Your arms and back have to do an enormous amount of work to lift your entire body, which is why being able to perform many reps is an effective way to improve not just the obvious muscles — your back, arms and forearms — but can also help you build incredible core strength.

In fact, as an exercise physiologist and strength coach, I’d go so far as to say that the pull-up is the world’s most under-appreciated way to develop your abs—and every other muscle in your midsection, for that matter.

All of that is great, but there’s one problem: It’s an exercise that gives a lot of people a lot of trouble, regardless of whether you’ve been training for years or just started.

If you are struggling to perform a pull-up — or you wish you could do many more — I’ll share a few simple-to-learn techniques that aren’t taught enough and will change everything about your pull-up performance.

By the time you’re done, you’ll not only be surprised by how quickly you can improve, but also by how many of the methods used to increase your upper body strength aren’t actually pull-ups.

Can’t Do a Pull-up? Start Here

If you can’t do any pull-ups, odds are you’ll blame it on your lack of back strength. To become stronger, you might start doing countless 1-arm rows and other dumbbell or barbell exercises.

While those exercise will make you stronger (and are a part of the solution), they won’t guarantee that you’ll be able to do more pull-ups. That’s because pull-ups aren’t just about your back.

Even if you have a really strong back, you can struggle with pull-ups if you have a weak core.

Core stiffness, or being able to create tension throughout your torso, is a key part of successfully doing a pull-up.

Your shoulder blades are connected to your torso. A stiff, stable core gives your arms something strong to pull on. And that can have a massive impact on your ability to lift your body.

So if you are struggling with your pull-ups—or can’t do a pull-up at all—train your core with these moves.

(If you prefer to watch all tips, here’s a video breaking down a lot of the progressions we’ll discuss today. In it, you’ll see my friend and fellow coach Tony Gentilcore demonstrating a lot of the moves discussed here.)

Hollow Body Holds

Start by lying on the floor. Lift your arms overhead (biceps in line with your ears), keeping your elbows straight.

Cross your hands and your ankles. Then press your hands and ankles into each other to create tension, and lift up into the hollow body position.

Let’s talk about that term “hollow” for a second. You might hear it and think: “belly button to spine.” DON’T DO THAT.

In a good hollow position, your abs are securely braced, as if they were about to take a punch. Take a breath in and squeeze. If anything, your abs will move slightly outward.

Start by holding a hollow body position while pressing your hands into each other and pressing your ankles into each other. This builds some of the body tension related to the position of hanging from a bar.

Hold this position for 5 seconds or 2-3 breaths per rep, maintaining as much head-to-toe tension as you can (more on how to create tension). Take a 5-second break, then repeat for 5-6 reps per set. Over time, you can increase the duration of your holds. If you can maintain tension for a full minute, that’s really good.

Hollow Body Horizontal Pull-ups

Next, you’re going to use a dowel or broomstick. Hold it in both hands as if it were the pull-up bar.

Start with your arms straight and elbows locked out, as if you were hanging from a pull-up bar. Then, while you hold the hollow position, bend your elbows to pull the bar across your face and toward your chest line, mimicking the pull-up movement.

The goal here is to maintain the core strength requirement while including an arm movement that replicates the pull-up—all while trying to breathe.

Hold the hollow body and try to complete 8-10 reps, breathing out as the bar comes to your collarbone.

Hollow Body Leg Raises

Are you a boss at the hollow body work? Great! Then it’s time to take it up another notch.

You can create some additional arm stimulus, and increase the challenge to your core, by doing a leg raise. Keep both knees locked out and cross one foot over the other. Pull down on the stick and lift your toes toward it. You may even be able to touch your toes to the bar, depending on your level of strength and control.

The big thing to remember here is to maintain tension throughout your lats to help pull your torso up. Squeeze the bar as hard as you can in your hands and think about pulling down on the bar as much as you are pulling up with your legs. This tension in your arms, back and core will help you lift your legs more easily.

Perform a set of 5-8 reps.

Stability Ball Rollouts

Another exercise that develops core stiffness is a stability ball rollout. There are two ways you can perform the movement, and both are helpful to your pull-up quest.

Option #1: Try to keep your abs tensed and press your hips forward, allowing your arms to extend out as you move. Then pull back with your hips.  This version will place more emphasis on your abs and lower back, while taking some of the work off of your shoulders

Option #2: Do the same thing as you did in option #1, but use your lats to try and pull the ball back with your elbows to return to the starting position. In this version the shoulder angle is changing, which means the muscles that control the shoulders will be under greater load.

