Bodyweight movements don’t always get the love they deserve when it comes to building a bigger, stronger body. But, even the most ardent iron addicts respect and include the pull-up in their training programmes, especially if they’re looking to grow a wider back, thicker forearms and bigger biceps.
Whether you’ve just nailed your first few reps or you’re a calisthenics king capable of double-figure sets, this protocol is designed to maximise the muscle-building potential of the pull-up. Using a ‘mechanical dropset’, this workout will push you to the absolute limits of your capabilities, then give you just the help you need to crank out a few more reps, before finishing with a comparatively ‘easy’ finisher that will burnout every last muscle-fibre that may still be dodging the draft in the war on ‘small’.
The Format
You’ll begin with the humble, standard pull-up, cranking out as many reps as you can with impeccable form; controlling your body through space, focussing the tension on the muscles you want to grow and keeping your tempo in check. Once you can no longer perform a single textbook rep, you’re going to step into your pre-positioned resistance band— which will add some much needed assistance— and grind out as many more reps as you can muster, with the same good form as before. Finally, once you can no longer defy gravity, you’ll take a seat below your band and rep out as many controlled tempo band pull downs as you can, completely frying your back, biceps and grip.
1.Pull-ups x Max Reps
Grasp a pull-up bar with an overhand grip and your hands shoulder width apart. Lift your feet from the floor, hanging freely with straight arms. (A) Pull yourself up by flexing the elbows whilst pinching your shoulder blades together. When your chin passes the bar, (B) pause before lowering to the starting position. Keep repping out until you can no longer get your chin above the bar without using any momentum.
2. Assisted Pull-ups x Max Reps
Once you can no longer perform a pull-up with strict form, wrap a band around the bar, looping the other end around your feet (A). The band will help you to raise your chest to the bar (B). Lower under control. Repeat, aiming to pull yourself as high above the bar as possible. Continue until, again, you can no longer touch your chest to the bar, then dismount.
3. Resistance Band Pull Down x Max Reps
Once you’ve exhausted your reservoir of pull-ups, take a seat on the ground beneath your band. Grip it with both hands and manoeuvre backwards until there's some tension on the band, even when your arms are fully stretched (A). Keeping your shoulders down and back, draw your elbows down towards the ground, squeezing your shoulder blades hard at the bottom (B). Slowly return to full stretch and repeat.
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With almost 18 years in the health and fitness space as a personal trainer, nutritionist, breath coach and writer, Andrew has spent nearly half of his life exploring how to help people improve their bodies and minds.
As our fitness editor he prides himself on keeping Men’s Health at the forefront of reliable, relatable and credible fitness information, whether that’s through writing and testing thousands of workouts each year, taking deep dives into the science behind muscle building and fat loss or exploring the psychology of performance and recovery.
Whilst constantly updating his knowledge base with seminars and courses, Andrew is a lover of the practical as much as the theory and regularly puts his training to the test tackling everything from Crossfit and strongman competitions, to ultra marathons, to multiple 24 hour workout stints and (extremely unofficial) world record attempts.
You can find Andrew on Instagram at @theandrew.tracey, or simply hold up a sign for ‘free pizza’ and wait for him to appear.