Free training tool
Find your step to a first pull-up.
Six answers place you on the same pull-up ladder Aion runs inside the app. You get your step, its sets and reps, the target that moves you up, and a simple week to run it. No timelines: you move when you meet the target.
- No account
- No saved answers
- Aion's own ladder
Planner
Where are you now?
Answer from your last clean attempt. If you have not tried something, enter 0 or pick No. Starting a step low costs little, because you move up as soon as you meet the target.
Still to answer: your hang time, scapular pull-ups, the row question, the equipment question, pull-ups, training days. Nothing you enter leaves this page.
The ladder
6 steps, each with a way out.
These are the steps, doses and exit targets Aion uses in the app, read from the same data. The numbers line shows how Aion reads each target when it decides to move you up.
- 1
Active hang
3 x 20/40s 3 sets of 20 to 40 seconds
Hang from the bar with the shoulders set, not slumped into the joints. Keep the body still and quiet.
Move up at: 40s pain-free hang. 2 holds of 40 seconds or longer in one session, without pain.
- 2
Scapular pull-up
3 x 8/12 3 sets of 8 to 12 reps
Hang at full stretch with straight arms, then pull the shoulder blades down and back so the body rises a couple of inches. Arms stay straight the whole time.
Move up at: Clean scap reps. All 3 sets at 12 clean reps.
- 3
Inverted / ring row
3 x 8/12 3 sets of 8 to 12 reps
Keep the body in one line, pull the chest to the rings or bar, pause, then lower with full shoulder motion.
Move up at: Body almost horizontal rows. All 3 sets at 12 clean reps.
- 4
Lat pulldown / assisted
3 x 8/12 3 sets of 8 to 12 reps
Start long through the arms, pull the elbows down or back, then return to a full stretch.
Move up at: Strong vertical pull pattern. All 3 sets at 12 clean reps.
An assisted pull-up machine or a band looped over the bar works this step too. Without any of them, the planner skips it.
- 5
Pull-up
4 x 3/8 4 sets of 3 to 8 reps
Dead hang start, chin over bar, controlled lower.
Move up at: Multiple clean dead-hang pull-ups. All 4 sets at 8 clean reps.
- 6
Weighted pull-up
4 x 3/5 4 sets of 3 to 5 reps
Pull up with weight added at the waist, chin clearly over the bar, lower all the way down.
At the top: Add load while form stays honest.
How it places you
The first target you have not met is your step.
- The planner walks the ladder from the bottom and stops at the first step whose target you have not met.
- A target with a number, such as the 40 second hang, is met at that number. A target without one, such as clean scap reps, is met when every set reaches the top of the step's range, so the row question asks about 12 reps.
- One clean pull-up counts the hang, the scapular pull-up and the row as done. Those steps exist to build toward it.
- Without a lat pulldown, an assisted machine or a band, step 4 is skipped. If that leaves you on the pull-up step with fewer reps than its floor, the step runs as negative pull-ups.
- The planner places you from your best single set. Aion moves you from logged sessions, where the target applies to every set, so the app can hold you a step lower until all your sets catch up.
Each session puts your step first, while you are fresh, and pairs it with push-ups as a superset. The step below yours follows for extra volume.
Questions
Questions people ask
How long does it take to get your first pull-up?
Nobody can give you an honest number of weeks without watching you train. It depends on which step you start on, how your pulling strength compares with your body weight, and how many sessions you actually do. This planner gives you targets instead: you move up a step when you meet one, and the pull-up comes after the last of them. Train your step at least twice a week, the minimum the 2026 ACSM position stand links to strength gains.
Are negatives or bands better for a first pull-up?
Use whichever your kit allows, because they train different halves of the same lift. A band takes some of your weight through the whole pull, most at the bottom where it stretches furthest, so you practise the full movement. A negative is the lowering half at full body weight and needs only a bar. In this planner a band counts as kit for step 4, and with no band or machine the pull-up step runs as negatives.
Negative vs band-assisted pull-ups, comparedCan I train for a pull-up without a bar?
Partly. A lat pulldown, a kneeling band pulldown from a safe anchor, or rows under a sturdy table all build pulling strength without a bar. The hang, the scapular pull-up and the pull-up itself need something to hang from, so find a doorway bar or a playground bar before the later steps.
Pull-up alternatives without a barEvidence and limits
Aion's ladder, and the research around it.
The ladder itself is Aion's programming, not a published protocol. The week around it follows two sources. The 2026 ACSM position stand found strength improved with at least two sessions a week and with the exercise done early in the session. A 2025 review of 19 studies found supersets kept training volume while shortening sessions, and pairing opposing muscles, such as a pull with a push, allowed more reps.
Stop if a shoulder or elbow hurts during hangs or pulls, and have sharp or worsening pain checked by a professional.
Sources
- Resistance Training Prescription for Muscle Function, Hypertrophy, and Physical Performance in Healthy AdultsAmerican College of Sports Medicine, Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 2026
- Superset Versus Traditional Resistance Training Prescriptions: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysisSports Medicine, 2025
Aion Coach for iPhone
Aion runs this exact ladder inside your plan.
Your step goes first in the session while you are fresh, and the step below it builds volume. When your logged sets hit the target, Aion moves you up a step. Two sessions that miss the step's floor move you back one.