Back strength is crucial to mastering pull-ups, so you’ll want to strengthen several target muscles: your latissimus dorsi, which runs from your rib cage to hips, and your middle and lower trapezius, ...

Once you can hold yourself at the top of a pull-up—chin over bar—for at least 10 seconds, it’s time to focus on lowering yourself slowly and with control. This is called the eccentric phase of a ...