The exercise is uncomplicated. Simply lift your body’s weight using nothing but the strength of your back, shoulders, and arms. The execution is much more difficult. To perform a standard pull-up, use a horizontal bar far enough above the ground so that, if you stand below with your arms raised straight above your head, it is just beyond your fingertips. The diameter of the bar should allow for a comfortable grip. With your palms facing away from you, give a little jump and grasp the bar so that your hands are even with your shoulders. Pull yourself up in a steady motion, keeping your torso perpendicular to the bar, until your chin can just be tucked over the top of the bar. Then, lower your body in a smooth, steady motion until your arms are straight once more. Repeat.
And repeat. And… repeat… and… repeat… until you can’t do it any longer.
Swaying your body back and forth or to the front and back while pulling yourself up to the bar is not allowed; this gives you an unfair advantage, substituting momentum for muscle strength. Peddling your feet (called “kipping”) is also not allowed, not to mention futile. The object of the exercise is to work the large, flat muscles of your back between your shoulder blades and waist. These muscles, called the latissimi dorsi (“lats”), extend from the backbone (four to eight vertebrae) to the ribs (the lower three or four) and attach to the upper, dorsal portion of the humerus bones (upper arms). Pull-ups also work the biceps, deltoids, part of the triceps and forearms. In short, the exercise strengthens the back, arms, and shoulders.
The biggest mistake people make when doing a pull-up and other back exercises is to start the movement with their arms instead of their shoulders. When you first begin to do a pull-up try to initiate the movement with your shoulders as best you can.
The President’s Council on Fitness, Sports and Nutrition (established in 1953 by President Eisenhower as the President’s Council on Youth Fitness) offers the President’s Physical Fitness Award for children six to 17 years of age. To earn this award, the competitor must complete a suite of exercises, including pull-ups. The number of pull-ups achieved depends on age and sex. The scale for boys ranges from one pull-up (age six) to 8 (age 17), while girls must perform one (any age). It has been found, however, that 85% of Awardee boys achieve two pull-ups (age six) to 13 (age 17) and girls from two (age six) to one (age 17). Yes, that’s correct: Girls aged six to 9 at this level complete two pull-ups; ages 10 to 11, three pull-ups; ages 12 to 15, two; and one pull-up for ages 16 and 17.
It may seem strange, but the requirements to pass fitness standards of the United States Marine Corps are actually lower. Men are required to do three pull-ups (“kipping” is allowed), and women are not required to do any pull-ups at all. United States Army Rangers must do at least six pull-ups and U.S. Navy SEALs must do at least 8 (although 15 to 20 are considered competitive in the initial training program). It is the Federal Bureau of Investigation that seems to have the toughest standards. In the FBI’s physical fitness test, pull-ups are not required, but points can be earned on a scale of zero to 10 (two pull-ups per point). Female FBI agents are awarded one point per pull-up.
The number of pull-ups required to pass a particular physical fitness test is one thing, but a record is entirely another matter. The Guinness Book of World Records (where else?) lists the greatest number of pull-ups as 1,009 in one hour. That is one pull-up every 3.5 seconds, for an entire hour. This feat was achieved by Stephen Hyland, of Great Britain, on August 1, 2010. The Book of Alternative Records, however, offers a wider range of records. Two different men have achieved 50 pull-ups in one minute (Jason Petzold on June 20, 2009, and Matthew Bogdanowicz on November 12, 2009) and a woman (Alicia Weber, on May 27, 2010) did 37 pull-ups. The record for women’s one-hour pull-ups is also held by Alicia Weber (February 2, 2010) at 721 repetitions.
As the hosts on some of those television shows say, however, don’t try this at home. At least not initially. If you are interested in doing pull-ups as part of an exercise program, you may need to work your way up to it. To begin with, you will need to warm up the muscles you will be exercising. Next, you will need a horizontal bar and gravity. Most places (on Earth, anyway) will supply the gravity free of charge, but the bar should be comfortable to grip and not slippery (a tacky resin on your palms can be used).
