Slowly lower back to the starting position. The National Academy of Sports Medicine suggests using a resistance band or an ...

Back strength is crucial to mastering pull-ups, so you’ll want to strengthen several target muscles: your latissimus dorsi, which runs from your rib cage to hips, and your middle and lower trapezius, ...

Assisted pull-ups with a machine like the Gravitron (above) that takes off as much weight as you like. The more weight you put on the stack, the easier these get (the opposite of how most machines ...

I became well acquainted with the assisted pull-up machine, which uses a counterweight to help you do a pull-up. The heavier the weight, the easier the pull-up. I also loved ...

The assisted pull-up machine is there to help, applying counterweight to reduce the amount of body weight you have to lift on your own, so you can focus on perfecting your form and building strength.

2. Build Your Muscular Endurance. Once you can hold yourself at the top of a pull-up—chin over bar—for at least 10 seconds, it’s time to focus on lowering yourself slowly and with control.

”Assisted pull-up machines aren’t bad if you select the right resistance,” says Frank, who advises consulting with gym staff on the resistance to use. As for elastic bands, ...

A participant performs a pull-up while racing through the Army Reserve Fitness Challenge during day one of the 2015 Tough Mudder at Palm Bay, Florida, Nov. 8, 2015.

Many pull-up plans (and many pull-up bars!) are built for men. On average, women have a lower upper-body-strength starting point and smaller hands compared to men, both of which considerably ...