If you’ve ever wondered, “How many pull-ups should I be able to do?” you’re not alone.
Whether you’re a beginner struggling to manage one or an experienced weightlifter aiming for double digits, it’s a question that crosses almost every gymgoer’s mind at some point.
The answer, however, isn’t as simple as you might think. Pull-up performance depends on factors like body weight, sex, and training history, which makes setting universal standards tricky.
In this article, you’ll learn how these factors impact your pull-up potential, how many pull-ups the average man and woman can do, and the best strategies to improve your pull-up numbers, no matter your starting point.
Key Takeaways
- Pull-up performance depends on your body weight, sex, and training experience, making universal pull-up standards tricky to set.
- Being heavier, especially when much of your weight is body fat, makes pull-ups harder, while being lean boosts your ability to do pull-ups.
- Men can typically do more pull-ups than women because they have more upper body muscle and less fat relative to body mass.
- The best way to improve your pull-up numbers is to practice pull-ups consistently.
- If you’re not yet strong enough for full pull-ups, start with progressions like negative pull-ups to build the strength needed for the real thing.
How Many Pull-ups Should I Be Able to Do?
There are no hard-and-fast pull-up standards that apply to everyone.
Your pull-up performance largely depends on factors such as:
- Body weight
- Sex
- Training experience
Let’s look at each separately.
Body Weight
For obvious reasons, the heavier you are, the harder pull-ups get. This is true even when much of your weight is muscle.
That said, it’s even harder if most of your weight is fat. Fat adds mass without helping you pull, which makes lifting a heavier, less muscular body much tougher than lifting a leaner, more muscular one.
Sex
Research shows that men can typically do more pull-ups than women for two reasons:
- Body Composition: Women tend to have more fat relative to muscle than men, which makes pull-ups harder for the same reasons we just covered.
- Muscle Distribution: Men usually carry more upper body muscle relative to their total body mass. Pull-ups rely heavily on upper body strength, so this gives men a natural advantage.
Training Experience
Pull-ups require a specific kind of strength. While exercises like the lat pulldown train similar muscles and mimic the movement pattern, studies show they don’t necessarily improve pull-up performance.
To get better at pull-ups, you need to do pull-ups.
This means your overall weightlifting experience doesn’t guarantee you’ll be able to do lots of pull-ups. You could have years of training under your belt, but if pull-ups aren’t a regular part of your routine, your pull-up performance will likely lag.
On the other hand, if you consistently perform pull-ups, your pull-up standards will likely be high, even if other areas of your fitness aren’t as impressive.
How Many Pull-ups Can the Average Person Do?
There are no up-to-date pull-up standards that tell us how many pull-ups the average person can do.
However, we can look to the 1985 Presidential Fitness Test for a rough idea of how many pull-ups boys and girls could do 40 years ago.
While the data is older, it gives us a baseline to estimate how many pull-ups the average man and woman can do today.
How Many Pull-ups Can the Average Man Do?
The data from the Presidential Fitness Test give us pull-up standards for boys aged 6-to-17.
While the figures for younger boys aren’t relevant to adults, the results for those aged 15-to-17 provide a rough estimate of what the average man might achieve.
According to the test, the average male aged 15-to-17 could perform 6-to-8 pull-ups. So, it’s fair to assume the average man could aim for a similar range.
How Many Pull-ups Can the Average Woman Do?
The pull-up standards for the average girl are a little simpler. According to the 1985 Presidential Fitness Test, most females could complete just one pull-up.
While this may seem low, it reflects the differences in body composition and muscle distribution between men and women, which significantly impact how many pull-ups you can do.
How to Do More Pull-ups
The best way to improve your pull-up standards is simple: do more pull-ups.
Pull-up strength is highly specific—it’s a skill that requires consistent practice. The more time you spend working on pull-ups, the better you’ll get at them.
That said, how often you should train pull-ups and the strategies you use will depend on your current fitness level.
Before diving into the details, keep these points in mind:
- If you’re currently overweight, the best place to start with developing pull-up strength is losing body fat. Check out this article to learn how.
- If you’re a beginner but can already do at least 3 pull-ups, skip to Step 3.
How to Do More Pull-ups for Beginners
If you’re starting from scratch, you’ve probably seen countless “magic” strategies for getting your first pull-up.
Most guides overcomplicate the process, though.
As you now know, pull-up strength is specific. Doing a laundry list of other similar exercises, such as scapular pull-ups, inverted rows, and lat pulldowns, won’t do much to increase your pull-up strength.
To hit standout pull-up strength standards, you need to do versions of the pull-up matched to your current level of strength that allow you to progress over time.
Here’s a simple, effective approach:
Step 1: Negative Pull-Ups
Negative pull-ups are your best starting point. They involve jumping or stepping up to the top position of a pull-up (hanging from your hands with your chin above the bar), then lowering yourself slowly, aiming for a 5-second descent. Here’s how this looks:
Perform negative pull-ups 2-to-3 times per week, resting at least one day between workouts. For the first 1-to-2 weeks, aim for a total of 10 reps per workout. You can break this up however works best for you, such as:
- 1 set of 4 reps, and 2 sets of 3 reps
- 3 sets of 3 reps and 1 set of 1 rep
- 5 sets of 2 reps
- 10 sets of 1 rep
Don’t take any of your sets to failure (the point at which you can’t do another rep with good form)—always finish with at least one rep in the tank. Rest 3-to-5 minutes between sets.