If you can’t make the first pull-up, no matter how much you try, consider one or both of these alternatives: negative pull-ups and half pull-ups. In the first case, you will need a sturdy bench that is tall enough so that, when you stand on it, your chin is already just over the level of the bar. Grasp the bar so your hands are even with your shoulders, palms facing you, and bend your legs so that you are hanging by your hands. Hold that position for a second, then straighten your arms so that you lower yourself until your arms are straight or your knees touch the bench. (This can exercise can also be achieved by having an assistant grasp you around the waist or legs and lift you to the beginning position). Remember that it will take time – a number of sessions – to build up the necessary muscles before you can move on to the next level. You may also want to try using assisted pull-up bands which can help you do pull-ups without anyone helping you.
When you are feeling stronger, begin in a position so that your head is just lower than the bar and your elbows are already bent. Grasp the bar, palms facing you, and in a strong, smooth motion, pull yourself up so that your chin tops the bar. Hold for a second and then lower yourself slowly to your original position. Enough repetitions per session, and enough sessions per week (and you will know when “enough” is enough) and you should be able to begin doing standard pull-ups.
As with any exercise, pushing too far, too fast can cause injury. You should do enough repetitions until you feel that you have been working out, but not so much that you cause damage to the muscles and tendons. Your wrists, inner elbows and the areas where the lats attach to your vertebrae, ribs and upper arms are potential areas for injury.
Once you’ve mastered standard pull-ups, you may want to consider variations. These work the muscle groups harder and in slightly different ways than standard pull-ups, so use caution when beginning to use them:
Wide-grip pull-ups: Grasp the bar so that your hands are further apart than your shoulders are wide.
Narrow-grip pull-ups: Grasp the bar so that your hands are nearly touching each other.
Chin-ups: Grasp the bar with your palms facing towards you.
Mixed-grip pull-ups: Grasp the bar with one hand palm-away and one palm-toward.
One-arm pull-ups: The trick is to keep your shoulders as level as possible. Keep your “off” hand ready to grab the bar if your working hand begins to slip.
Behind-the-neck pull-ups: Stand a little more forward, under the bar when beginning. The object is to touch the back of your neck to the bar.
Weighted pull-ups: Use a belt (see exercise supply catalogs) from which you can hang barbell weights. Begin with smaller weights and increase the weight over time.
As with many exercises, repetition not only builds strength but familiarity and confidence. Unless you are training to beat Jason Petzold’s or Alicia Weber’s records, a moderate regimen of pull-ups should allow you to easily achieve six to 8 repetitions (for men) or four to six (for women) without difficulty. The exercise builds muscle mass and strength to the back and upper arms increase your metabolic rate and provide the base for other exercises in your routine. Of greatest importance, however, is that it allows you to become an insufferable show-off in the beach exercise area.
I’ve accomplished my hate for pushups, now on to pullups!! Thanks Cathe!!
Your facts about the Marine Corps are incorrect, females are now required to do pull-ups and kipping was NEVER aloud. The max is 20 and the min is 3.
Great article! My girlfriend has set a goal this year to do pullups. I was browsing to see what a realistic goal for a fit woman would be.
Side note: kipping is most definitely NOT allowed in Marine Corps PFTs. And while the absolute minimum is 3 pull ups. A max score is 20 pull ups, for 100 points. Any one who does only 3 pull ups will likely score very very poorly on the overall PFT and be put on BCP (aka pork chop platoon, aka remedial pt), hazed incessantly, and be considered overall inadequate. 3 pull ups is a no go in the Corps haha
Great reviews & listing, loved to read this article, It makes the people to make analyse themselves 🙂
Hi, I loved the note !!! but I would like to know … what’s that kind of pants called?
The USMC did allow “kipping” during pull-ups on the PFT back in the 90’s and back. During my era, so to say it was never allowed is incorrect. Check your history and do your research. ISJ