Weighted Pull-Up

Once you can do 12+ clean pull-ups, adding weight moves the exercise into the optimal hypertrophy/strength range.

• Compound
• Bodyweight
• Advanced

How to do it

• Hang the weight from a dipping belt
• Pull up in full control until your chin clears the bar
• Lower over 2–3 s resisting, full extension at the bottom

Sets, reps and tempo

Ranges: 5–10 reps · 1–3 RIR

Tempo: Lift for 1 s, lower for 2–3 s in control

Common mistakes

• Swinging to overcome the extra weight
• A partial range because of the added weight
• Not extending fully at the bottom

Muscles worked

Primary

• Lats
• Back

Secondary

• Biceps

Alternatives

• Pull-ups
• Lat Pulldown
• Chin-Up