Assisted pull-up

What it is

A pull-up performed with help from a counterweight machine or a resistance band under the knees or feet. It trains the same vertical-pull pattern through the same range as a full pull-up, with the assistance dialled down over time until none is needed.

Muscles worked

Primary: Lats. Secondary: Mid-back (rhomboids, traps), Biceps, Rear deltoids, Core.

How to perform it

1. Set the counterweight on the machine, a heavier stack gives more help, or loop a band over the bar and place a knee or foot in it.
2. Take an overhand grip a little wider than shoulder-width and start from straight arms with the shoulders active.
3. Set the shoulder blades down, brace, and pull your elbows down towards your ribs until your chin clears the bar.
4. Lower under control all the way to straight arms before the next rep.

Common form faults

• Using so much assistance that the set is never hard. Choose an assistance level that makes the last couple of reps a genuine effort, and reduce it steadily as you get stronger.
• Cutting the range short at the bottom. Lower to straight arms every rep. Partial reps build a partial pull-up, and the transfer to the full movement suffers.
• Shrugging the shoulders up at the hang. Set the shoulder blades down and back before each pull, think 'shoulders away from ears', so the lats start the movement.

Programming

Treat it exactly like the full movement: same range, same control, moderate reps. Log the assistance as an 'assisted' load, and treat reducing it as the progression: the same reps with less help is a stronger back, and the line from here to a first strict pull-up is simply that number shrinking to zero.