Pullups Workout Program Month 1:

Grease the Groove Technique

For the entire first month, the most important thing you can do is practice
pullup technique as frequently as possible. You can do this using the grease
the groove technique, which is very simple. Several times each and every
day (5-6 days per week, 1-2 days off), perform a sub-maximal set of pullups.
Your goal should be to do as many pullups as possible throughout the
course of each day. However you accomplish those reps is up to you, but
here are some things to keep in mind to maximize your results.

Your goal should be to do more pullups than the day before every single
day you grease the groove. Youre slowly building volume over the course of
the month. One other thing to keep in mind is that increasing
intensity/effort is NOT the key this month. Fatigue is to be avoided, no
matter how tempting it may be. Put your effort into your other training
workouts. Hold back on the effort until month two. Youll be glad you did.

The number of repetitions you do each set is dependent on two things:

1) your perceived level of maximum reps (% of max)

2) the amount of sets youre planning on doing throughout the day.

If you only do a handful of sets throughout the day, then your repetition
amounts should be higher (but never higher than 60% of your max reps per
set). On the other hand, if you do a ton of sets throughout each day (ie 10-
20+), then stay down in the 20-40% of maximum effort range even as low
as 1-3 reps per set is fine. So, the more sets you do throughout the day, the
lower the repetition amount should be each set.

Keeping your technique solid is of paramount importance and will directly

transfer over into better performance once we get into months two and
three. Follow the instructions in my video about how to do pullups with
perfect technique and start doing them in this way from day one. Of course,
on your actual first day perform your first set as a test to find out what
your max is.
Get out a sheet of paper and post it somewhere youll see it regularly (or
keep it in your wallet/purse), and use that to record the actual number of
pullups youve done each day. Then break that record the next day.

Most people will notice a huge increase in their pullup numbers just after
month one (often over double what you started at), which usually
astonishes them because although it required frequent practice, it did NOT
require much effort. You can chalk it up to practicing the technique and
training the nervous system to perform it efficiently. If youve done this
right, youll be primed for compressing your training into actual sessions
and building volume next month.

Pullups Workout Program Month 2:

Building Volume With Pyramid Training
and High-Volume Sessions
Grease the groove is all over now. No more practice sets throughout the
day, no matter how tempting it is (though, you could start greasing the
groove with another movement skill on the side). Be glad about the
progress youve made, but its time to move on before you hit a plateau.
This month your goal is to build volume during actual training sessions, and
were going to do this with two different types of workouts that youre going
to alternate throughout each week.

If you can find a way to integrate these into your current training sessions,
then by all means, do so. If it just wont work, then either do these at the
end of your workouts as finishers, or perform them at a different time
entirely.

Pullup Workout A1: Double-Step Pyramid Training

Instructions: Perform a pyramid of pullups all the way up to your max and
then back down again using multiples of twos to climb each step. In this A1
session, youre going to go up by doubles.

Here is an example of the progression: 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 (max), 8, 6, 4, 2 = 50

total pullups
Go up as high as you can while maintaining proper technique, and rest as
much as necessary between sets. Instead of following a rigid structure for
rest, just rest as much as you feel is necessary to complete the next step.
Generally, I recommend using as little as 15 seconds of rest on lower levels,
and up to 2 minutes on upper levels.

Pullup Workout A2: Single-Step Pyramid Training

Instructions: This is identical to the pyramid workout above, except this time
(A2) youre climbing the pyramid one repetition at a time.

Here is an example of the progression: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 (max), 4, 3, 2, 1 = 25 total

pullups

Heres another example for performing 100 total pullups: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8,

9, 10 (max), 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 = 100 total pullups

Go up as high as you can while maintaining proper technique, and rest as

much as necessary between sets. Instead of following a rigid structure for
rest, just rest as much as you feel is necessary to complete the next step.
Youll probably need a little more rest in between sets when climbing the
pyramid via single steps.

Pullup Workout B1: Low-Rep, High Volume Training

Instructions: Select a number of repetitions based on approximately 20% of

your maximum. So, if you can do 10-12 pullups in a maxed-out set, then
your number is 2 or 3 repetitions. Perform 15-20 sets with as little rest as
possible. Keep doing sets until your technique starts to decline, and stop if
you reach 20 total. Youll need to rest more during the latter sets, of course.
Set a personal record each time you do this session by doing more total
sets than your last session.

