Pull-ups are the ultimate expression of one’s strength-to-weight ratio. Contrary to popular belief, men and women can both do pull-ups, but men have an advantage because their muscle mass is generally greater. That shouldn’t stop anyone from doing pull-ups, though.

Defining the Pull-Up: 

Hang from a horizontal bar with palms facing outwards. With palms spread about shoulder width apart, lift your chin above the bar. Most of the strength should come from your back rather than your arms. Avoid kipping your legs or swinging your body. Come back down in a controlled movement, straightening the arms at the bottom. Don’t touch the ground at any point during the pull-ups.

When doing a pull-up test, you can pause between pull-ups, but you cannot come off the bar.

This plan is for people who can already do one pull-up. 

Weeks 1 – 5

Mondays: Pull-up test, Power 20 workout, visualize your next max pull up goal.

Tuesdays: Power 20 workout, visualize your next max pull-up goal.

Wednesdays: Power 20 workout, visualize your next max pull-up goal.

Thursdays: Power 20 workout, visualize your next max pull-up goal.

Fridays: Weightlifting day, visualize your next max pull-up goal. Go to bed early.

Saturdays & Sundays: Rest

Week 6

Monday: Do a max pull up test, visualize your next max pull-up goal.

Tuesday – Thursday: Visualize your next max pull-up goal. Thursday night, go to sleep before 11 pm, aim to sleep 10 hours.

Friday: Final pull-up test.

How to visualize:

Spend about 1 minute every day visualizing your next goal. If you’re currently at 3 pull-ups and your next goal is 4, then see yourself in vivid detail successfully achieving 4 pull-ups. Imagine the pain, fatigue, and shortness of breath that comes with it, and the awesome feeling that comes from succeeding.

What to eat: 

Keep a whole-food, plant-based diet to improve your waist-to-hip ratio and shed excess weight. This means cutting back on alcohol, eliminating processed foods, and avoiding “low fat” foods. You should enjoy fruits, vegetables, beans, legumes and healthy starches like sweet potatoes, and water. You want to be lean and strong to optimize pull-ups.

Rest:

Rest days are critical to muscle growth. Don’t do any exercise at all on rest days. Get to bed early after the weight lifting days because the growth hormone that helps repair and build muscle is most active earlier in the sleep cycle, and going to sleep well before midnight gives your body more time to enjoy these early stages.  Try to sleep 10 hours before your final test.

Weightlifting day: 

You’ll need access to a gym with free weights to do this right.

• Squat with Weights: 3 sets of 5 reps of the heaviest weight you can do.
• Bench Press: 3 sets of 5 reps of the heaviest weight you can do.
• Dead Lifts: 3 sets of 5 reps of the heaviest weight you can do.
• Wrist Roll: 3 sets of 5 reps of the heaviest weight you can do.

Keep yourself and your loved ones healthy with Power 20’s Full Body Workout. These 20-minute workouts improve strength, balance, and metabolism. Get a new, 20-minute daily workout every day.