Pull-Up
Reviewed by Bryan Cortez, MS
The hardest pull there is — do it first, while you still have it.
Coaching profile
bodyweight pull. This page is the practical coaching layer: use it for setup, cues, programming, pain-free adjustments, and substitutions. The complete biomechanics tier list lives on the muscle page.
How the rankings are built →Demonstration
Demonstration production queue
The written coaching card is ready. The owned video is next.
Physique Skool is filming one canonical demonstration per exercise. Until this movement is published, use the setup, execution, common errors, programming, and substitutions below.
Browse Physique Skool on YouTubeHow to do it
Setup
- Grip just outside the shoulders (pronated), hang with the shoulders set down and back, brace.
Execution
- Drive the elbows down and back, pull the chest to the bar, and control the stretch at the bottom. No kipping.
Common Errors
- Kipping/swinging for momentum
- Half reps (chin barely over, no full hang)
- Shrugging up instead of pulling the elbows down
- Flaring into an unstable wide grip beyond your control
Cues That Work
- Pull the elbows toward the ribs; keep the shoulders away from the ears; own the full hang
No-Fly Zone
under 3 reps (add assistance or volume rather than grinding singles all session)
Programming
Sequence priority
Opens the session
The textbook case: skill AND strength limited at bodyweight, so performance craters under fatigue — program it first on back day, never as a finisher.
Progression
Model — Double
Fallback model — Triple
Build reps to ~12 at bodyweight, then add weight on a belt and drop back to 6-8 (double progression). Below ~5 reps, use band-assist or pulldowns to build the reps first.
Best program fit
Pull, Upper, Full body
Load increments
If it hurts
Pain is information, not a challenge to push through. Stop the set if pain is sharp, worsening, or changes how you move. These are exercise-selection options, not medical diagnosis or rehabilitation advice.
Work down this list in order. Stop at the first change that removes the pain.
Step 1
Setup tweaks
Grip width and style (pronated = lat, supinated chin-up = more biceps); how much you lean back.
Step 2
ROM / tempo / bias
Slow eccentric negatives if you can't do full reps; pause at the top; control the dead-hang stretch.
Step 3
Implement swap
Lat pulldown (scale precisely), assisted pull-up machine, or band-assisted pull-up.
Substitutions
Approved fallback
Lat pulldown (scale precisely), assisted pull-up machine, or band-assisted pull-up.
Compare all back optionsThe Evidence
Builds lat width, upper-back and grip with the best bodyweight vertical pull. Does NOT let beginners load precisely — that's what the pulldown is for.
SFR — 1.2
Put the exercise inside a system.
Get the companion workbook, trackers, program files, and community support.