How do you get your first pull-up?

There is something about the pull-up that makes it feel like a test of character. It is not. It is a skill with a clear path, and almost everyone who walks that path patiently gets there. Getting there is a small private festival.

Step one: hang

Before pulling, learn to hang. Grip the bar with your palms facing away, hands a little wider than your shoulders, and let your feet leave the ground, using a box or step to get up.

• Start with short hangs and build up gradually.
• Grip firmly, but keep your shoulders active rather than letting them creep up round your ears.
• Step down before your grip gives out, not after.

Hanging builds grip and teaches your shoulders what the bar feels like. It also makes the bar familiar, which matters more than it sounds.

Step two: shoulders down

From a hang, without bending your elbows, gently pull your shoulder blades down and back so your body rises a few centimetres. Then let them return. This small movement is the first part of every pull-up, and practising it on its own teaches you to start the pull from your back, not just your arms.

Step three: slow lowering

This is the big one. Use a box to step up so your chin is above the bar, then lower yourself as slowly and smoothly as you can until your arms are straight. Step back up and repeat a few times.

Lowering is usually much easier than pulling, so you can practise the whole movement long before you can do it upwards. When you can lower slowly and with control, the pull is not far away.

Step four: assistance

Several ways to help yourself up:

• Resistance bands looped over the bar, with a foot or knee in the loop. Start with a thicker band and work towards thinner ones.
• Assisted pull-up machines, which many gyms have. They let you choose how much help you get.
• A foot on a box behind you, pushing with the leg only as much as you need.
• Inverted rows under a low bar or a sturdy table, pulling your chest up towards it with your heels on the floor. Raise the bar or move your feet forward to make it harder.

How often, and how much

Little and often works better than heroic sessions. A few sets of hangs, a few slow lowers and a few assisted pulls, two or three times a week, with rest days in between, is plenty. Always stop with some energy left. If your elbows or shoulders complain, take a few days off and ease back in.

Patience

The pull-up is slow for most people and slower still for some, and that is fine. Many adults find it takes weeks or months. Each stage is an achievement on its own: the first long hang, the first slow lower, the first rep on a thinner band. Keep a small note of each and enjoy the progress.

The first one

One day, after a lower, you try a pull from the bottom and your chin crawls over the bar. It will probably be ugly and slow. Celebrate anyway. Then do not try ten more that day.