Program companion · Shoulder: kipping works, strict pull-ups do not

Printable shoulder pull-up program and session log

A printable companion to the fisiolike program “Shoulder: kipping works, strict pull-ups do not”, to take to the gym or pass to a training partner. It is a reference to that program, not a prescription for you. If a clinician has already given you a plan, theirs takes priority.

The full program Drill instructions Practise on camera

The program, the drill instructions with moving figures, and the camera logger:

https://fisiolike.lp-data.cloud/programs/strict-pull-up-shoulder?source=handout

Free, and works without an account. The camera runs on your phone; the video never leaves it.

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.

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.

Drill	Starting dose	Camera
Relaxed hang	3 × 10–30 s — Keep some toes on the box to take weight off if a full hang hurts.	Checks it
Active hang	3 × 10–20 s	Checks it
Scapular pull-up	3 × 5–10 — One-second pause at the top of each.	Checks it
Band pull-apart	3 × 12–15	Checks it
Band external rotation	3 × 12–15 — Each side.	Counted by hand
Wall slide	3 × 8–10	Checks it

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

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.

Drill	Starting dose	Camera
Scapular pull-up	3 × 5–10 — One-second pause at the top of each.	Checks it
Top hold	3 × 5–15 s	Checks it
Lowering from the top	3 × 3–5 — Four to five seconds down.	Checks it
Prone Y raise	3 × 8–12 — Two-second hold at the top.	Counted by hand
Scapular push-up	3 × 10–12	Counted by hand
Band external rotation	3 × 12–15 — Each side.	Counted by hand

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

Phase 3 — Strict again

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

Drill	Starting dose	Camera
Scapular pull-up	3 × 5–10 — One-second pause at the top of each.	Checks it
Band-assisted pull-up	3 × 3–6	Checks it
Lowering from the top	3 × 3–5 — Four to five seconds down.	Checks it
Strict pull-up	3 × 1–3 — Singles are fine. Stop the set at the first rep that hurts or needs a swing.	Checks it

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

Session log

One row per set. Pain is 0 (none) to 10 (the worst imaginable). Read each row against the pain rule. A paper record does not pass a phase: the exit tests are ticked off only when the set is filmed in fisiolike, at fisiolike.lp-data.cloud/programs/strict-pull-up-shoulder?source=handout.

Date	Drill	Reps / seconds	Pain before	Pain during	Next-morning pain

A program companion to “Shoulder: kipping works, strict pull-ups do not”, not a personal plan. If a clinician has already given you a plan, theirs takes priority. Stop and see a clinician if any of the warning signs apply.