Should you add Pull Ups or Chin Ups to Your Kettlebell Routine?

‘REBUILT AFTER 40’

Single Kettlebell Technique

Double Kettlebell Technique

I receive a lot of questions from guys asking me if they can or if they should add Pull Ups or Chin Ups to their kettlebell programs.
(For the record, so we’re on the same page here: Pull Ups palms face away from you, Chin Ups palms face toward you.)
My responses are usually one of the following:

1- Based upon the program, there’s usually no need to.

What most guys don’t know, is that based upon the original kettlebell research by Voropayev (see Pavel’s, The Russian Kettlebell Challenge), the “kettlebell only” group improved their calisthenics numbers - including Pull Ups - by “just” doing kettlebell work.
“Wait - they didn’t do any calisthenics - like Pull Ups at all??”
Apparently.

That was one of the initial attractions of the kettlebell:
Instead of spending a ton of time doing 55-11 different exercises, you could just do a few and see superior results to traditional training / programming.

And many guys who take the time to learn proper kettlebell technique report the same thing from exercises like Snatches, Presses, and Clean and Presses, and for some, even Swings.

Guys who have “crappy” or “good enough” technique usually don’t see any results in their Pull Up / Chin Up numbers.

Worse, they get hurt - shoulders, elbows, lower backs.

How would you know if your kettlebell training is helping your Pull Up numbers?
Simple - test them.

Run a KB training cycle - about 8 weeks - and test them again.

More Pull Ups?

Excellent. Your programming and your technique is on point.

Less Pull Ups?

You better go back and make sure your -
[a] KB technique is dialed in

[b] Your programming is “smart.”

By the way, if your programming is good, then you’ll be able to measure strength gains on whatever lift or lifts you’re training.

So, most likely, it’s your kettlebell technique.

If you need to learn appropriate technique, use this for singles, and this for doubles (which play by different rules than the singles).

2- Why do you want to add them in? What’s the purpose / end goal?

Look, I get it - you may want to add them in for the love of them, for exercise variety, or maybe you have a PT test to pass that includes them.

The problem is, most guys just add the Pull Ups / Chins to what they’re currently doing.

And that can lead to overtraining issues - like elbow tendonitis.

Remember, more isn’t better - it’s only more.

That’s why I recommend several different strategies if you insist on adding them in:

#1 - Use low reps, and stay away from failure

#2 - Train Pull Ups / Chins on separate days from your KBs to improve recovery

#3 - Cut your current in half by duration or volume, and add in Pull Ups / Chins if you need to train them on the same days

#4 - Make your reps feel easy - no “grinding” - regardless of how many in a set you’re doing

If you need some help programming, use Schedule B in Rebuilt After 40.

Inside you’ll find Chins, Dips, Clean + Presses, and Squats.

I’ll leave a link in the description below if you want to check it out.

Remember, one of the original promises of the kettlebell was “do more with less, in less time.”

And the keys to doing that are -
1- Proper technique
2- Intelligent programming
And if you need to learn proper technique AND want intelligent programming, I’ll leave some resources for you in the description below.
Hopefully you found this helpful.
Stay Strong,
Geoff