Complete 5-10 reps of either option, or both if you’re a little crazy.

How to Build Strength on the Pull-up Bar

Before you start pulling, it’s helpful to build your skill hanging from the bar.

Bar Hang

You might struggle at maintaining a dead hang from the bar due to grip strength. Hanging for 10-30 seconds can be a simple and very effective way to build the grip strength needed to perform pull-ups.

Hanging Shoulder Shrugs

When you can conquer that challenge with ease, your next goal is pulling your shoulders down and tight to your ribs while holding the same hollow body position you used on the ground.

Hold that position for 5 seconds per rep, breathing out forcefully with each contraction.

Hanging Leg Raises

Have the hollow body hang down cold? Good. You can add in some leg raises to really take it up a notch.

Start with a bent knee leg raise. The key is to not sway.

If that’s no problem, try a straight leg raise. Again, you want to avoid rocking back and forth. The movement should be slow and controlled.

In all likelihood, you will find at least one of these moves challenging. Because your goal with these is quality, not quantity, you can use “micro sets” to accumulate volume. Try to hit 10 amazingly good reps total. To do that, you might need to perform 5 sets of 2, or 4 sets of 2-to-3, or 3 sets of 3, and so on.

If you wanted to get a little crazy, you could try to bring your toes to the bar. Use your arms to help pull-up on your torso to get a more horizontal angle on the movement.

Pull-up Training: Mastering the Movement

Now let’s “grease the groove” of the movement in a way that will help you develop strength if you’re a beginner, and provide value if you’re more advanced.

Flexed Arm Hang

The flexed arm hang is a simple, yet underutilized move that will have all the muscles in your back and arms firing hard.  

To perform the move, just grab the bar and jump up. Keeping your chest as close to the bar as possible, hang there as long as you can tolerate. When you start to feel yourself coming down, fight the lowering for 3-5 seconds so you can get some eccentric strength development out of the move.

Try to maintain 10 to 30 seconds per hold, accumulating up to 30 seconds in a workout.  For eccentric reps, try to keep it to a max of 5 reps of 3-5 second eccentric lowering unless you want to look like a T-Rex for a few days after your workout because you’re too sore to extend your elbows.

Band Assisted Pull-ups

Once you are able to do flexed arm hangs (and the 3-5 second lowering) with skill and control, you should be ready to try the pull-up.

If you want to ease yourself into the movement, start by using a band for assistance.

The thicker the band, the more assistance it provides. Similarly, placing two feet in the band versus just one gives you more help when you perform the move.

Start with the thickest band you need in order to execute the move, then work down to smaller, thinner bands over time.

(More ways to use resistance bands in your workouts here.)

The “Pernicious Pull-up Power” Workout Routine

So how do you put all of this together into a realistic pull-up training plan you could use on a regular basis? Glad you asked.

You want to “train for the movement” frequently. Three to four times a week is ideal.

Notice I said “train for the movement” and not “train the movement itself.” That’s because not all of your sessions need to include pull-ups. In fact, you’ll only perform actual pull-ups one day per week on this plan.

Here’s a sample calendar of what this pull-up training plan looks like:

DAY 1

Hollow Body Holds – 4 sets x 5 reps/set x 5 second hold per rep

Bar Hangs – 4 x sets x 6 reps/set x 5 second hold per rep

Flexed Arm Hang – accumulate 30 seconds

DAY 2

Hanging Shoulder Shrugs – 4 sets x 5 reps/set x 5 second hold per rep

Hollow Body Horizontal pull-ups – 4 sets x 8-10 reps/set

Hanging Leg Raises – 10 total reps

DAY 3

Hollow Body Leg Raises – 4 sets x 5-8 reps of smooth controlled tension

Eccentric pull-ups – 4 x sets of 4-5 reps working on 3-5 second eccentrics

DAY 4 (Pull-up day!) 

**If you can’t do a pull-up, perform…

Band Assisted Pull-ups – aim for a max of 3 reps per set

** If you can do pull-ups, then….

Pull-ups – start with a single max set, then perform 3 sets of 50% of this number. For instance, if you do 6 on the first set, do 3 sets of 3.

