What 30 days can and can't changeEmerging evidence
No study has timed a first pull-up from scratch. Our estimate is a few weeks if you can already lower yourself slowly for about 5 seconds or need only a little help, and often 2 to 6 months from little pulling strength, so a first pull-up by day 30 is realistic only if you start close.
The closest trial ran for 8 weeks: in 30 inactive men who could already do 3 or 4 pull-ups, training twice a week roughly doubled or tripled their reps, and their dead-hang time rose by 41 to 55%. In 30 advanced climbers, 5 weeks of pull-up training raised maximal pull-up strength by 2 to 5%. These trials were small and in men, and how far you get by day 30 varies from person to person: a longer hang, a lower row bar, a thinner band, slower negatives or more reps all count.
Sources 10, 5, 6
Why several steps in each sessionEmerging evidence
In the one trial of a pull-up routine, the men trained assisted pull-ups, rows, reverse-grip pull-ups and negatives in each session, and the group that added grip work, such as wrist curls and farmer's walks, gained most. Lowering-only training built lowering strength most, and lifting strength about as well as lifting-only training, across 27 studies mostly done on strength-testing machines, so negatives are a top-up rather than the whole plan.
Bodyweight rows worked the back muscles, biceps and the backs of the shoulders above 61% of their maximum in 26 adults, so rows stay in every level. Eight weeks of lat pulldowns raised pull-up reps in 34 active young men, but pulldown strength went only loosely with pull-ups in 28 women swimmers, so the pulldown is a gym swap at level 1, not a replacement. No trial has compared bands, machines and negatives for a first pull-up.
Sources 5, 11, 12, 13, 14
Strength for your sizeEmerging evidence
A pull-up lifts your whole body, so strength for your size is what counts. In 58 college students, the heaviest single pull-up averaged 1.16 times body weight in the men and 0.73 times in the women, and in 28 elite women swimmers, more body mass went with fewer pull-ups. In a 2003 training study, the college women who managed a pull-up had more strength for their size.
So many women spend longer on levels 1 and 2. Getting stronger is the lever, and the steps are the same for everyone.
Sources 15, 14, 10
Grips, elbows and shouldersEmerging evidence
Chin-ups, with your palms facing you, usually come first: they worked the biceps and chest more than pull-ups, and both grips worked the large back muscles very hard, in 25 adults. In one small study of 11 regular pull-up performers, wide and underhand grips showed shoulder-blade movements linked with impingement, and the authors suggested weight-assisted overhand pull-ups for weaker people; no injuries were measured. If your shoulders pinch, use a shoulder-width or neutral grip and pull in front of your head.
Some elbow discomfort is fine if it stays at about 3 to 4 out of 10, settles within an hour and is no worse the next morning, as our elbow pain guides say. With pain at the front of the elbow, use a neutral grip and leave chin-ups out, and cut hangs and negatives back rather than stopping everything; see our elbow pain from pull-ups guide.
Sources 16, 17
Pull-ups are an ordinary movementEmerging evidence
When pull-ups replaced the flexed-arm hang in the fitness test of female US Marines, upper-limb injuries didn't rise straight away among 49,910 women, and when men's pull-up standards rose in 2017, a falling injury trend levelled off rather than rising sharply. These are injury records, not trials. Build up gradually anyway: sudden jumps in training load are a major injury risk, an International Olympic Committee consensus found.
Sources 18, 19, 8
Check first if this applies to youStrong evidence
Before the day 1 test, answer the PAR-Q+. A yes to any of its 7 questions leads to follow-up questions that may send you to your doctor or a qualified exercise professional first, and it asks people over 45 who aren't used to vigorous to maximal effort to check with a qualified exercise professional before it. American College of Sports Medicine screening looks at how active you are now, any symptoms or known heart, metabolic or kidney disease, and how hard you plan to train.
A shoulder that has dislocated recently or feels unstable when you hang: leave hangs and pull-ups out until you've been cleared, and start with rows. In pregnancy, start anything new gently and avoid activities with a risk of falling: ask your midwife first, and use rows rather than jumping up to a bar. With ME/CFS (myalgic encephalomyelitis or chronic fatigue syndrome), NICE (the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence) advises against programmes with fixed increases, which is what a challenge is.
Sources 1, 20, 21, 22
Warning signsStrong evidence
After a shoulder injury, such as a fall from the bar, go to A&E if you can't move your arm, or your shoulder looks out of place, has changed shape, or is painful, bruised or swollen; don't try to put it back in yourself, and call 999 for an ambulance if you can't get there. Contact NHS 111 or get an urgent GP appointment for sudden or very bad shoulder pain, pins and needles that don't go away, no feeling in your arm, an arm or shoulder that is hot or cold, or severe pain in both shoulders, and see a GP for shoulder pain that's worse or no better after 2 weeks. Go to an urgent treatment centre or A&E for severe arm pain that makes it hard to move your arm.
Dark, red or cola-coloured urine, much less urine than usual, or very painful, weak or swollen muscles in the days after a session can be rhabdomyolysis, a breakdown of muscle that can harm the kidneys: get medical help the same day. It's rare, but three fit women in training needed hospital care for it after 125 push-ups and 85 assisted pull-ups in 12 minutes. Call 999 or go to A&E for sudden, severe pain in any part of your body, and call 999 (911 in the US) for chest pain that doesn't go away, spreads to your arms, neck, jaw, stomach or back, or comes with sweating, feeling sick, light-headedness or breathlessness.
Sources 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30
When exercise stops being good for youStrong evidence
Exercising too much, and worrying a lot about your weight and body shape, are among the signs of an eating disorder the NHS lists. Beat, the eating disorder charity, describes unhealthy exercise as rigid or punishing, often done in secret, done despite injury or illness, or used to make up for eating.
If that sounds familiar, talk to your GP, or call Beat's helpline (3pm to 8pm, Monday to Friday): England 0808 801 0677, Scotland 0808 801 0432, Wales 0808 801 0433 and Northern Ireland 0808 801 0434. Our eating disorders guide has more.
Sources 31, 32, 33
After the 30 daysEmerging evidence
A challenge is a start. Habits take longer than 30 days to form: in the four studies of a review that timed it, the typical time was 59 to 66 days, ranging from 4 to 335. In 389,481 fitness app users, training steadily in the first 28 days was the strongest sign of still training a year later.
So pick your next step before day 30: the first pull-up workout at levels 1 and 2, the more pull-ups workout at levels 3 and 4, or the calisthenics plan. If you want to add daily practice afterwards, follow the rules in our how to do more pull-ups guide.
Sources 34, 35