How do I get a strict pull-up back after shoulder pain?
One reasonable order: set the shoulder blades from a hang, own the top and the way down, then strict again — each step passed on camera within a pain rule.
There is no single way, and if a clinician has given you a plan, follow theirs. The program here is one reasonable order to do common, conservative shoulder drills in, for a shoulder that can still kip but cannot start a strict pull-up. It has three phases, each ending in tests you film:
Phase 1 — Set the shoulder blades. Hang again without pain, and learn to draw the shoulder blades down from a hang with straight arms. It ends when you can do a 20-second active hang and 8 scapular pull-ups with straight arms, each in one filmed set with pain during it at 3 or under.
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. It ends when you can do a 10-second top hold and 3 lowerings of at least 4 seconds each, each in one filmed set with pain during it at 3 or under.
Phase 3 — Strict again. The full strict pull-up, from a still hang, with no swing. It ends when you can do 1 strict pull-up with no swing and 3 strict pull-ups in a set, each in one filmed set with pain during it at 3 or under.
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.
How long it takes depends on the person. The progress page projects how far the remaining tests are at the pace of your own logs, never a recovery date.
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
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 itScapular pull-up
Repeat the active hang as reps: shoulders down, pause, back up to a relaxed hang.
3 × 5–10
Camera checks itTop hold
Jump or step to the top of a pull-up and hold there, elbows bent.
3 × 5–15 s
Camera checks itLowering 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 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 1 — Set the shoulder blades — Shoulder: kipping works, strict pull-ups do not
Hang again without pain, and learn to draw the shoulder blades down from a hang with straight arms.
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?
- Should I keep kipping while my shoulder is sore?
- How much pain is OK during shoulder rehab drills?
- Are band-assisted pull-ups or lowerings better for getting back to a strict pull-up?
- 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.