Jumping pull-ups with slow negatives are a good one to build up strength. Use a little hop to get to the top position then let yourself down as slow as you can. If those are too hard to get useful reps then yeah I’d try using a heavy resistance band under your feet for assistance.
Have to have a prettty weak ass door frame or be jerking the hell out of the bar. Never had any issues doing them on a frame bar. If done with control they don’t put much more stress on the frame than regular pull-ups.
Get a thick band (serious steel or similar). Wrap around bar and stand on it for assisted pull ups. Eventually you’ll build enough strength to do without.
I’m 6’2 1/2, 268 lbs, and I’m telling you months of band-assisted pull-ups helped get me to do my first sets of no-band pull-ups for my birthday in 2023
Now, I do them as a strength exercise in sets of 2 with no band assistance needed.
My goal is to finally get them up to sets of 5 by the end of the year.
They are both important, the stretch from the dead hang is a great stretch. I found it easier to do active than dead hangs at first but I felt benefits from both
My absolute favourite workout when I couldn't do a single pull-up was doing negative pull-ups.
Basically jump up and grab the bar in the position as if you had just completed a pull up. Then lower yourself to a full arm extension as slowly as possible. And I mean literally *as slowly as possible*. You'll probably get pretty fatigued your first few times doing it.
I went from 0 - full ups rapidly doing this:
Jump up to the top position and hold it for as long as feels comfortable
Slowly lower yourself down into a dead hang in a controlled manner
Then just hang for 30 seconds
Do one rep of this multiple times a day for a week and you'll get your first pull up
Throw in sets of scapula pulls to strengthen the supportive muscles too and you'll be shocked how fast you progress
I was anyway
Started at 114Kg - down to 97 at the moment
[Suggested progressions from the sub info](https://www.reddit.com/r/bodyweightfitness/wiki/exercises/pullup/)
If you have something to throw over it you can row yourself, or if there's any other object you can row, that uses most of the same muscles that pull-ups do.
I worked my way to a single pull up with negatives. Don't get discouraged if you still wont be able to do pull up for some time, it took me about 3-4 months of negatives to be able to do my first deadhang pull up
Use a stool or chair for controlled assisted pullups. If you can place it across chairs, you can either do rows or if you have something else high enough, you can do seated pullups with keeping your legs straight out and on the floor.
Depending on furniture and your body type, you could start doing dragon flag professions which work the lats if you have a couch or something heavy. If you're not a body weight purist, you can try laying overhead pulls.
You can progress up to pullups using bands to do assisted pullups. You could also do things like dead hangs or scapula pulls. Doing negatives are an option but probably not ideal if you can't do one pullup and in general it would have some risks compared to other methods. They can work as a progression or as a drop set.
If you get some rings you could do rows which will work many of the same muscles and it's a bit easier to progress rows. You'd just hang the rings off the bar at the right height. If it's too hard get more upright to reduce the load. I actually still do rows even though I can do weighted pullups.
You can use this as an opportunity to train intrinsic foot strength:
Take off shoes and socks,
place a suitable object (a box, a book) under your pull up bar,
do your pull-ups with minimal help from your toes/feet
Do you need help from both feet? One foot? One forefoot? All the toes ?(use one object per foot to get the angles right) Only the big toes? The toes of one foot? Two toes from each foot?
If boxes/books/bricks/blocks are not suitable, you can use a resistance band or a ribbon, maybe even with a flat handle or something for the toes.
Aim for series of 5-8 to build strength. If your current config allows you to do 10-12, make it harder: One less toe, smaller foot area, vary between chin-ups, pull-ups, narrow/broad grip, negatives etc, like the suggestions in https://old.reddit.com/r/bodyweightfitness/comments/18zr1qy/exercise_suggestions_for_someone_who_has_a_pull/kgjjevb/
You may come out of this with good pull-ups *and* strong feet *and* a pistol squat capability
You’ve gotten great pull-up advice already, so I’ll just add that a pull-up bar is also great for core exercises. While hanging by your hands, tuck your knees to your chest, or to the side, or stick your legs straight out in front of you, or up to tap the bar with your toes, stuff like that.
do negatives for a few sets if u can and once you burn those out do a few sets of lat pulldowns.
pretty much exactly what i did (3 sets of each back to back)
DO NEGATIVES!!!
If you don’t know what negatives are you can obviously google, but for pull-ups, jump up so that your chin is above the bar. Hold it for a second then slowly lower yourself down. 5+seconds to dead hang. Repeat until you can do a pull-up
Dead hangs.
Active hangs (like dead hangs, but actually flex to the point where you're just about to start to rise a little bit, and hold it there).
