Shoulder: kipping works, strict pull-ups do not

For a sore shoulder that can still kip and do bar muscle-ups but cannot start a strict pull-up from a still hang.

This program is for you if

You could do strict pull-ups before, and now cannot do a single one.
Kipping pull-ups and bar muscle-ups still work.
The strict pull-up stalls at the very start, from a still hang, and the shoulder hurts or feels like it is not switching on.
You can hang from a bar, even if it is uncomfortable.

Do not start here if

Any of the warning signs below apply to you.
You cannot raise the arm overhead at all, or hanging is too painful to try.
A clinician has already given you a plan — follow theirs, and use this only as a log if it helps.

Warning signs: see a clinician first

Do not start, or stop, if any of these apply to you:

The pain started with a fall, a dislocation, or a sudden pop or tear, and you cannot lift the arm since.
Numbness, tingling or pins and needles running down the arm or into the hand.
Weakness that is getting worse, or the arm suddenly much weaker than the other.
Pain that wakes you at night and does not ease when you change position.
Swelling, redness, heat or a fever with the pain.
Pain in the chest, jaw or left arm with breathlessness or sweating — call emergency services.
A visible lump, change in shape, or the shoulder looking different from the other.

These are general reasons to have a shoulder examined. They are not a complete list.

What may be going on

A kipping pull-up and a bar muscle-up get their start from the swing of the hips. The body is already moving upwards before the arms take most of the load, and the stretch at the bottom of the swing helps the muscles fire.

A strict pull-up has none of that. From a still hang, the shoulder blades have to move down and in first — the lower trapezius, the latissimus and the serratus anterior — and only then can the elbows bend. If that first part is painful, or those muscles are slow to switch on, the pull stalls exactly where you are stuck.

That is a common pattern, not a diagnosis. The same symptoms can have other causes, and only an examination can tell them apart. What this program does is train that first part on its own, then load the whole range slowly, and only then go back to the strict pull-up — checking the pain rule at every step.

See it on the body model: slide through a strict pull-up →

The bar drills from these phases as one ladder, hang to strict pull-up →

Common questions

How often

Three sessions a week on non-consecutive days, 20 to 30 minutes each. Warm up first with a few minutes of easy movement for the arms and upper back. Keep kipping and muscle-ups out of your training while you are in phases 1 and 2.

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.

Phase 1 — Set the shoulder blades

Hang again without pain, and learn to draw the shoulder blades down from a hang with straight arms.

Camera checks it

Relaxed hang

Hang from a bar with straight arms and let the shoulders go up.

3 × 10–30 s — Keep some toes on the box to take weight off if a full hang hurts.

Camera checks it

Active hang

From a relaxed hang, draw the shoulders down away from the ears and hold, arms still straight.

3 × 10–20 s

Camera checks it

Scapular pull-up

Repeat the active hang as reps: shoulders down, pause, back up to a relaxed hang.

3 × 5–10 — One-second pause at the top of each.

Camera checks it

Band pull-apart

Hold a light band at shoulder height with straight arms and pull it apart to your chest.

3 × 12–15

Filmed, counted by hand

Band external rotation

Elbow tucked at your side, turn the forearm out against a light band.

3 × 12–15 — Each side.

Camera checks it

Wall slide

Forearms on a wall, slide them up as far as is comfortable while keeping the shoulders down.

3 × 8–10

To finish phase 1

Each in one filmed set, with pain during it at 3 or under:

A 20-second active hang — film it
8 scapular pull-ups with straight arms — film it

Your progress page ticks these off as you log them.

Phase 2 — Own the top and the way down

Strength in the bent-arm half of the pull, and control through the whole range on the way down.

Camera checks it

Scapular pull-up

Repeat the active hang as reps: shoulders down, pause, back up to a relaxed hang.

3 × 5–10 — One-second pause at the top of each.

Camera checks it

Top hold

Jump or step to the top of a pull-up and hold there, elbows bent.

3 × 5–15 s

Camera checks it

Lowering from the top

Start at the top of a pull-up and lower yourself as slowly as you can to straight arms.

3 × 3–5 — Four to five seconds down.

Filmed, counted by hand

Prone Y raise

Lying face down, thumbs up, lift straight arms in a Y shape.

3 × 8–12 — Two-second hold at the top.

Filmed, counted by hand

Scapular push-up

In a push-up position with straight arms, let the chest sink between the shoulder blades, then push the floor away.

3 × 10–12

Filmed, counted by hand

Band external rotation

Elbow tucked at your side, turn the forearm out against a light band.

3 × 12–15 — Each side.

To finish phase 2

Each in one filmed set, with pain during it at 3 or under:

A 10-second top hold — film it
3 lowerings of at least 4 seconds each — film it

Your progress page ticks these off as you log them.

Phase 3 — Strict again

The full strict pull-up, from a still hang, with no swing.

Camera checks it

Scapular pull-up

Repeat the active hang as reps: shoulders down, pause, back up to a relaxed hang.

3 × 5–10 — One-second pause at the top of each.

Camera checks it

Band-assisted pull-up

A strict pull-up with a band looped under a knee or foot to take some weight.

3 × 3–6

Camera checks it

Lowering from the top

Start at the top of a pull-up and lower yourself as slowly as you can to straight arms.

3 × 3–5 — Four to five seconds down.

Camera checks it

Strict pull-up

From a still, straight-arm hang, pull until the chin is over the bar, with no swing.

3 × 1–3 — Singles are fine. Stop the set at the first rep that hurts or needs a swing.

To finish phase 3

Each in one filmed set, with pain during it at 3 or under:

1 strict pull-up with no swing — film it
3 strict pull-ups in a set — film it

Your progress page ticks these off as you log them.

Start practising Your progress

On paper

Printable program and session log: this program's drills, starting doses, exit tests, pain rule and warning signs on a few sheets, with a blank log and a QR code back to this page. Print it for the gym or pass it to a training partner.