodyweight repetitions and rely less on assistance.

In practice, I have found that once people can perform several unassisted pullups, they become very reluctant to return to the assisted machine.

That is fine as long as they can get enough productive volume without it.

When Should You Add Weight?

My benchmark is 10 clean bodyweight pullups.

Once you can perform 10 pullups from a dead hang without kicking and with your chin clearly above the bar, I think it is reasonable to begin experimenting with weighted pullups.

You do not need to abandon bodyweight training.

Instead, you have reached the next stage of the same progression:

Assisted pullups → bodyweight pullups → weighted pullups

That is one of the central ideas behind Pullup Expert.

The pullup is not an exercise you graduate from.

You just keep making it harder.

The Most Important Rule

If you remember only one thing from this guide, remember this:

Train the movement you want to improve at a difficulty you can actually perform.

If you cannot do a bodyweight pullup, add assistance.

If you can do 10 reps with your current assistance, reduce it.

If you can do 10 bodyweight pullups, add weight.

Progressive overload does not suddenly stop applying because the exercise uses your bodyweight.

Start where you are.

Record your workouts.

Try to improve something.

And keep doing pullups.