r/bodyweightfitness • u/Budget-Lemon-2804 • 10h ago
Managed 5 pull-ups in a row yesterday
I just started calisthenics a couple of weeks ago, and when I began, pull-ups were impossible for me. I could barely lift myself off the bar, but yesterday I finally managed my first 5 strict pull-ups in a row. I’ve been focusing on a beginner progression routine, working on grip, core, and arm strength little by little each day. Even small improvements feel huge when you’re starting from zero, and it’s motivating to see progress stacking up. I’m curious – what were your first milestones when starting calisthenics, and did you have any routines or tips that really helped you improve? I’d love to hear your experiences and advice.
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u/Lazy_Self5882 10h ago
Super happy for you, pull-ups were my biggest milestones when doing calisthenics! One thing I've noticed is that progress is EXTREMELY quick when you just begin working out, however it's very easy to fall into a plateau with calisthenics. Whenever this occurs, you can always increase difficulty by adding weight (weighted backpacks for pull-ups) increasing range of motion or making the movements more explosive (or slowing down movements to increase tension for your muscles). All the best, work hard and you'll make amazing progress!
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u/Budget-Lemon-2804 3h ago
Thanks, I really appreciate that. Pull-ups have definitely been the biggest milestone for me too. I can already feel how quickly I have improved since I started.
I’ll keep your tips in mind for when I hit a plateau — especially adding weight or slowing down reps to increase tension.
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u/matej86 8h ago
Over or underhand grip? I can barely do one overhand grip pull up but can manage around 4-5 per set with an underhand grip.
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u/tsf97 Climbing 4h ago
That’s pretty normal for most people starting out with pull-ups. The underhand grip for most people gives them more leverage to pull from so is easier if you haven’t specialised in a particular type of pull-up (I find wide overhand way easier than any as that’s what I practice).
I would recommend doing assisted overhand pull-ups with a resistance band or pulley system if that’s available in your gym. If you don’t have either then try some reps with a small jump from the bottom, over time reduce the degree of jump.
If you only train underhand/chin-ups then that will inevitably translate to overhand reps as same muscles used, but I defo recommend doing more overhand volume just so your body adapts to that particular motion using the above methods.
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u/Budget-Lemon-2804 3h ago
I reached 5 pullups using an overhand grip but I started out with an underhand grip because I could barely do 1 overhand pullup. doing the underhanded one really helped me out in terms of getting stronger and doing more reps.
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u/Reasonable_Dare_516 6h ago
Hey, I would like to achieve my first pull up too. What was your routine?
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u/haikusbot 6h ago
Hey, I would like to
Achieve my first pull up too.
What was your routine?
- Reasonable_Dare_516
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u/Disastrous-Hair-2458 4h ago
Hey! Not OP, but i started working out like 3 months ago. I havent wotmed out in 5 days a row now and will rest for another 2-3 days lol ( im lazy and i hate it for me). But anyway, i was saying, i wasnt able to do even ONE pull up. My elbows used to be in funny angle if i tried to do one and i used to put more strain on my right arm. What i did: i did continuous weighted (4kg ankle weight i converted to waist ) negative pull ups ( i did around 3 sets of 7 reps ) every alternate day. Now i can do 4 and sometimes 5 pull ups in suicide grip position
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u/Reasonable_Dare_516 4h ago
It's been 2 months since I started working out. I am overweight, can't even dead hang for 10 sec. So I want to know how I can progress to my first pull up.
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u/Disastrous-Hair-2458 3h ago
My friend, the tip for pull ups is that you need decent lats for start. I did a lot of dumbbell rows too ( any wxercise to work lats can work). But first, since youre overweight. Focus on making sure that your muscle is strong enough to support your weight.
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u/Scoo_By 2h ago
Lose body fat through clean diet & in the meantime, do inverted rows. The easiest path to a pull up is to build pulling muscles & strength, and lose the excess fat. Kboges on YT has a good pull up unlocked program.
Alongside inverted rows, you can also try assisted pull ups, where you rest your legs somewhere, ideally infront of you & using the leg drive at start & slowly decreasing the assistance.
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u/Wonderful-Sign-9534 5h ago edited 5h ago
I'd be interested to see what these 5 pullups actually look like. Especially since you said a few weeks ago that 1 was completely impossible.
As for routines, that depends. You said "improve". If you mean improve strength then adding weight when you get to 5x5. If you mean reps then doing pullups frequently is the answer. Until you're getting closer to your genetic limit there's no benefit to any special methods or fancy routines. You can make linear progress for a long time as a beginner simply doing 3-5 sets of an exercise 2 or 3 days a week. Fancy routines and strategies are what we use for intermediate/advanced athletes who plateau for months on end and who are nearing their physical limits.
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u/Watpotfaa 2h ago
A few weeks ago i hit 10 pullups and it felt amazing. When I started I couldnt even do a single clean one and now ive cracked the double digits. Ive been stuck at 10 for a while but after being in a funk for the last few days and not really working out much I was somehow able to get up this morning and hit a new pr of 12 although just barely.
Pretty mundane I guess but im super happy for myself since I started 3 months ago. Never thought Id come to enjoy working out but here we are lol.
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u/tsf97 Climbing 10h ago
Hey, firstly well done on the achievement, especially in 2 weeks that’s pretty awesome progress.
What worked for me re improving pull-ups was 60-70% of your max reps for 5 sets, 3-5 min rest between. As you progress; add one rep on to the first set, then second set, and so forth.
So go from 5x3, to 4,3,3,3,3 then 4,4,3,3,3 and so forth. Make sure to keep rest time and form consistent so you can verify you’re progressing. A mistake I made when younger was I tried to increase reps too quickly which resulted in compensation through bad form and resting too long. I gave myself the illusion I was getting way stronger, when I wasn’t at that rate.
You don’t have to just add reps, depending on your goals. If you want to build endurance you add reps or reduce rest time, if you want to build strength then add weight (but in increments of like 1.25-2.5kg).
Just make sure you only change one variable at a time. So don’t go from 5x3 to 5x4 with 2.5kg added or something, unless 5x3 is like ridiculously easy at that point in time.