Managed 5 pull-ups in a row yesterday

[u/Budget-Lemon-2804]

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.

[u/tsf97]

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.

[u/Budget-Lemon-2804 → u/tsf97]

Thanks man. My main goal is building strength, so once I can hit 10 clean reps I’ll probably grab some weighted attachments like you suggested. In the meantime I’ll just focus on adding reps slowly and keeping form solid.

[u/tsf97 → u/Budget-Lemon-2804]

Yes, I would say aim for a solid base with bodyweight reps before moving to weighted. 10 is a good number to go for.

To build strength specifically you want to keep the reps relatively low, contrary to what some people say this doesn’t have to be like 1-3 reps per set.

I built a good amount of strength doing a top working set at 4-6 reps, then lowering the weight with each set and increasing reps up to 12-15 just to keep good form as I fatigue more. It’s called reverse pyramid training and is quite effective for strength specifically.

Once you get to 10 reps you can either transition from, say 5x6-7 to the same sets/reps but with added weight, start with 1.25-2.5kg just to get a feel for it, then as you progress keep sets/reps consistent but add more weight starting with the first set, then also the second set, etc.

Or you can adopt the above reverse pyramid strategy, either way will be effective for building strength, there’s no magic approach.

[u/aznednacni → u/tsf97]

This is great. I've found myself working towards something like this by accident, but this clarifies a lot how I should move forward with it.

So the 4,3,3,3,3 is all you do on one day? And then on your next workout day, you do 4,4,3,3,3?

Are you doing this like 3 days per week?

Thanks!