Pullup Workout B2: Moderate-Rep, High Volume Training

Instructions: Select a number of repetitions based on approximately 30-40%

% of your maximum. So, if you can do 10-12 pullups in a maxed-out set,
then your number is 3-5 repetitions per set. Perform 8-15 sets with as little
rest as possible, and no more than 1 minute between rounds. Keep doing
sets until your technique starts to decline, and stop if you reach 15 total. Set
a personal record each time you do this session by doing more total sets
than your last session.

Month 2 Training Schedule

Here is the training schedule to follow (its ok if you make some changes to
this, just remember that less is more):

Week 1 A1, B1 (e.g. A1 on Monday, B1 on Thur)

Week 2 A2, B2 (e.g. A2 on Tue, B2 on Sat)

Week 3 A1, B1, A2 (e.g. Mon, Wed, Fri)

Week 4 B1, A2, B2 (e.g. Mon, Wed, Fri)

Note: these sessions can be done on any non-consecutive days, but ideally,
they should be equally spaced apart throughout the week.

Pullups Workout Program Month 3:

Lowering Volume and Building Intensity
to Peak for the Final Test
Youve already laid a foundation of good technique in month one, perfected
that technique and built a base of training volume in month two, and now is
when the work starts to get hard because its time to increase the intensity
of your sessions.

Pullup Workout C1: Descending Pyramid Session

Instructions: This is essentially half of a pyramid, and you are starting at the
top and working your way down. Perform a near-max set of pullups
(approximately 90% of your max reps), then rest for as long as necessary
before performing a set of one less repetition, and continue this until you
reach the final set of 1 pullup. Obviously, its very important that youre
adequately warmed up prior to starting this session (see joint mobility
recommendations below).

Here is an example of the progression: 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 reps = 55

total pullups
Pullup Workout C2: 50-100 Reps in as few Sets as Possible

Instructions: Perform between 50-100 pullups in as few sets as possible.

Select the goal number based on your conditioning level. Its probably best
to try and select repetition amounts for each set that land around 60-80% of
your maximum ability. So, if you can perform 10 pullups, then sets of 6-8
are probably optimal for this session. Rest as necessary.

Heres an example for a goal of 100 repetitions:

10, 10, 10, 10, 9, 9, 8, 8, 7, 7, 6, 6.

Pullup Workout C3: Maximum Set Practice Sessions

Instructions: Repeat the following 3-5 times.

1 Set of of maximum pullups with 3-5 minutes of rest between sets

These are an all-out effort, and you should be trying to hit 100% exertion
every time. Your repetition numbers will likely decrease every subsequent
set. This is a sign that youre doing it right. When you repeat this workout
later in the month, try to score more total reps on your last set to both
gauge and ensure progression.

Month 3 Training Schedule

Here is the training schedule to follow (its ok if you make some changes to
this, just remember that less is more):

Week 1 Rest. No pullup training at all. This is a time for your body to
recover from the high volume training that youve done over the last two
months and prime you for a few weeks of higher-intensity training. Other
fitness training is ok, but depending on your program, it might be a good
idea to take a 5-7 day break anyways (highly recommended if you havent
taken a week off in the last 12 weeks).

Week 2 C1, C2 (e.g. C1 on Mon, C2 on Thur)

Week 3 C3, C1, (e.g. C3 on Mon, C1 on Thur)

Week 4 C2, C3, C1 (e.g. Mon, Wed, Fri)

Week 5 Pick a day for your pullup test. Plan ahead, and give it a shot.
Notes for maximizing your pullup test performance:

1) Get plenty of sleep at least a couple of nights before your test day.

2) Make sure you are fully hydrated well in advance. Start front-loading your
water at least 48 hours in advance. The same should go for front-loading
optimal nutrition as well.

3) Make sure youve taken at least 2 days off from ALL formal exercise, and
3-4 days would be better.

4) Perform a basic joint mobility session to prime your joints, muscles, and
nervous system, increase your core temperature, and specifically prep the
ranges of motion for the pullup exercise (prioritize the following: scapular
shoulder circles, humeral shoulder circles and figure eights, elbow basic
ranges and circles, wrist basic ranges and circles, hand and finger mobility
if you dont know what these are, see here)

5) Perform a very low intensity warmup set just a few reps to groove the
technique without fatiguing you at all.

6) When you know youre ready, step up to the bar, and know that youve
spent the last 3 months preparing for this test and that you will ace it with
flying colors.

The Bottom Line

If you follow the above program, then I guarantee that you will amaze
yourself, as I did, with the results you can achieve in only three months
time. Theres nothing quite like knowing that youve mastered a very
challenging exercise, and on top of that, youll be turning heads in disbelief
as you continue to rep out on the pullup bar. One last thing: the fitness
benefits you experience will also be exceptional. You probably dont care
about that, though.