Weighted Pull-Up
Wrestle + grip strength
How to do it well
The set-up and the rep in full, then the cues the app shows on the exercise card — the short version, for the moment you are standing in front of the bar.
Set-up
Add load with a dip belt, or hold a dumbbell between the feet. Grip the bar overhand, hands slightly wider than the shoulders, and hang with straight arms and the shoulders pulled slightly down.
The rep
Drive the elbows down towards the hips and pull the chest towards the bar until the chin is over it. Lower for two seconds to a full hang, arms straight, before the next rep. No kipping and no swinging.
On the exercise card
- Full hang
- Lead with chest
- Tempo
- 2s down
What goes wrong, and the fix
| What goes wrong | The fix |
|---|---|
| Stopping short at the bottom | A full hang every rep. Partial reps let you add load you cannot really pull. |
| Swinging the legs | Brace the trunk and keep the legs still. |
| A very wide grip | Just outside the shoulders. A very wide grip cuts the range. |
Make it easier, or harder
- Easier
- Bodyweight pull-ups, band-assisted pull-ups, or the lat pulldown.
- Harder
- More load, a slower lowering, or a pause with the chin over the bar.
How Train Smart prescribes it
The sets and reps below are the authored starting point. The actual weight you see is calculated from your own last top set and the week you are in within your four-week block.
The overhand grip asks more of the back and the grip than a chin-up does. Rugby league, basketball, boxing and gymnastics all use it heavy and low-rep, for the pulling and grip strength behind wrestling in a tackle, holding position under the basket and hanging from a bar.
| Program | Session | Sets × reps | Load |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rugby League | Power & Collision | 4 × 5 | +10kg |
| Basketball | Upper + Trunk | 3 × 6 | +load |
| Boxing | Pull, Trunk + Neck | 4 × 6 | BW/+load |
| Gymnastics | Power-to-Weight Strength | 4 × 5 | +load/BW |
What it trains, and who trains it
- Region
- Upper body
- Prescribed in
- rugby league · basketball · boxing · gymnastics
If you cannot do this one
Rack taken, kit missing, or it does not suit you. These are the swaps the app offers, matched by movement pattern and body region — each with the reason it is a fair substitute.
| Alternative | Why it works as a swap |
|---|---|
| Weighted Chin-Up | Loaded vertical pull, big back + biceps |
| Wide-Grip Pull-Up | Lat-width bias — swimmer / climber back |
| Commando Pull-Up | Side-to-side pull-up — combat/grappling pulling |
| Muscle-Up Progression | Explosive vertical pull → press transition — gymnast/calisthenics |
| Rope Climb | Grip + pulling strength under tension — combat / military |
| Lat Pulldown | Machine: scalable vertical pull, easy to load |
This exercise, in a program that knows why it is there
Train Smart puts this movement in the right session, at the right point in your block, at a weight calculated for you — and swaps it automatically if you do not have the kit.
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