Pull-Ups
Description: Pull-ups or Assisted Pull-ups
Frequency: 3 non-consecutive days per week (Mon-Wed-Fri or Tues-Thurs-Sat)
Day 1: Maximum Sets
Do as many pull-ups as you are capable of doing. If you are unable to meet the minimum requirements (5 pull-ups for males; 1 pull-up for females), follow the instructions as indicated on the video for Band-Assisted Pull-ups.
Set 1: As Many As Possible (AMAP). Do not be concerned with how many repetitions you do - as long as you can complete one good repetition. REST 90 SECONDS
Set 2: AMAP – Add 10 seconds of rest to each additional set
Set 3: AMAP
Progression Sets: 3 sets for Weeks 1-4; 4 sets for Weeks 5-8; 5 sets for Weeks 9 & 10
Remember to -- add 10 seconds of rest to each additional set completed.
As you get stronger the number of repetitions that you can complete should increase.
Day 2: Pyramid Sets
Set 1: Perform one pull-up. Rest 10 seconds
Set 2: Perform two pull-ups. Rest 20 seconds
Set 3: Perform three pull-ups. Rest 40 seconds
Set 4: Perform two pull-ups. Rest 20 seconds
Set 5: Perform one pull-up.
Progression Sets: When you are able to complete the above sequence add 1 pull-up to each set – for a total of 5 sets. For example, the next progression would be:
Set 1: Perform two pull-ups. Rest 20 seconds
Set 2: Perform three pull-ups. Rest 40 seconds
Set 3: Perform four pull-ups. Rest *55 seconds
Set 4: Perform three pull-ups. Rest 40 seconds
Set 5: Perform two pull-ups.
*Add 15 seconds of recovery for each additional repetition
The next progression would be:
Set 1: Perform three pull-ups. Rest 40 seconds
Set 2: Perform four pull-ups. Rest 55 seconds
Set 3: Perform five pull-ups. Rest *70 seconds
Set 4: Perform four pull-ups. Rest 55 seconds
Set 5
erform three pull-ups.
Continue to add one repetition, and 15 seconds of recovery for each new progression. Each progression has a total of 5 sets.
Day 3: Complete Sets
Perform working-sets (same number of repetitions) with a 60-90 second rest between sets. Working sets are indicated below. For example, if the maximum number of pull-ups you can perform is 10 – your working-set is 5 repetitions.
Maximum Reps Working-Set Reps
19-20 - 10
17-18 - 9
15-16 - 8
13-14 - 7
11-12 - 6
9-10 - 5
7-8 - 4
5-6 - 3
3-4 - 2
1-2 - 1
Progression Sets: Perform as many sets as you can, maintaining your working-set repetition. Do as many sets as you can for the number of repetitions determined as your working-set. For example, say you can do two sets of 5 repetitions, and on your third set you only complete 3 repetitions. Continue to do only three sets, until you get to a point when you get ALL three sets of 5 repetitions. Once you are able to get all three sets progress to four sets.
Periodically, you will need to test yourself to determine if your maximum repetitions have increased. If so, you will need to determine a new working set.