If you’re a beginner or moderate level exerciser and want to improve the number of pull ups you can do at home, the gym or without a bar, then you will need to do exercises that can help and assist you in doing a pull up.
Exercises that will help you do the pull ups the most are going to be the ones that target your lats, back, biceps, and abs. You’ll want to focus on exercises like assisted pull ups, deadlifts, lat pull downs, and bicep curls. Mixing in holds, varying your grip, weight, number of reps, and workout technique are going to be crucial in getting your number increased from 1 to 20 or 30 pull ups in a row.
In doing these exercises, it is also necessary to work the opposite muscle groups in the process. You’ll need to target the chest, triceps, shoulders, and legs to keep your body balanced and overall strong.
Make sure you mix up the number of reps and weights, alternate overhand and underhand grips, and do your exercises to fatigue.
Incorporate these suggestions with the following exercises to help assist you with pull ups.
Exercises that Help with Pull Ups
1. Lat Pull down
The first exercise that is going to help you with your pull ups is the lat pull down. This exercise mimics the pull up well and you can build up the strength in your lats and biceps slowly to get you used to the pull up motion. You can vary the grip from over hand to underhand, wide and narrow. Mix up your reps and sets with the lat pull down. One day you will do a warmup and work your way up to maxing out at 4-6 reps. The next workout you may want to pick a moderate weight that gets you fatigued at the 20-30 pull up rep range.
2. YTWLI
The next exercise is a combination of 5 exercises. You will want to do these laying stomach down on a stability ball or back extension machine. The letters are associated with the movements of your arms. These particular exercises will stabilize and strengthen your upper back/scapula and rhomboid region of the back. Do these 3 times a week. They will also help increase your bench press and many other exercises.
3. Assisted Pull up
The 3rd exercise you can do to help yourself do a pull up is an assisted pull up. You can grab a band, attach it to the pull up bar and use it to stand on as you do your pull ups. Another great way to do these is with a pull up machine with a knee or foot stand. Many gyms have these, and you can set the weight to whatever it needs to be to help you do your pull ups correctly.
Another way to do an assisted pull up is by jumping into the pull up with a small hop. The hop will give you the momentum for you to do the pull up, then let yourself down slowly. Rinse and repeat.
4. Deadlift
One of the most important exercises for any weightlifter is the deadlift. You will not only strengthen your legs, but most of the posterior chain including the muscles of the back. Back exercises are going to stabilize your body as you perform the pull up. Mix in a sumo deadlift and alternate grip deadlift to optimally build different muscle groups to assist and help you complete more pull ups.
5. Rows (Dumbbell or Cable)
A great exercise to help a beginner with pull ups is the row. You can do seated or standing row with cables or dumbbells. Vary the grip and the angle to hit all the areas of your upper back. Rows will also help to develop your lats, rear delts and rhomboids. Make sure you do these in a strong and stable body position to prevent injury.
6. Plank w/ Variations
A strong core is necessary to accomplish almost any exercise. Mix in some planks to your workout and you won’t be lacking in anterior strength when doing the pull up. Try plank variations like mountain climbers, in and out abs, and jackknifes to really give your abs and obliques the best workout possible.
7. Hammer Curls
Last, you need to have strong biceps and forearms to achieve consistent pull ups. Mix in some hammer curls, regular curls, and overhand curls to make sure you hit all the muscles of the biceps and forearm. The biceps, triceps and forearms are linked together so try to incorporate exercises that utilize all of these muscle groups.
This pull up set up perfect to get started!!
Summary: Exercises that Help with Pull Ups
A pull up is a challenging exercise and many people need help going from no pull ups at all to 20 or 30 pull ups in a row. Use the exercises I’ve described above and you should have no problem gaining the strength and stability you need to do a good set of pull ups.
If you liked this article, check out: Exercises to Pair with Pull Ups (Supersets)
