Recon Ron
The programme: You do pull-ups in decreasing sets every single day for six days, then take a day off. Next week, you add a rep or two to every set. On this schedule, you probably ought to hit 20 pullups in a month.
The upside: It’s a tonne of volume, so it’s likely to work. No single set is that challenging.
The downside: You have to do pullups every day. Even if you don’t find that boring, there’s a decent chance of getting elbow tendinitis.
Do it if: You’re planning on joining some branch of the military that’s going to require lots of pullups. Otherwise, it’s tough to see how the insane volume’s a good idea.
The Waterbury Plan
The plan: This comes from trainer Chad Waterbury, and it couldn’t be simpler. You do a single set to failure in the morning, a single set to failure in the afternoon, take a day off, and then repeat. To reiterate, that’s two sets of all-out pullups once every two days. Blam.
The upside: It doesn’t get much more time-efficient. And yes, it really does work. I used this to get to – at the time – my highest ever number of pullups at 18, and it only took a week.
The downside: You need a pullup bar you can access twice a day. Both sets are unpleasant. And you don’t get much volume in, so you won’t be prepared for higher numbers of pullups over a workout, or build a massive back.
Do it if: You want to get respectable numbers in a hurry – maybe for a bet or something.
CrossFit
The plan: Okay, this isn’t really a plan. It’s a way of working out, as seen on crossfit.com, that includes hundreds of pullups, sometimes in a single workout. I’m including it here because Crossfitters are obsessed with pullups – even if they sometimes stretch the definition.
The upside: You get a lot of reps in. From experience, I think it’s true that ‘kipping’ pullups – the ones where you wave your legs around – can somehow make you better at the strict version.
The downside: Many smarter people than me have debated the merits of the kipping pullup, so I’m not even going to get into the injury risks here. What I will say is: if you’re expecting a non-Crossfitter to be impressed by 30 ‘butterfly’ pullups, you are going to be badly disappointed.
Do it if: You’re looking for a more holistic workout plan and aren’t necessarily going strict.
Train Heroic
The plan: Nice and specific: you do pullups three times a week, for four weeks, doing a ‘heavy’ weighted day, a ‘moderate’ weighted day, and a ‘max reps at bodyweight’ day. The sets and reps change, but the format’s pretty easy to remember and follow.
The upside: It’s a nice, manageable plan that you can easily tag onto whatever you’re already doing in the gym – or at home, if you have a belt. It works really well, and it makes your weighted pullups better at the same time.
The downside: You need a belt – dumbbells between the legs won’t cut it. If you can’t already do about 12 pullups, it’s probably not your best bet.
Do it if: You’ve already got decent numbers but you’ve hit a plateau. This is the plan that got me to 21 strict pullups.
Just doing pullups all the time
The plan: There is no plan. Just do pull-ups whenever the opportunity presents itself – while the kettle’s boiling, while you’re cooking dinner, before you shower, before work, after work, during work…whenever. Pavel Tsatsouline calls this ‘greasing the groove’,
The upside: This is a fantastic plan if ‘100 pull-up Saturday’ soons like a fun challenge rather than a hellish chore. It’s highly adaptable, easy to follow, and fun.
The downside: This isn’t for you if you need structure or motivation before you’ll do any exercise.
Do it if: You own a pullup bar, you love doing pullups, and you aren’t training for anything specific. It’ll keep you ticking over.
In conclusion: Just pick one and do it. If it doesn’t work after you’ve given it an honest chance, do something else. The best pull-up plan, as with the best nutritional strategy or working practices, is the one that works for you. It might even change over time. There’s no wrong way to approach pullups – except for not doing them at all.
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