How to do a pull up for beginners: from zero to your first rep

Can't do a pull-up yet? Normal, if you've never trained for one. The internet's advice is usually "just do pull-ups", which is unhelpful when the number you can do is zero.

Here's how to do a pull up for beginners: stop trying to do full pull-ups, and train the pieces instead. Hang from the bar to build grip. Lower yourself slowly from the top to build the strength in the range you'll need. Use a band or machine to do assisted reps through the whole movement. Two or three short sessions a week, written down and progressed, and the first rep stops being a wish. If you'd rather not track it yourself, an app that progresses your lifts for you can handle the bookkeeping.

Below: a simple test to see where you're starting, an 8-week pull up program for beginners, a weekly schedule, and what to do after rep one.

Where you're starting: the beginner pull-up test

Before you start any pull up plan for beginners, find your rung on the ladder. One session, fresh, after a short warm-up:

Rough starting points, as coaching conventions:

• ›Hang under 20 seconds, negative under 3 seconds: start at Phase 1 below.
• ›Hang 30 seconds or more, negative 3 to 5 seconds: start at Phase 2.
• ›Negative over 5 seconds and controlled all the way: start at Phase 3. Your first rep is close.

This is the same pulling pattern that sits at the center of strength training basics, and it belongs in a beginner training plan from week one. Strict form cues for the full pull-up are simple: start from a dead hang, pull your shoulder blades down first, drive your elbows toward your back pockets, chin over the bar, lower all the way. Everything below is about building the strength to do that.

Why "just do lat pulldowns" isn't enough

The lat pulldown is a useful exercise. It's not a pull-up substitute. In a study of elite collegiate women swimmers, pull-up performance was only moderately related to lat-pull strength and not related to lat-pull repetitions at all, and the authors concluded the two shouldn't be substituted for one another in training (Halet et al., 2009).

A pull-up is a bodyweight skill: hanging, bracing, moving your body around a fixed bar. The fastest route to one is practicing versions of the pull-up itself. Pulldowns and rows are good support work, not the main course.

Grip matters too. In a small 8-week study of physically inactive young men doing a pull-up program, the group that added forearm training improved pull-up reps the most of the three groups, alongside gains in grip strength and dead-hang time (Sepehri Rahnama et al., 2025). It's ten people per group, so don't build a religion on it, but it fits what coaches see: if you can't hold the bar, you can't pull on it.

How to do a pull up for beginners: an 8-week pull up program

Two or three sessions a week, on non-consecutive days. Each session takes 15 to 25 minutes and can be tacked onto the start of any upper-body or full-body workout. Do the pull-up work first, while you're fresh.

Phase 1 (weeks 1–2): hang and row

Phase 2 (weeks 3–4): add negatives

Phase 3 (weeks 5–6): more time under the bar

Phase 4 (weeks 7–8): test and practice

Progression rules, the same as for any lift: when you hit the top of the range with clean form on every set, make it harder next session. Longer hang, slower negative, thinner band, lower bar. If a session goes backwards, repeat it rather than pushing on.

Eight weeks is a plan, not a promise. Some people get their first rep in Phase 3; others need to run Phases 2 and 3 twice. Both are fine. Test every week or two once negatives feel strong, and count only clean reps from a full hang.

No pull-up bar or band? An assisted pull-up machine does the band's job, and a low bar or a pair of rings handles the rows. If you train at home with weights, one-arm rows from a dumbbell workout for beginners are a useful stand-in for the inverted row.

The pull up schedule for beginners (with running)

Pull-ups barely touch your running legs, so they fit almost anywhere. A typical week:

The leg day still follows the usual rule: never heavy legs the day before intervals or the long run. The pull-up sessions can go after an easy run or on their own.

What else builds your first pull-up

Hangs. Grip is often the first thing to give. A few sets of dead hangs at the end of other sessions build it with almost no recovery cost.

Deadlifts and rows. The hinge builds grip and the whole back. If you're new to it, our guide to deadlifts for beginners covers the setup. The trap bar version is easier to learn and still loads your grip hard; our guide to trap bar deadlift explains why runners in particular like it.

Patience with bodyweight. Pull-ups move your whole body, so changes in body weight change how hard they feel. That's physics, not a reason to diet for a pull-up. Get stronger and the rep arrives.

Consistency over intensity. Two good sessions a week for eight weeks beats one heroic session where you fail ten times and can't straighten your elbows for three days.

After your first pull-up: 1 to 5 reps

Congratulations, the hard part is done. The next stage is volume at good quality, not maxing out every session:

• ›Several low-rep sets: 4 to 6 sets of 1 to 3 reps, stopping well short of failure, two or three times a week.
• ›Keep negatives and assisted reps after the strict sets to add practice.
• ›Ladders: 1 rep, rest, 2 reps, rest, back to 1. Repeat a few times.

Once you can do 5 clean reps, move to 3 to 4 sets of 4 to 8 at around RPE 7 to 8, twice a week. At 8 to 10 strict reps, it's time to start adding weight.

If something in your shoulder or elbow hurts, as opposed to working hard, stop and see a professional.

How exrsz handles pull-ups

exrsz builds a periodized plan from your goal, schedule, level and equipment. If you can't do a pull-up yet, it starts you at the right rung and moves you up as you hit your targets, with upper and lower days placed around your runs in one plan, adapted each week, and reshuffled when you miss a session.

FAQ

How long does it take a beginner to do a pull-up?

It depends on where you start. Someone who can already hang for 30 seconds and lower slowly from the top may be a few weeks away; someone starting from a short hang may need a few months. Follow the progression and test every week or two.

What is the best pull up program for beginners?

One that trains the pull-up itself: dead hangs, negatives and band-assisted pull-ups, two or three times a week, progressed every session. Lat pulldowns help, but pull-ups and lat pulls weren't strongly related in one study (Halet et al., 2009), so don't rely on them alone.

How often should a beginner train pull-ups?

Two or three times a week on non-consecutive days. Short, focused sessions at the start of a workout work better than long ones at the end.

Are negatives or band-assisted pull-ups better?

Use both. Negatives build strength in the lowering phase and the top position; band-assisted reps practice the full movement. Most beginner plans combine them.

Do I need to lose weight to do a pull-up?

No. Getting stronger relative to your body weight is the goal, and strength training does that directly. Body weight changes affect pull-ups, but you don't need to diet to get your first one.