So you say that spending too much time staring at the pullup bar during workouts is driving you crazy?

Well…
Pull ups deserve respect. They are a compound movement that recruit a tremendous amount of upper body musculature. Pull ups develop latissimus dorsi, brachialis, brachioradialis, biceps brachii, triceps brachii [stabilizer], teres minor, teres major, deltoids, infraspinatus, rhomboids, levator scapulae, trapezius, and pectoralis minor.

Over the next 6 weeks we are going to increase our pull up power as a group.

Here’s our plan for the next 6 weeks.

Pull up challenge

Now lets clarify… We are talking about a strict pull up with an overhand (pronated) grip. The movement starts hanging from the bar with arms at full extension and finishes with chin above the bar.

First we are going to test the number of unbroken strict pull ups you can perform then input that data into the following program. Each column represents the number of sets and reps to perform each week based on your test score. After 3 weeks we test again and continue for 3 additional weeks and finally a re-test.

Test: Unbroken strict pull ups
Test: 30 pull ups for time (kipping okay)

Week 1

	3-5 pull ups	6-9 pull ups	10+ pull ups
Day 1	5 x 2	5 x 4	5 x 6
Day 2	3 x 3, 2 x 2	3 x 5, 2 x 4	3 x 6, 2 x 5
Day 3	4 x 2, 1 x max	4 x 3, 1 x max	4 x 5, 1 x max

Week 2

	3-5 pull ups	6-9 pull ups	10+ pull ups
Day 1	5 x 3	5 x 5	5 x 8
Day 2	3 x 4, 2 x 3	3 x 6, 2 x 5	3 x 9, 2 x 8
Day 3	4 x 3, 1 x max	4 x 4, 1 x max	4 x 6, 1 x max

Week 3

	3-5 pull ups	6-9 pull ups	10+ pull ups
Day 1	5 x 3	5 x 5	5 x 8
Day 2	3 x 4, 2 x 3	3 x 6, 2 x 5	3 x 9, 2 x 8
Day 3	4 x 3, 1 x max	4 x 4, 1 x max	4 x 6, 1 x max

Re-Test: Unbroken strict pull ups

Week 4

	9-11 pull ups	12-14 pull ups	15+ pull ups
Day 1	5 x 5	5 x 8	5 x 10
Day 2	3 x 6, 2 x 5	3 x 9, 2 x 6	3 x 12, 2 x 8
Day 3	4 x 5, 1 x max	4 x 6, 1 x max	4 x 8, 1 x max

Week 5

	9-11 pull ups	12-14 pull ups	15+ pull ups
Day 1	5 x 6	5 x 9	5 x 11
Day 2	3 x 7, 2 x 6	3 x 10, 2 x 8	3 x 12, 2 x 8
Day 3	4 x 6, 1 x max	4 x 8, 1 x max	4 x 12, 1 x max

Week 6

	9-11 pull ups	12-14 pull ups	15+ pull ups
Day 1	5 x 6	5 x 9	5 x 11
Day 2	3 x 7, 2 x 6	3 x 10, 2 x 8	3 x 12, 2 x 8
Day 3	4 x 6, 1 x max	4 x 8, 1 x max	4 x 12, 1 x max