“Son, there will come a moment in your life when you are hanging from a cliff in the middle of a sword fight. If you cannot quickly pull yourself up from the ledge, your enemy will chop your fingers off in one swift motion, and you will fall to your death on the rocks below.”
With that, he laid down a single sheet of paper with this pull-up program. He said,” If this doesn’t work, nothing will.”
*This program has a couple main focuses: 1. Get stronger in your pull-up, and hopefully for many of you, get you doing a full, strict pull-up. 2. Strengthen your entire back. We would usually super set each of these with different pressing movements, and that will be the topic of a future post.
WEEK 1
MONDAY
4×6 Chin-up: AHAP (As heavy as possible), 4 count down
2a. 3×6 DB Row: 27.5% Bench 1RM
2b. 3×20 Band Pull Aparts
3a. 3×10 Cuban Press
3b. 3×8-12 Barbell Curl: AHAP, 4 count down*
*If you barely get 8, go down in weight. If you get 12 easily, go up in weight. The focus should be on the eccentric (down) portion of the lift. Keep the elbows tucked and by your side, controlling the motion for a full 4 sec.
THURSDAY
1. 4×5 Pendlay Row*
3×15 Unbroken Strict Pull-ups**
3a. 3×15 Supine Pull-ups
3b. 3×10 3-way raise
*Be as explosive as possible on the way up to your chest and control down slowly. Reset every rep.
**The vast majority of people will not be able to do this unassisted. We expect you to use enough band tension as well as a spotter if necessary to complete all reps with full range of motion.
WEEK 2
MONDAY
4×6 Chin-up: AHAP, 4 count down
2a. 3×6 DB Row 30% Bench 1RM
2b. 3×15 Banded Face Pulls
3a. 3×10 External Rotations off of the Knee
3b. 3×8-12 Hammer Curls: AHAP
THURSDAY
1a. 4×5 Pendlay Row*
3×15 Unbroken Strict Pull-ups**
3a. 3×15 Supine Pull-ups
3b. 3×10 Shoulder Shocker
WEEK 3
MONDAY
Chin Ups: 10-8-6-4-4 AHAP
2. 3×6 Bent Over Row (4X2 Tempo – 4 Count down, explode up, 2 second hold at the sternum)
3a. 3×6 each YTW on Rings, TRX, or on incline bench with light DBs
3b. 3×8-12 Reverse Curl w/ 4 count down
THURSDAY
1a. 5×3 Pendlay Row*
3×10 Strict Pull-ups/Followed by 10 Kipping Pullups **
3a. 3×15 Ring Rows
3b. 3×10 Facepulls
WEEK 4
MONDAY
Chin Ups: 6-4-3-2-1-6 AHAP
2a. 3×8 Bent Over Row
2b. 3×10 Lat-Pullovers
3a.. 3×6 each YTW on Rings, TRX, or on incline bench with light DBs
3b. 3×8-12 each Alternating DB Curl
THURSDAY
1a. 5×3 Pendlay Row*
3×10 Strict Pull-ups/Followed by 10 Kipping Pullups **
3a. 3×15 Ring Rows
3b. 3×10 Shoulder Shockers
WEEK 5
MONDAY
Chin Ups: 5×3 AHAP
3×5 DB Row Heavy as Shit
3x: Max Effort Chest to Ring/Bar Hold* w/ 1 min rest between sets.
*Perform a single Ring Row or Supine Pullup and hold at the top. Hold there for as long as you possibly can. Hold on until your elbow extends (opens up) past 90 degrees.