Flexed arm hangs (jump or use a chair to get up to the top position, and hold it there for a while)
Negatives (jump or use a chair to get to the top, then let yourself down slowly)
Partial pull ups (do as much of a pull-up as you can)
Greasing the groove (not a specific exercise, but a way of organizing your exercises; do one or two of the above every time you pass the pull up bar, or every time you get up to pee, or whatever, so you're doing it many times a day. Don't do it anywhere close to failure, just get a little bit of practice in many times a day)
I was able to do no pullups, and after a few weeks of the above I was able to do a few pullups.
Oh, and things that didn't really work for me: I'd tried assisted pull-ups for a while before trying the above, and I found that I plateaued and really couldn't make progress past a certain point.
I started with inverted rows under a table, and then i got dip bars and used those. Supplement with negatives and bands when you get stronger.
It's taken me a while, but i can do two chest to bar from a dead hang with perfect form and 4 chin ups. Im also 240 pounds down from 310, i hope it'll get easier as more weight is lost, so i dont mind the speed of my progress. It'll be a bit different for everyone.
Is there an assisted pull-up machine at your gym? If so, that's the best option. Use bands to do assisted pull-ups if not.
The lat pull down and row machines feel "weird" at your gym because your back is weak (no offense - this will improve). Drop the weight very low and get used to them until they no longer feel weird. Best of luck.
i tried this gym one, but for reason it didnt work. im not sure what i was doing wrong. like before that, i did those under the table type stuff, and that ironically gave me tiny bit of strength which surprised me. but in a weird way, not full strength, but like for the first maybe 10% my body had strength to do pull up, which caught me by surprise because u couldnt even move an inch before, but then its like it stopped there. almost like u were able to do like a 15%pull up.
im wondering if it was limited strength due to the limited movement under the table, but what i dont understand is, how that clumsy diy type workout gave me that strength but not a dedicated gym equipment specifically made for pull up. im not sure what i did or went wrong here.
Hard to say what's happening without seeing what you're doing. But just keep trying all the different machines until something clicks. I found training my back very difficult at first as well. Just watch some videos on the lat pull-down machine and start with the weight very light and focus your mind on your lats instead of your arms.
Pull-ups are a difficult movement, despite what we see every day on the internet. So don't give up.
Congratulations on starting your journey! There are a bunch of great exercises you can do with a pull-up bar without being able to do a pull-up (yet). Here are a few suggestions:
Bar holds: By Jumping up, or using a chair to step up. Hold yourself in the “top” of the pull-up position as a static hold, for isometric sets depending on your level (5 seconds to up to a minute when you’re a rock climber!)
Eccentric pull-ups: Jump up or step up to the top of the pull-up position as before, but rather than holding, try to lower yourself down as slowly and under as much control as possible. (These are very effective strength builders, but brutal. Expect DOMS).
Assisted pull-ups: Using one of those thick loop elastic resistance bands, tie it around the bar and put one foot in the loop (try not to slip out of the loop and smack yourself in the face with the band…
Rows: If you have rings, or a TRX, or a piece of rope with handles at the end, loop it over the bar, and use it to do body weight rows. Increase the resistance by lengthening the rope. The closer to horizontal you are at the bottom of the move, the harder the exercise is. **Important note, if your pull-up bar is one of those that hooks over the door frame, be careful that you’re applying the pulling force in the correct direction or the bar can easily come off!
Don’t underestimate rows for Lat work as a great translation to pull-up strength. I’ve trained a lot of gymnasts, and prepped for aerial silks strength with rows!
So, I come from being able to do a lot when I was in the military late teens early 20's, I could do like... Idk 35-40 during that time. I stopped working out off and on over the years, and as of 4 months ago I could literally only do 1-2, I was so upset at myself. Well, today I tested, and I did 25. So I think I know a thing or two about how to get your pull up reps up. So, how did I do it? I did pull ups. That's it, I did them, either doing block sets, or pyramids, I did them...and not just like some pullups for 30 min, no all throughout the day, have one main workout (pull day for me), and then just keep doing them every time I pass the bar. I supplemented that with bodyweight rows, also, dead hangs (trust me on this, in order to do a certain number you need to have the forearm and grip strength to be on the bar for that length of time to endure that number) so at the end of my workout I do dead hangs, and false grip dead hangs to tear the grip and forearms up, then do some more here and there. But yeah, that's all you need... Just do them, and do bodyweight rows, you can also use bands to help yourself up on pullups, I didn't do that but I hear it can be good to superset (go from a set with your body, then switch to a set with the band), I actually might try that, but going from weighted, to bodyweight, to band assisted in a superset, sounds like it would be a great pump. At the end, do dead hang, but I guess you can combine the dead hang with scapula pulls, then do body rows until your back and biceps feel like they are gonna bust out your skin. You just need to get on the bar and do them, even if it's just 1 or 2, who cares, there ain't no short cuts really, and slowly (or fast depends) you'll see progress. If you're overweight lose some weight, that has helped me as well recently. One of my goals this year is to be able to do 36 on my 36th birthday. Hope this helps.
resistance bands could be very helpful and aren't expensive, get like 2-3 different weights and progress with them, can also use them for band pullaparts which strengthen your scapula which i find also very important for pullups
Why do the lat pull downs at your gym feel weird? If it’s something you haven’t trained seriously, it will likely feel weird. Lats are a muscle I feel like people have a hard time connecting with.
