Pull-ups have always been my measure of my current state of fitness. So, it makes sense that we regularly re-post this article! We’ve had a few clients who’ve made mastering the pull-up a new challenge as they try to get through the last of the winter doldrums and perk up their excitement about strength training. So, let’s talk pull-ups.
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I’m mildly obsessed with pullups. Being a naturally strong kid (though I was a lot less stoked on being muscular when I was 10, believe me), pull-ups were basically the only thing I could crush at in the presidential physical fitness exam in gym class, because it was something I could just do, and didn’t take much effort for me to complete the 1 that meant I was in OK shape. (I have no idea if this test is still around…)
Anyway, since then, I’ve always gone to pull-ups as a marker of where I’m at, fitness-wise. I’ve been lucky that doing one has almost always been possible, so my gauge of fitness is if I can do a certain amount in a row. But lately, I’ve realized that doing a proper pullup is a skill that a lot of people are freaked out by / consider impossible, so I got Peter—my husband but also a great coach and kinesiologist—to head to Active Life Strength and Conditioning with me to make a quick video for our YouTube channel about how to progress into being able to do a pullup. The best advice? Get a pullup bar for a doorway in your house so you can practice hanging and shrugging every. single. day. and you’ll progress SO much faster!
(I love this doorframe pull up bar—it’s cheap and easy to assemble!)
Watch the video tutorial here:
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