Band Assisted Pull-Up
A vertical pull where a looped resistance band offsets part of your bodyweight so you can train full-range pull-ups.
How to do it
- Loop a resistance band over the pull-up bar and let both ends hang.
- Step or kneel into the band so it supports one foot or one knee.
- Grip the bar with palms facing forward, hands slightly wider than your shoulders.
- Brace your core, squeeze your glutes and pull your shoulder blades down.
- Drive your elbows toward the floor until your chin passes the bar.
- Lower under control to a near-straight arm hang and repeat.
Key technique cue
Don't bounce off the band: drive the elbows down, lower slowly.
Common mistakes
- ✕ Choosing a band so thick that it lifts you through the whole range, which removes the training stimulus.
- ✕ Bouncing out of the bottom on band tension instead of pulling, so the lats never load.
- ✕ Letting the head jut forward at the top, which shifts effort into the neck and upper traps.
- ✕ Dropping fast on the descent, wasting the eccentric that builds pull-up strength.
Benefits
- ✓ Trains the full pull-up range before you can lift your own bodyweight.
- ✓ Loads the latissimus dorsi and the scapular retractors in one movement.
- ✓ Assistance is adjustable by band thickness, so progress stays measurable.
Progression: from easier to harder
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Step 1 -
Step 2 You are here - Band Assisted Pull-Up
- Machine Assisted Pull Up
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Step 3 -
Step 4 -
Step 5 -
Step 6
About the exercise
The band assisted pull-up keeps the mechanics of a strict pull-up while a resistance band looped over the bar and under one knee or foot gives back some of your bodyweight at the bottom. You hang from a pronated grip slightly wider than shoulder width, depress the shoulder blades, then drive the elbows down and back until the lats are fully shortened. The latissimus dorsi and scapular retractors do the work, with the biceps, mid traps and rear delts assisting. It is a step between the inverted row and the unassisted pull-up.
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