I think if I had to pick just one bodyweight exercise I could do along with my kettlebell training, it would be pull ups.

This is because vertical pulling – the movement pattern performed when doing a pull up – is so critical to balanced development and total body strength, yet it is very difficult or almost impossible to train with kettlebells alone.

Plus, it’s just SUCH a great way to develop upper body strength and overall fitness, using just your body weight!

All that being said, pull ups are tough for a lot of people to get going with. Here are five tips that should help:

1 – Be patient

Pull ups are extremely physically demanding, which means you won’t see the quick results that you can with other exercises. If you can do two today, it would be almost impossible to be able to do twelve in two weeks. Accept that being able to do more is a slow and steady process.

2 – Get lots of practice with the movement

When we’re tired, we often try to cheat by giving up proper form in order to make things easier on ourselves. Just focus on doing a couple per day at first, and think of it as practice – don’t work on them to the point of exhaustion or muscle failure.

3 – Use the Pull Up Ladder

Try this:

1. Do 1 rep and then rest for 30 seconds.

2. Do 2 reps and then rest for 45 seconds.

3. Do 3 reps and then rest for 60 seconds.

Then repeat this sequence again twice more (3 sets total).

4 – Use Negatives in your training

A Negative Pull Up starts with you at the top (over the bar) and then you lower yourself down. Your muscles are able to handle more weight on the way down than the way up, so this is another way to keep working even after you’re too tired to do any more normal repetitions.

5 – Lose some weight

Pull ups require you to carry all of your body weight, so less weight means being able to do more! It’s that simple.

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To recap, pull ups are an excellent indicator of all around fitness. If you want to do more, follow the tips in this article, and you’ll be on your way to to success!

For the full, detailed program that will help you do more pull ups (plus the full at-home bodyweight strength program to go with it!), click the link below:

-> “Physique Zero” Pull Up Progression Method + Full 12-week Bodyweight Strength plan

– Forest Vance
Master of Science, Human Movement
Over 40 Training Specialist
KettlebellBasics.net