In each workout, try to complete the reps in as few sets as possible. For instance, if it takes you 4 sets to complete 10 reps in your first workout (e.g., 2 sets of 3 reps and 2 sets of 2 reps), aim to complete 10 reps in 3 sets in the following workout (e.g., 1 sets of 5 reps, 1 set of 3 reps and 1 set of 2 reps).
(You won’t always be able to complete the reps in fewer sets, but you should always try.)
After a couple of weeks, you should be able to complete all 10 reps in one set. At this point, guys should be able to do at least one pull-up, and gals should be able to do at least one band-assisted pull-up.
And if you’re not sure how to perform a band-assisted pull-up, check out this tutorial:
Note: If you still can’t do a bodyweight pull-up (men) or band-assisted pull-up (women), continue with negative pull-ups until you can do a set of 15 negative pull-ups using the same method.
Step 2: Pull-up + Negative Pull-up Progression
After mastering negative pull-ups, it’s time to combine them with full pull-ups (bodyweight or band-assisted). The goal is to complete 15 total reps per session, mixing as many full pull-ups as you can with negatives. Again, training 2-to-3 times a week works well.
Start each set with as many full pull-ups as you can perform with good form. Once you reach your limit, switch to negatives until you’re one rep shy of failure. For example:
- Do 1 full pull-up, then 7 negatives to hit 8 reps total. Rest 3-to-5 minutes.
- Do 1 full pull-up, then 6 negatives to reach 7 reps total.
By the end of the session, you’ll have completed 15 total reps (2 full pull-ups and 13 negatives).
Over time, aim to replace more negatives with full pull-ups. If you start with 2 full pull-ups per session, work toward 3 or 4 the next week. For example:
- 3 full pull-ups, then 4 negatives. Rest.
- 2 full pull-ups, then 3 negatives. Rest
- 1 full pull-up, then 2 negatives.
Progress gradually until you can perform 10 of the 15 reps as full pull-ups in a single workout.
Once you reach this milestone, you can transition to focusing entirely on full pull-ups.
Step 3: Full Pull-ups
Now that you’ve transitioned entirely to pull-ups (bodyweight or band-assisted, with no negatives), the progression remains straightforward.
Your goal is to do 2-to-3 pull-up workouts per week, completing 10 reps in as few sets as possible in each workout.
Once you can perform 10 reps in 3 sets or fewer, increase the total rep target to 12. And when that becomes doable in 3 sets or fewer, increase it by another 2-to-3 reps. Progress like this until you reach 25 total reps per workout.
By this stage, your pull-up strength will be solid. From here you can switch to a standard rep scheme, such as 3 sets of 6-to-8 reps, and begin progressing using double progression. Learn more about how to do that here:
Double Progression Guide: How to Use Double Progression to Gain Muscle and Strength
How to Do More Pull-ups for Intermediate and Advanced Weightlifters
The road to more pull-ups is largely the same for intermediate and advanced weightlifters as it is for beginners.
The best strategy is to increase pull-up volume (sets per week). Here are a few ways to do it:
- Add More Workouts: If you’re doing pull-ups once a week, increase it to twice a week, leaving at least one day between workouts. If you’re already doing pull-ups twice a week, increase it to three times a week, again allowing at least a day of rest between sessions. In each workout, do 3-to-4 sets.
- Add More Sets: If your schedule can’t handle more workouts per week, do more sets in your current workouts. For example, if you’re doing 3 sets per session, add an extra set or two.
- Set a Rep Goal: Pick a total rep target for your workout (e.g., 50 reps) and get there in as few sets as possible. Once you can hit your target in a given number of sets (e.g., 5), increase the target by 5-to-10 reps and repeat the process.
FAQ #1: How many people can do a pull-up?
There’s no definitive data on how many people can do a pull-up, but based on my experience working with thousands of people, I’d say most beginners can’t manage even one. That said, this almost always changes after a few months of lifting weights and dieting.
Among those who do work out, pull-up strength standards vary widely depending on training experience, body weight, and sex.
If you’re currently unable to do a pull-up, don’t stress. With patience and persistence (and the tips in this article), you’ll be repping out pull-ups sooner than you think.
FAQ #2: How many pull-ups should I do a day?
The number of pull-ups you should do each day depends on your goals and current fitness level.
If you’re just starting out, focus on doing pull-ups 2-to-3 times per week rather than doing pull-ups daily. This gives your muscles time to recover and grow stronger. Start with a manageable total, such as 10-to-15 reps per session, and build from there.
For more experienced lifters, daily pull-ups can work as long as you manage your volume and intensity. Even then, it’s best to give yourself at least a day of rest after a hard pull-up workout.
FAQ #3: How many pull-ups is a lot?
What counts as “a lot” of pull-ups depends on your experience level. That said, here are some general benchmarks:
- Beginners (less than a year of training): Knocking out 8-to-10 pull-ups in a row is impressive.
- Intermediates (1-to-3 years of training): Completing 10-to-15 consecutive full-range-of-motion pull-ups is a solid achievement.
- Advanced lifters (3+ years of training): Doing 20+ pull-ups in a single set puts you in elite territory.
Scientific References +
- Halet, Kristin A, et al. “Relationship of 1 Repetition Maximum Lat-Pull to Pull-up and Lat-Pull Repetitions in Elite Collegiate Women Swimmers.” Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, vol. 23, no. 5, Aug. 2009, pp. 1496–1502, Accessed 25 Apr. 2020.
- Johnson, Doug, et al. “Relationship of Lat-Pull Repetitions and Pull-Ups to Maximal Lat-Pull and Pull-up Strength in Men and Women.” Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, vol. 23, no. 3, May 2009, pp. 1022–1028, Accessed 17 Dec. 2019.
- President’s Challenge Qualifying Standards.