Here’s How Many Pull Ups You Should Be Able to Do (And How to Do More)

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Master pull ups whether you’re a total beginner or shredded athlete
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Pull ups are a classic bodyweight exercise that challenge your upper body strength, and they’re as rewarding as they are challenging. While novices may only be able to do a handful at first, the average man should be able to do 6 and the average woman can do up to 3. Experienced athletes can go far beyond this, though—up to 39 for men or 22 for women! In this article, we’ll break down how many pull ups to aim for based on your gender, age, and fitness level, plus show you the best exercises and tips for doing more pull ups with expert advice from ACE-certified personal trainer Monica Morris.

How many pull ups are considered strong?

Doing 12–15 pull ups for men or 6–7 for women is intermediate, while 26–39 for men or 14–22 for women is strong or elite. Factors like age, weight, gender, and fitness level impact the max number of pull ups you can do. The average man should be able to do at least 6 and the average woman should be able to do up to 3.

Section 1 of 3:

Pull Up Benchmarks for Men, Women & Children

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  1. Exact data is hard to find for adults because the true number depends on factors like your age, weight, and prior fitness level. However, an average man weighing 120 to 220 pounds (54 to 100 kg) between the ages of 20 and 45 should be able to do about 6 pull ups. [1]
    • Men who are beginners to pull ups may only be able to do 1–3.
    • To be considered intermediate , men should be able to do between 12 and 15 pull ups, depending on their weight (lighter men can typically do more pull ups than heavier men).
    • To be considered strong or elite, lighter men should be able to do 26–39 pull ups while heavier men closer to 220 pounds (100 kg) should do 20–28.
    • As men age past 45, the number of pull ups they’ll be able to do will gradually decrease. An intermediate or average 60-year-old man may only be able to do up to 4 pull ups. [2]
  2. Like with men, pull up data is difficult to find for adult women and varies based on your age, weight, and fitness level. However, an average woman weighing 90 to 180 pounds (41 to 82 kg) between the ages of 20 and 45 should be able to do up to 3 pull ups. [3]
    • Women who are beginners may only be able to do 0–1 pull ups.
    • To be considered intermediate , women should be able to do up to 6 or 7 pull ups, depending on their weight. [4]
    • To be considered strong or elite, lighter women should be able to do 14–22 pull ups, while heavier women closer to 180 pounds or 82 kg should be able to do 12–19.
    • As women age past 45, the number of pull ups they can do decreases more rapidly than for men. By age 60, most average or intermediate women can do 0–1 pull ups.
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  3. Both boys and girls up to 12 years old should be able to do 1 or 2 pull ups to be in the 50th percentile according to the Presidential Physical Fitness Challenge. To be considered strong (in the 85th percentile), boys should be able to do 4–7 (the older they are, the more they can do) and girls should be able to do 2–3. [5]
    • Boys 13–17 should be able to do 3–8 pull ups to be in the 50th percentile, or up to 13 to be in the 85th percentile.
    • Girls 13–17 should be able to do 1 pull up to be in the 50th percentile, or 2 to be in the 85th percentile
    • As girls begin puberty, the number of pull ups they can do drops because their strength-to-weight ratio decreases. Boys will continue to increase the number they can do as they get older. [6]
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Section 2 of 3:

How to Do More Pull Ups

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  1. Correct form protects you from injury and ensures you’re properly working out all of the muscles that pull ups engage, which will improve your strength and the number of pull ups you can do. To do a pull up properly: [7]
    • Hang from the bar with your palms facing away from you, slightly wider than your shoulders.
    • Pull your shoulder blades down and back to engage your back muscles.
    • Pull your elbows down to initiate the movement and lift your body upward.
    • Lift yourself until your chin is just over the bar (or as high as you can go). Try not to arch your back very much or start kicking to boost yourself higher.
    • Slowly lower yourself down to complete the rep.
  2. Do assisted pull ups with resistance bands to work your way up. Morris recommends using resistance bands to develop your pull up muscles if you’re unable to do an unassisted one yet. “The heavier the resistance band, the easier [the pull up] is. Get four bands, like an 80-pound, 60-pound, 40-pound, and a 20-pound band. Start at the 80…then build up to doing a 60 and so on to 20 to reduce the resistance that’s helping you.”
    • After you’ve mastered the 20, Morris says to “try a single leg in that 20. Then, try and do it without any resistance” once you're ready.
    • You can use pull up bands with or without shoes on. Morris says, “There is an amount of adhesion that comes with wearing a rubber sole, but our feet are meant to do quite a bit. So, you could put it just at the middle of the foot and you don't need to be wearing a shoe (but you may feel the band more).”
  3. A regular seated lat pulldown can be helpful for pull ups too, but doesn’t work your core like a kneeling one does. Morris explains, “A seated lat pulldown doesn’t mimic a pull up. Do a kneeling lat pulldown because your core is what’s getting flexed in a pull up and people forget that piece. If you’re seated, it's easier to not use the majority of the core. So, a kneeling lat pulldown is better.”
  4. Morris recommends “a pseudo-pull up where you're hanging from the bar and just rotating your shoulders up and down. You're hanging with your own body weight and you're just doing an external and internal rotation of the scapulae. You'll lift maybe two inches (5 cm). And those are the best to build up for pull ups.”
    • Morris adds, “That’s one of my favorites. It actually assists in doing pull ups more than most other exercises.”
  5. If you’re still working your way up to a full pull up, dead hangs are a great exercise to help you develop your form. To doa dead hang: [8]
    • Place a box or step under the bar, if needed.
    • Grab the bar with an overhand grip slightly wider than your shoulders.
    • Step off the box so you’re hanging and roll your shoulders down and back to engage your lats.
    • Engage your core to keep yourself from swaying.
    • Hang for as long as you can before letting go.
  6. Instead of itching up to the bar, jump up explosively (from the ground or a box) and grip the bar as if you’re at the top of a pull up. Aim to have the bar about chest height. Slowly lower yourself down, trying to resist gravity as long as you can. Once your feet are on the ground, jump again. [9]
    • By slowly lowering yourself, you’re keeping your muscles engaged at their most stressed for longer.
  7. In weight lifting, regression just means a modification to make a certain move easier and refresh your form or fundamentals. [10] For example, you might lower the number of reps you do temporarily so you don’t get tired and use bad form, or replace your second set of pull ups with kneeling lat pulldowns or another exercise that works similar muscle groups if you can only do 1 set. Some other exercises you can sub in for pull ups include: [11]
  8. If you’re struggling to add another rep or 2, move your hands another 1 or 2 inches (2.5 to 5 cm) wider apart. This decreases the distance you have to pull yourself and the range of motion of your arms ever so slightly, making a pull up easier. Stay fairly close to shoulder width, though—gripping too wide means your lats will be less engaged, and you’re more likely to injure your shoulders.
  9. The more you practice pull ups, the easier they’ll become. Try to hit pull ups at least once a week for general fitness, or 2–3 times a week if it’s a skill you especially want to hone in on. The number of sets and reps you do depends on your skill level:
    • For beginners, try to do 2–3 sets of 5–8 reps.
    • For intermediate or advanced folks, aim for 3–4 sets of 8–12 reps. [12]
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Section 3 of 3:

