I’ve been trying to achieve a pull-up for a while. It started when I began participating in CrossFit, which incorporates movements from loads of different disciplines, including Olympic lifting and gymnastics.Â
I watched in awe as other gym members made them look easy, knowing they were nothing but. Inspired and wanting to progress, I committed to the goal of being able to perform three pull-ups within eight weeks.
I set aside two weekly training sessions to learn how to do pull-ups (opens in new tab) and focus on hitting that target and enlisted the help of a coach to draw up a specific pull-up program that’d focus on developing upper body strength.Â
The two-month challenge was tricky—I had sore muscles, and training with dumbbells (opens in new tab) took a toll on my hands—but by the end of the eight weeks, I hit my three-pull-up goal. Here’s what happened.Â
It was a slow start
I naively thought I would be strong enough to knock out a pull-up after just a few sessions. But, as an early attempt showed, I was trying to run before I could walk and a world away from the strength required to perform the movement safely.
But with my eyes set on the goal, this stumble made me even more determined. This could easily have had the opposite effect, but learning how to increase mental strength (opens in new tab) helps build resilience, an essential quality during intense, challenging training.Â
It taught me discipline
Something else I realized early on is that there are no shortcuts to building the strength required for a pull-up. I had to keep up the momentum with training to hit my goal, which wasn’t always easy.Â
Some days you just want to exercise for happiness (opens in new tab) rather than to hit a specific goal. Plus, my trainer’s plan included many repetitive activities, which could have been more exciting.Â
But I kept focus because I’d chosen a SMART fitness goal (opens in new tab); it was specific (pull-ups), measurable (three repetitions), attainable…
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