Pull · Tier 1
Negative Pull-up
The slow lowering half of a pull-up — you start at the top and fight gravity down, building the exact pulling strength and grip you need before you can rep a full pull-up.
Also known as: Eccentric Pull-up · Lowering Pull-up- Difficulty
- 3/10 · Novice
- Tier
- 01
- Equipment
- bar · rings
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The negative pull-up sits right between rows and your first real pull-up. You've already proven you can control your shoulder blades on the bar with scapular pulls and move bodyweight horizontally with Australian rows — the negative is where you finally take full bodyweight in the vertical plane, just in the easier eccentric direction. Lowering is where you're strongest, so this is the smartest, joint-friendly way to earn the strength for a strict pull-up.
Treat every rep like braking, not falling. The slower you can lower, the closer you are to pulling up — when 5-second negatives feel solid, your first pull-up is weeks, not months, away.
Readiness gates
Clear these measurable conditions before forcing the skill.
8 controlled reps
10 clean reps
Technique, step by step
Four checkpoints for one honest repetition or hold.
- 01Setup
Get to the top
Grip the bar slightly wider than shoulders, palms away, thumbs over. Jump, step off a box, or use a low bar so your chin clears the bar with no climbing fatigue. Square your shoulders to the bar before you ever start the descent.
- 02Top
Own the chin-over position
Pin your chin above the bar, chest reaching toward it, elbows driving down and slightly back. Brace your abs and squeeze your glutes so your body is one rigid line, not a sagging J. Pause here for a beat — if you can't hold the top still, you started with too much swing.
- 03Lower
Fight every inch down
Descend on a 3–5 second count, resisting the whole way like you're braking, not falling. Keep shoulder blades pulled down and your core tight so your legs don't swing forward. Look straight ahead at the bar, not down at the floor.
- 04Exit
Finish in a controlled hang
Reach full elbow extension under control, then hold a dead hang for one second with shoulders still active — don't crash into a loose, dumped hang that stresses the shoulder. Step off or drop, reset your grip, and repeat from the top.
Skill practice guide
Public skill guidance — not your protected personalized eight-week plan.
Build enough eccentric pulling strength and grip to lower bodyweight for 5+ seconds, the bridge to your first strict pull-up.
4–5 sets of 3–5 negatives, each lowered on a 3–5 second count, full rest between sets.
2–3×/week with at least 48h between pulling sessions.
Progress by slowing the lower, not by adding reps — when you can control 5 clean 5-second negatives, start mixing in pull-up attempts from the bottom.
Common faults
I just drop straight down, I can't slow the negative at all+
Your pulling muscles aren't strong enough to brake bodyweight yet, so gravity wins. Start with a thick band looped over the bar and your knee in it to subtract load, and only aim for a 2-second lower. Add a half-second each week as you gain control.
My grip gives out before my back or arms feel anything+
Grip is the weak link, which is normal early on. Use a full thumb-around grip, chalk if your hands sweat, and do the negatives at the start of your session when your forearms are fresh. Programming dead hangs separately will close this gap fast.
My elbows and inner forearms ache the day after+
That's usually too much volume too soon — tendons adapt slower than muscle, and slow eccentrics load them hard. Cut your total reps in half, keep the lowers to 3 seconds instead of 6, and never train negatives two days in a row. Mild tendon ache after that should fade; sharp pain means back off.
My body swings and my legs kick forward as I lower+
You're not bracing your midline, so you're descending as a loose pendulum instead of a rigid plank. Squeeze glutes and abs, point toes slightly forward, and cross your ankles to lock the lower body. Start from a dead-still top position so there's no momentum to fight.
I get to the bottom and my shoulders feel yanked and unstable+
You're dumping into a fully passive hang at the end, hanging on the joint instead of the muscle. Keep your shoulder blades pulled down and slightly together through the last few inches and finish in an active hang. This is exactly what scapular pulls trained — apply them at the bottom of every rep.
Useful setup
A stable bar at a height where you can reach the top by stepping or a small jump is all you need to train negatives.
Loop it over the bar and rest a knee or foot in it to assist the lower while you build braking strength.
Keeps sweaty hands locked on the bar so grip fatigue doesn't end the set before your back is worked.
Primary muscles
Lats · Biceps · Grip · Core