Are band-assisted pull-ups or lowerings better for getting back to a strict pull-up?
Different jobs: lowering loads the whole range and is usually possible first; a band practises the strict start from a still hang. The program uses both.
Lowering from the top loads the whole pull-up range under control. Lowering is stronger than lifting, so it is usually possible well before a strict pull-up is. You step to the top from a box and take four to five seconds to reach straight arms.
A band-assisted pull-up practises the whole strict movement, starting from a still hang, with less than full body weight: shoulders set first, then the elbows, with the legs quiet.
In the program, lowerings come in phase 2 (3 × 3–5, four to five seconds down), where the test is 3 lowerings of at least 4 seconds each. Band-assisted pull-ups (3 × 3–6) come in phase 3, next to lowerings and the strict pull-up itself. The lowering's harder step is the band-assisted pull-up; the band's is a lighter band, then a strict pull-up.
One thing to watch with a band: using it to bounce out of the bottom, or a kick to start the pull, skips the part a strict pull-up needs most.
The bar drills, in order from a hang to a strict pull-up, with the checkpoint between each: the pull-up progression.
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.
Drills for this
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
Camera checks itBand-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 itStrict pull-up
From a still, straight-arm hang, pull until the chin is over the bar, with no swing.
3 × 1–3
What it works
In the program
Phase 3 — Strict again — Shoulder: kipping works, strict pull-ups do not
The full strict pull-up, from a still hang, with no swing.
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.
Other questions
- Why can I do kipping pull-ups but not a strict pull-up?
- Why does my shoulder hurt at the start of a pull-up, from a dead hang?
- What muscles start a pull-up?
- Scapular pull-up vs active hang: what is the difference?
- How do I get a strict pull-up back after shoulder pain?
- Should I keep kipping while my shoulder is sore?
- How much pain is OK during shoulder rehab drills?
- How long should I hang from a bar for shoulder rehab?
A general answer, built from the program and drill pages. It cannot say what is going on in your shoulder; only an examination can.