Top hold
Jump or step to the top of a pull-up and hold there, elbows bent.
Builds strength in the top half of the pull without having to start it from a hang.
Starting dose: 3 × 5–15 s, resting 90 seconds between sets.
You need a bar.
Step 4 of the pull-up progression, from a hang to a strict pull-up (7 steps).
How to do it
- Stand on a box so your chin is at or above the bar.
- Take an overhand grip and step off, holding the top position with the elbows bent and the shoulders down.
- Hold, then lower yourself slowly back to the box.
Think about
- Shoulders down, chest to bar
- Elbows pointing down
- Breathe
Watch for
- Shoulders rolling forward
- Chin reaching over the bar while the body sinks
Easier: Hold at the halfway point instead of the top, or keep one foot lightly on the box.
Harder: Lowering from the top.
What it works
See all of them on the body model →
Checking it on camera
From the front, two to three metres away, whole body and bar in frame. See it in the filming guide.
The pain rule
- 0–3 out of 10 during the drill: fine, carry on.
- 4–5: do less — a smaller range, fewer reps, or the easier version.
- 6 or more: stop that drill for today.
- Worse the next morning than before the session: that session was too much. Step back.
- 6 or more on waking, any morning: rest the shoulder that day.
Sharp or catching pain, or pins and needles, means stop regardless of the number.
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Where it is used
- Phase 2 — Own the top and the way down — Shoulder: kipping works, strict pull-ups do not