Understand the difference between thumbless and thumb-around grips, when to use each, and why thumb-around is the safer default for calisthenics and muscle-up training.

Discover how flexing your wrist lets you grip deeper and engage your palm—not just your fingers—so you can hang longer and stop losing your grip mid-set.

Explore five fundamental grips—overhand, underhand, wide, close, and commando—and learn how each hand position changes the muscles you train.

Learn this advanced grip where your wrist bone rests on top of the bar—the foundation for skills like the slow muscle-up and ring muscle-up.

A short demonstration of the slow muscle-up, showing how the false grip is applied in a real advanced movement.

Master scapular depression and the difference between a dead hang and an active hang—the key to pulling safely and avoiding shoulder injury.

Practice scapular retraction on a lower dip bar—an easier way to learn shoulder blade control if active hangs on a pull-up bar feel too hard.

See how neutral, anterior, and posterior pelvic tilt change which muscles your pull-up targets, and why posterior tilt is essential for progressing to muscle-ups.

Understand the four-phase structure, how to advance between phases, and the ideal training frequency of three to four days per week.

A quick rundown of the three tools you'll use throughout the program: a dip bar or low bar, a resistance loop band, and a pull-up bar.

Learn how to increase your reps gradually using linear progression—and why holding back on your first set builds more total volume over time.

Your first pulling exercise. Set up on a dip bar with knees bent, hold an active hang, and pull your chest to the bar to start building back strength.

Isolate your shoulder blades with knees bent—pulling using only scapular movement while your arms stay relaxed, with a glute-assist option if you need it.

Strengthen your posterior chain by lifting your hips into a straight line and opening your chest, working your back from the opposite direction.

Increase the load by extending your legs. Keep an active hang and bring your chest—not your chin—to the bar.

The straight-leg progression of the scapular pull, raising the difficulty as you keep building shoulder blade control.

The straight-leg version of the reverse plank raise for greater posterior chain and back engagement.

Use a resistance band to assist your first chin-ups—pulling until your chin clears the bar—with tips on band strength and safe setup.

Elevate your feet on a box or chair to increase the load and bridge the gap toward full pull-ups.

Add a platform under your feet to intensify the reverse plank raise and further strengthen your back and posterior chain.

Put it all together: a full pull-up with band assistance, moving from a dead hang to an active hang and pulling your chin above the bar—your final step before unassisted reps.