Pull ups are one of the best exercises you can do for your upper body. They’re far better than any exercise machine you find at your local gym.
But if you can only do a few or can’t do even one it’s difficult to make pull ups part of a workout program.
That shouldn’t stop you though. Because the best way to improve your upper body strength and improve at pull ups is to do pull ups.
So what if you can’t even do one? Use resistance bands or those assisted machines at the gym until you build up to doing at least one unassisted pull up.
You can start by following the sample program below. You can start with assisted pull ups if you don’t have the strength to do strict pull ups yet. And if you are strong enough and 4 reps are too easy then add some weight.
No matter if you are a beginner or advanced make sure it’s challenging. If you can easily do 4 for example then lower the resistance or add more weight etc..
Once a week you will do one final set of a maximum number of reps. Perform your 4 sets of the assigned reps then add one additional set and do as many as you possibly can with max effort.
You can continue the program beyond the 4 week sample below. Continue until you are happy with your progress. You can always come back to it again to improve you strength at any time as well.
| Weeks | Sunday | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 4×4 (4 sets of 4 reps with 90 sec rest between sets) |
4X4 | 4X4 | 4X4 + 1 max | ||||
| Week 2 5×5 (4 sets of 5 reps with 90 sec rest between sets) |
4×5 | 4×5 | 4×5+ 1 max | ||||
| Week 3 6×6 (4 sets of 6 reps with 90 sec rest between sets) |
4×6 | 4×6 | 4×6+ 1 max | ||||
| Week 4 6×6 (4 sets of 7 reps with 90 sec rest between sets) |
4×7 | 4×7 | 4×7+ 1 max |