Following this pattern will help you develop pull-up specific strength in your back and arms and the core stiffness needed to accomplish the movement. Since there are a max of three moves per session, you can combine this simple calendar with your current training program.

Pull-ups may never be easy. But by training for them specifically, you’ll soon be able to do a lot more than you think.

READ MORE: 

The Fastest Way to Do More Pushups

The Tension Weightlifting Technique: How to Make Every Exercise More Effective

Do Carbs Actually Make You Fat?

Dean Somerset is a kinesiologist, strength coach, author and public speaker who specializes in injury and medical dysfunction management through exercise program design. The seriously in-depth “The Complete Shoulder & Hip Blueprint,” which Somerset and Tony Gentilcore teamed up to create, is available now. Born Fitness is not an affiliate and has no financial stake or interest in the product, but we do genuinely think Dean and Tony are rad, and are way better at pull-ups thanks to their knowledge.      

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Sure, you try to work your entire body. And you use a wide variety of movements. But there’s always a reason why–despite your best efforts–you still don’t look the way you want.

Whether, you want to really look strong and powerful, sexy and sleek, or just be better about injury prevention so you have fewer aches and pains, it’s oftentimes the muscles you don’t see in the mirror that are most important (and most often underworked).

Overtraining your backside muscles could be the smartest upgrade you ever make to your workouts.

Before you suggest that rows, pullups, and deadlifts have you covered (all great exercises, by the way), it’s important to know why overtraining your backside muscles could be the smartest upgrade you ever make to your workouts.

Consider this a step-by-step process to help you identify common flaws or gaps in your training, and what you can instantly do to shift one of the most common weaknesses into a strength.

Mistake #1: Ignoring Mobility

Poor postural habits such a slouching for extended periods of time result in a forward bent upper back posture called kyphosis. It’s a messy name with some equally ugly ramifications. (Just think severely rounded upper back, which leaves you slouched over.) Spend enough time in a kyphotic posture and your spine will adapt and stiffen in this alignment.

Not a fan of the hunchback look? Good, then keep reading.

This common problem not only causes upper back pain but also weakens the important muscles that move and stabilize your shoulder blades, which can cause shoulder problems.  Keeping your thoracic spine mobile (the section from your shoulders to your tailbone) not only keeps your shoulders healthy but also provides a more effective foundation for performing your pulling exercises so that you can see better results.

Your Exercise Rx: Bird dogs, side lying windmills, thoracic rotation, thoracic bridge + prone cobra

Mistake #2: Not Adjusting Your Push-Pull Ratio

Heavy, frequent use of pressing exercises like bench presses may result in the appearance of better-looking muscles, increased size, or strength, but they also increase stiffness in your chest and front shoulder muscles.  Without an equal balance of stiffness and muscular development across your shoulder joint and upper back, you’ll inevitably develop rounded shoulders that not only looks bad but also turns your back on a foundational principle of injury prevention.

Here’s why: pressing exercises typically call for a push and cause internal rotation of your shoulders. It’s the internal rotation (which is part of so many exercises) that eventually causes your shoulders to round inward.

While everyone is different, a good ratio to consider is 2 pulling movements for everyone 1 pushing movement (at a minimum) for upper body exercises. If you’re looking at your lower body, the same idea applies, as you’ll want to do 2 to 3 pulling/posterior chain movements (think deadlifts) for every 1 pushing/quad dominant movement (like squats).

Most importantly: making sure you include exercises with external rotation. That’s because even though pulling exercises can be done at a high frequency, many of them (like pulldowns or pullups) force a lot of internal rotation of your shoulders, which can still lead to unwanted rounding, altered posture, and even pain and injury.

Your Exercise Rx (for external rotation): Face pulls, Prone ITY

Mistake #3: Forgetting the Bottom Half (Of Your Traps)

It’s easy to think of your back as just one giant muscle, but that’s not quite how it works. One of the most well known is the trapezius (traps), which most people just think of as the muscle that bridges the gap between your neck and shoulders.

Your trapezius muscle actually has three parts. Most people (especially guys) only attend to upper trapezius by doing endless sets of shrugs in an effort to look “yoked.”

If you really want to look yoked, keep your shoulders healthy, and improve your pressing strength, you have to hit your lower traps at least as hard as your upper traps.

Problem is, you don’t recognize the importance of your lower traps (or how weak they are) for injury prevention.