Pull Up FAQs

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  1. Your lats do most of the work in a pull up because the shoulder-width (or larger) grip means your biceps can’t help as much (like they would in a chin up, for example). Other muscles that pull ups use include your rhomboids (upper back), traps, shoulders, posterior deltoids, and brachialis (beneath your bicep). [13]
    • A chin up uses a closer underhand grip compared to pull ups, which use a wide overhand grip. Chin ups often feel easier than pull ups because your biceps are able to do more of the work.
  2. The marines require you to do at least 3 pull ups for men or 1 pull up for women. However, these are the bare minimum standards, so the more you can do, the better (the Marines recommend testing only if you’re well above the minimum). [14]
    • The current military physical fitness exam does not include pull ups. However, if you want to enter Ranger school training, a minimum of 6 pull ups is required (the recommended range is 12). [15]
  3. Your age, weight, gender, and fitness level are the primary factors that affect how many pull ups you can do. Generally, younger and lighter adults can do more than children, teens, older folks, or heavier people, and men can typically do more than women. A few other specific items that affect your pull up number include: [16]
    • Your upper body and core strength
    • Your grip strength
    • How frequently you practice pull ups
    • Your mobility (especially in your back)
    • How long your limbs are (longer arms require a bigger range of motion and more strength)
  4. If you’re a beginner, it can take 4 to 12 weeks to master your first unassisted pull up. However, this depends on how often you train and what level of fitness you’re starting from. [17]
  5. You should be able to do 10 pull ups with good form before learning to do muscle ups. The right pull up form helps develop your core, glutes, and other supporting muscles that aid muscle ups. [18]
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      References

      1. ↑ https://www.inspireusafoundation.org/how-many-pull-ups-can-the-average-man-do/
      2. ↑ https://strengthlevel.com/strength-standards/pull-ups/lb
      3. ↑ https://physicalliving.com/how-many-pull-ups-should-i-be-able-to-do/
      4. ↑ https://strengthlevel.com/strength-standards/pull-ups/lb
      5. ↑ https://gilmore.gvsd.us/documents/Info/Forms/Teacher%20Forms/Presidentialchallengetest.pdf
      6. ↑ https://marathonhandbook.com/how-many-pull-ups-should-i-be-able-to-do/
      7. ↑ https://blog.nasm.org/chin-ups-vs.-pull-ups-the-difference-the-benefits-muscles-worked
      8. ↑ https://www.stylist.co.uk/fitness-health/train-to-do-unassisted-pull-up/470360
      9. ↑ https://www.bodybuilding.com/content/pullups-for-the-beginner.html
      1. ↑ https://www.stack.com/a/why-regressions-are-the-real-secret-to-getting-bigger-stronger-and-faster/
      2. ↑ https://www.barbellmedicine.com/blog/best-pull-up-alternatives/
      3. ↑ https://blog.nasm.org/chin-ups-vs.-pull-ups-the-difference-the-benefits-muscles-worked
      4. ↑ https://blog.nasm.org/chin-ups-vs.-pull-ups-the-difference-the-benefits-muscles-worked
      5. ↑ https://www.marines.com/become-a-marine/requirements/physical-fitness.html
      6. ↑ https://www.military.com/military-fitness/fitness-test-prep/physical-fitness-test-standards
      7. ↑ https://www.stylist.co.uk/fitness-health/train-to-do-unassisted-pull-up/470360
      8. ↑ https://www.stylist.co.uk/fitness-health/train-to-do-unassisted-pull-up/470360
      9. ↑ https://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/master-the-muscle-up-in-3-steps

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