Trainer María Macías Martín explains why the first pull-up takes planned progress

A first pull-up rarely appears overnight. For trainer María Macías Martín, it is the result of a carefully planned progression, not an achievement that emerges from repeatedly hanging from a bar and trying to force the body upward.

Macías, who shares exercise content on Instagram, says beginners often treat the pull-up as a test. Her approach is to build the abilities required for the movement separately. Grip strength comes first among them. If the hands and forearms cannot support body weight for long enough, the back has little chance to complete the exercise.

She also emphasizes the shoulder blades. The movement does not begin with desperate elbow flexion. People must first learn to position and control their shoulders and scapulae so the back muscles can participate properly, rather than leaving the arms to do all the work.

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The first pull-up usually does not appear overnight; it is the result of a carefully planned progression.

Her progressions include inverted rows, scapular push-ups and eccentric pull-ups, in which the trainee starts at the top and slowly controls the descent. These exercises train parts of the movement before a person can lift their entire body from the bottom. Macías also says the mental side matters. “Pull-ups are one of the best indicators of relative strength,” she wrote in one post, while noting elsewhere that a first repetition may take months rather than a few weeks.

She therefore advises people not to measure progress only by whether their chin clears the bar. Hanging for longer, controlling a negative more effectively, performing a harder row or using less assistance all represent improvement.

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Pull-ups are one of the best indicators of relative strength.