Pull-ups.

You either love them or you hate them.

In my eyes Pull-ups are the king of bodyweight movements and there is nothing more impressive than watching an athlete effortlessly complete a set of pull-ups.

Whether it’s strict or kipping, pull-ups are one of the most common gymnastics movements used in CrossFit and a skill everyone should learn to master.

Regardless of your training background and your goals, pull-ups can always be improved.

Whether you can rep out 20 strict pull-ups or are still searching for that elusive first pull-up, this article is for you.

1. Work on your strict pull-up!

Its time to increase your pulling strength! Strict pull ups are an essential training tool and one of the fundamental steps for developing the kipping pull-up.

The strict pull-up is a simple movement and can be scaled so anyone can do them. They are great for developing strength through the arms, shoulders and back and can increase stability in the shoulder girdle required for kipping.

In the long run increasing your pulling strength is going to directly transfer over to kipping pull-ups!

Here are a few ideas to improve your strict pull-ups:

Negative reps – Start at the top of your pull-up and slowly lower yourself to full lockout.

This movement will help you build eccentric strength throughout the whole range of the movement.

Try 3 x 5 and try to lower down slower each week!

Banded pull-ups – When used properly bands can be effective in developing the strength for pull-ups.

Use a lower resistance band than for a workout and focus on control throughout the whole range of motion. Add in 5 sets of 5 for some extra work!

2. Get some hang time!

Sounds simple? Just jump up and hang on the bar. At first you feel great but after a while those forearms start to burn! Grip strength is an underrated part of pull-ups and an area that everyone needs to train.

Imagine doing pull-ups in the workout and having to break up your sets because you cant hold onto the bar.

If you’ve built up the strength to do pull-ups then surely you want to show it off?

Try completing 5 x 20sec hangs on the pull-up bar and see how you go.

Build up the duration as you progress and hopefully it will give you that advantage in a WOD!

3. Do your accessory work!

We have talked about building strength in the strict pull-up but we can also spend time working the muscles required for the pull-up.

Even though the movements aren’t exactly the same they can still assist us in developing the strength and stability we are looking for.

Try these exercises out:

Scapular Pull-ups – Not only a great warm up exercise but also a fantastic way to build stability, grip strength and teach us to activate when initiating our pull-up.

Try 2 x 10 reps as a warm up for pull-ups.

Ring rows – These bad boys will help us strengthen our backs and are just as hard as pull-ups when you do them right!

You can change the resistance of the movement depending on your foot position but the focus should be on completing the full range of motion and keeping the body in one straight line.

Add in 3 x 8 to your training and add reps when you feel up to it!

Single Arm rows – Another great exercise to improve unilateral pulling strength and stability at the shoulder joint.

Grab a dumbbell and complete 3 x 10 each side focusing on control and squeezing between the shoulder blades.

4. Don’t forget the Kip!

Once you have built up the strength and mastered the strict movements you can start to work on your kipping pull-up.

The kip is an important part of gymnastics and isn’t just about swinging on a bar!

Gymnasts have amazing control over their bodies and I believe it’s one of the reasons why it transfers

over so well to CrossFit.

When it comes to mastering the kip, being able to maintain a tight ‘dish’ and ‘arch’ position will be vital to your success.

Having control your body will not only assist you with pull-ups but all kipping movements (eg. Toes to bar, muscle-ups) and increase your efficiency in a workout!

When we lose control of our body then we expend more energy, which could be needed to finish off those last few reps.

Dish and arch holds – Master these two positions to improve your kip.

Coach Amelia shows us these positions below!

The focus should be on keeping everything tight and pushing the lower back into the ground in the dish

position. Try 3 x 15sec holds and feel your midline fire up!

Kipping on the bar – Once you feel comfortable with these positions you can jump on the bar and try them out.

Start with a small kip to keep the dish and arch as tight as possible!

With practice you can start to make your kip bigger while maintaining your efficiency.

REMEMBER build the foundations first, work your weaknesses and master the gymnastics kip to take your pull-ups to the next level!

Practice is key and implementing these tips and exercises a couple of times a week will assist you in reaching your goals.

About the Author

Coach Adam is a CrossFit Coach at CrossFit Victoria and CrossFit Reward.

He holds a degree in Exercise Science with a Masters in Strength and Conditioning.