Here’s the simple program I’ve used to train myself to do 20 pull-ups at 220 lb bodyweight.
What’s beautiful about this program is that it builds momentum (and thus your belief that you can do it) in a subtle way.
Here’s how the first week looks if you can currently do five pull-ups:
- Day 1: 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 reps
- Day 2: 5, 4, 3, 2, 2
- Day 3: 5, 4, 3, 3, 2
- Day 4: 5, 4, 4, 3, 2
- Day 5: 5, 5, 4, 3, 2
- Day 6: Rest
You start by doing as many reps as you can, rest for 2–3 minutes (or however long you need), and then do the next set, which is one rep less.
When you’ve completed day 5, you move on to the next level:
- Day 7: 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 reps
- Day 8: 6, 5, 4, 3, 3
- Day 9: 6, 5, 4, 4, 3
- Day 10: 6, 5, 5, 4, 3
- Day 11: 6, 6, 5, 4, 3
- Day 12: Rest
And so on. Add one rep to the top set after each round and one rep “from behind” each workout.
This works until you’ve completed a series of about 10, 10, 9, 8, 7 reps.
At that point, only dropping one rep between each set becomes too taxing. Doing 14 reps when you’ve just done a max set of 15 is much harder than doing 4 reps after you’ve just done a max set of 5 reps.
Instead, start doing jumps of 2 reps:
- Day 1: 12, 10, 8, 6, 4
- Day 2: 12, 10, 8, 6, 6
- Day 3: 12, 10, 8, 8, 6
- Day 4: 12, 10, 10, 8, 6
- Day 5: 12, 12, 10, 8, 6
- Day 6: Rest
In fact, if you can already do 10+ pull-ups, I suggest you begin with your first set slightly below your max. For example, if you can do 14 pull-ups, maybe start the program at 12 reps.
My final week the last time I did this program was:
- Day 1: 17, 14, 11, 8, 5
- Day 2: 17, 14, 11, 8, 8
- Day 3: 17, 14, 11, 11, 8
- Day 4: 17, 14, 14, 11, 8
- Day 5: 17, 17, 14, 11, 8
My max was around 20 pull-ups at the time, so the first set was a few reps below that. Also, I had switched to dropping 3 reps per set, which I recommend you do from reaching around 15 reps in the first set.
As you feel like you’re approaching your maximum recovery rate, you can also add extra rest days between workouts.
I do, however, recommend you start at a level where the workouts are light enough for you to recover from day to day, so that you can train with a higher frequency.
And, of course, track your pull-ups in our free workout tracker!
Download StrengthLog for free with the links below:
