With the new year upon us, you may have already set your goals. Maybe one of your goals is to get your first unassisted strict pull-up in the new year. We are going to help you get there! Don’t hesitate to ask a coach for help with the progressions posted in the video. That’s what they are here for.

This video is focusing on grip strength and pulling mechanics. With your hands, you will want to grip the bar with the pinky knuckle over the bar, wrapping your hand all the way around and getting thumb on top of index and middle finger (pretty much hook gripping the bar). What happens in this position is that you are exaggerating the external rotation at shoulder level.

Carl talks about progressing the shoulder into good pulling mechanics. He brings everything into the midline, pulling the hands in together as close as you can, and starting with an under-grip (finger tips facing you). This forces your shoulders into the good position we want to see for your strict pull-ups. Keep in mind, you don’t want your elbows to flare out when you pull-up, squeeze those elbows together!

Check out the video for how to initiate strength pulling on a bar, which will eventually get you to your regular, unassisted, strict pull-up. Stay tuned for the next pull-up progression in the series.