Reps Only exercise

Negative Pull-up form, muscles worked, and workout tracking

The negative pull-up trains only the lowering phase of the pull-up, starting with the chin over the bar and descending as slowly as possible to load the lats, biceps, and grip eccentrically. Lifters who cannot yet perform full pull-ups use it as the most effective progression toward them, because eccentric strength exceeds concentric strength and slow negatives build capacity across the entire range.

Negative Pull-up illustration

How to do Negative Pull-up

  1. 1Use a box, a bench, or a jump to start at the top of a pull-up with your chin above the bar and palms facing away.
  2. 2Grip the bar hard, brace your core, and pull your shoulder blades down before beginning the descent.
  3. 3Lower yourself as slowly as you can, aiming for three to five seconds or more from top to bottom.
  4. 4Exhale steadily as you descend and fight for control through the middle of the range rather than dropping through it.
  5. 5Do not release at the halfway point or let your shoulders slam into the bottom; finish in a full hang, then step back up for the next rep.

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Track Negative Pull-up in Plates

Save this movement to a workout template, log sets and rest periods, and keep your training history in one focused gym tracker.