Developing Dead-Hang Pull-Up Strength

If you've ever watched a CrossFit competition, you may wonder to yourself how it is possible for one person to perform so many pull-ups. It can seem daunting to the neophyte to even complete one, especially from the straight-armed dead-hang position. But there are ways to develop your strength to get you closer to that elusive pull-up routine you desire. Work up to a dead-hang pull-up using attainable fitness goals.

  1. Develop Arm Strength

    • The biceps are a significant muscle group for pulling you up to the bar, and your triceps are integral to slowly lowering you back down. Increasing your strength with these two muscle groups is important for improving pull-up strength. Almost all biceps exercises are some form of a curl. Let your arms hang straight, holding dumbbells in your hands with your palms facing out, and bend your arm at the elbow, curling the weight up to your shoulder. Triangle push-ups have been found by the American Council on Exercise to be the most effective exercise for developing the triceps. These are like regular push-ups except your hands should be together -- with your pointer-fingers and thumbs touching -- forming a triangle shape on the ground.

    Develop Your Back

    • If you have strong arms, you are closer to pull-up mastery, but your back can be just as important to develop as your limbs. Dumbbell rows target your upper-back muscles, which are key to a successful pull-up. Bend over a bench or chair and let a dumbbell-holding hand dangle down. Squeeze your shoulders together as you lift your elbow up. Start with a weight that is challenging and add on more whenever that weight gets too easy. Generally speaking, once you are able to do three sets of eight repetitions using 25-pound dumbbells, you are ready to start practicing shallow pull-ups.

    Start Horizontal

    • Moving from weightlifting to the pull-up bar is a huge leap. Work up to it by doing exercises that approximate the movement with less weight. For instance, you can use a pull down machine at the gym to practice the motion of a pull-up without getting off your rear. Or you can find a low bar that comes up to approximately your waist -- or use a Smith machine at a gym -- to do a horizontal pull-up. Wrap your hands over the bar and lay out underneath it in a near-horizontal plank, with the bar above your chin. Pull up and lower yourself from this bar to practice an easy pull-up.

    Adjusted Pull-Ups

    • The final way to develop your pull-up mojo is to do modified versions of the pull-up. For instance, you could do a negative pull-up, which is when you use a chair or bench to position yourself at the top of a pull-up and then use your arm strength to slowly lower yourself. Or try starting with assisted pull-ups. Go through the motion, but keep your feet on a chair or bench to relieve some of your weight. Pretty soon you can kick that chair over and do a real pull-up all on your own.