Think of it this way: your lower traps exist to help strengthen, support, and provide stability to your shoulder blades (scapula). Remember, how you just learned about the important of doing more pulling exercises than pushing? Well, you can do that just right, but if you don’t have strong lower trap muscle to stabilize your shoulder blades, you’re not only more likely to lift less weight, you’re also more likely to ignore one of the most important muscles for injury prevention

Ever had a bench press injury or shoulder injury from overhead pressing? One of the first places to look is your lower traps.

Your Exercise Rx: Hanging scapular retraction, scap pushups, and all the exercises from mistake #2.

Mistake #4: Cheating on Your Chinups

It’s not uncommon for you to be better at the shrugging upward motion than shrugging downward. Unfortunately, this is a big problem for almost all back exercises.

The upward motion weakens your shoulder girdle (the structure that helps control movement), thus making a strong pull almost impossible.

Want to know why you can’t pull more weight and remain stuck at the same weight? Here’s what you can fix to change that.

You can overcome this imbalance by positioning yourself at the top of the chinup with your chest touching the bar and your shoulder blades pulled backward and downward.  Perform prolonged holds (isometrics) and even weighted holds in this position and in no time you’ll find that you can pull more weight.

Your Exercise Rx: Isometric chinups (palms facing toward you) and pullups (palms facing away from you)

Mistake #5: Oversimplifying Your Rowing Technique

This is what most rowing looks like: Your arm hangs down to create a stretch in your back. Without much thought, you pull your arm back, leading with your elbow, and try to bring the weight back as far as possible and work your muscles.

It looks right. And it sounds right. But the result is actually causing a forward shift of your shoulder joint and increasing stress on the front of your shoulder, as well as creating a weaker pull. By initiating pulling exercises with retraction, or a pulling back of your shoulder blade and then completing the pull, you’ll have your arm in safer, stronger position to move more weight and build more muscle. Now, this does not mean you have to keep your shoulder in a retracted (pulled back) position the entire time. Every person’s body is a little different, so it’s important to allow you to move within your own range of motion. That means you have a stretch at the bottom, pull your elbow and shoulder blade back, squeeze at the top, and then return back to the starting position.

Your Exercise Rx: Dumbbell Rows and Cable Rows with scapular retraction

Mistake #6: Your Never Practiced Deadlift Progressions

Do a quick video search for deadlift on YouTube and you’ll find a myriad of gym stars showing off their horrible, injury-in-the-making technique. I’m not talking about serious lifters going after max lifts that are superhuman. No one is picture perfect when lifting 600 pounds. This is about correct movement.

Rounding your lower back to pull a barbell from the floor actually turns off the supportive musculature of your spine and exposes the passive structures (like the ligaments and the spinal discs) to excessive loads that–given enough time–could possibly end your strength training career.

It also gives you a much weaker pull from the floor.Try this quick exercise to improve your spinal alignment and increase your pulling potential.

Set up an empty barbell in a squat rack at knee level. Assume a baseball short stop’s stance with hands on your knees. Keeping your shins vertical, arch your back and drive your hips upward to increase the stretch in your hamstrings. This is your proper pulling position.

Take the bar from the rack in this position and stand by driving the hips forward.  Practice this pulling technique and start adding load to the bar.  Once you’ve ingrained this technique, start pulling from a lower position until you can pull from the floor with perfect technique.

Your Exercise Rx: Rack pulls

Adam Bornstein

Adam Bornstein is a New York Times bestselling author and the author of You Can’t Screw This Up. He is the founder of Born Fitness, and the co-founder of Arnold’s Pump Club (with Arnold Schwarzenegger) and Pen Name Consulting. An award-winning writer and editor, Bornstein was previously the Chief Nutrition Officer for Ladder, the Fitness and Nutrition editor for Men’s Health, Editorial Director at LIVESTRONG.com, and a columnist for SHAPE, Men’s Fitness, and Muscle & Fitness. He’s also a nutrition and fitness advisor for LeBron James, Cindy Crawford, Lindsey Vonn, and Arnold Schwarzenegger. According to The Huffington Post, Bornstein is “one of the most inspiring sources in all of health and fitness.” His work has been featured in dozens of publications, including The New York Times, Fast Company, ESPN, and GQ, and he’s appeared on Good Morning America, The Today Show, and E! News.

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