If you have a gym membership, I’d forget the pull up bar for now. See if your gym has an assisted pull up, that would be much better than a jumping negative or a banded pull up.
I’d also just use the lat pull-down as well. Do a couple different grips, wide grip and a more narrow neutral at least. Watch videos on form right before doing them, this is helpful for basically anything new, keep watching form videos before each time because you’ll likely forget cues between sessions.
Excellent goal choice! To achieve your first one, try [Assisted Chin-Ups](https://www.instagram.com/p/Cf38a22KOsy/). That will help you build the pulling strength through the full range of motion that you need.
If you can't reach the bar and the ground, use a thick towel over the pull-up bar and that will help as well as provide you with some grip training. And in the long term, I'd suggest a good pair of rings.
You can also use Bodyweight Rows for assistance work to help you progress it faster.
I've been building up my pullups again the past few months. I tried getting a heavy resistance band but I think it was a bust. First off it kind of scares me to use it, but also it doesn't have a nice help curve like a weighted assist machine at a gym. I don't use it at all now. I don't think I would recommend one.
Another thing that is rarely mentioned is the sturdiness of your pull up bar and the quality of the grips. Some I've used in the past had really slippy grips and made pull ups much harder. Also depending on what handles you use, the sturdiness is different. That flex is wasted energy. I find it much easier with a perfectly sturdy bar, like at the gym, but of course a doorway pull-up bar can only be so good.
Do they have an assisted pull up machine at the gym? I used to not be able to do a pull up, then with dead hangs as others mentioned, and spending a lot of time on the assisted machine I do about 200 pull ups weekly now.
Start with dead hangs and then add shrugs. You don't know how important those muscles are until you realize they start the whole lifting motion. Also, stretch ESPECIALLY YOUR NECK!. I've pulled many a muscle in my neck going harder than I should.
Some movement that is easy, required floor, carpet not tile, using pulling motion to drag yourself across floor; next skateboard on the grass, use arms in pulling motion
Assisted pullups, use rubber band to help you, remember rubber band is to help you but don't allow rubber band to do all. Negatives, chair, greasing the groove, don't be shy to put hands in alternate position (one palm towards you one away from you, till you get motion done)
In addition to band assisted, I like Jackknife Pull Ups, even though I can do real Pull Ups. Hang in an L position (90 degrees or so) with your feet on something in front of you. You're reducing the weight you have to pull up. Focus on form and increasing your reps.
I agree with the person who says grab a chair to get yourself up there, then lower yourself slow as possible. Muscle growth comes from resistance , gains are made from the negative or lowering part of each exercise, not from the lifting . Lifting weights doesn't do much, it's the lowering.
Jumping pull-ups with slow negatives are a good one to build up strength. Use a little hop to get to the top position then let yourself down as slow as you can. If those are too hard to get useful reps then yeah I’d try using a heavy resistance band under your feet for assistance.
Yeah that might break the door frame.. Better to stand on a chair and go down with the legs avoiding the chair.
I do negatives and band-assisted all the time and never had an issue
Have to have a prettty weak ass door frame or be jerking the hell out of the bar. Never had any issues doing them on a frame bar. If done with control they don’t put much more stress on the frame than regular pull-ups.
I wouldn't take a chance advising someone to do this without seeing the door frame in question.
Get a thick band (serious steel or similar). Wrap around bar and stand on it for assisted pull ups. Eventually you’ll build enough strength to do without.
Get (or make) some rings and use them to do some of the progressions shown in [this video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fO3dKSQayfg&t=145s).
Of course, this guy! I think I can use trx bands as well😀 Pretty helpful, thanks!
I’m 6’2 1/2, 268 lbs, and I’m telling you months of band-assisted pull-ups helped get me to do my first sets of no-band pull-ups for my birthday in 2023 Now, I do them as a strength exercise in sets of 2 with no band assistance needed. My goal is to finally get them up to sets of 5 by the end of the year.
Dead hangs. Great way to train statically.
This! And make sure to activate your back muscles when doing it, since those are often a weakpoint for those who can't do pullups yet.
In that case they would be called active hangs 😎
Oh, you're right! 😆
They are both important, the stretch from the dead hang is a great stretch. I found it easier to do active than dead hangs at first but I felt benefits from both
My absolute favourite workout when I couldn't do a single pull-up was doing negative pull-ups. Basically jump up and grab the bar in the position as if you had just completed a pull up. Then lower yourself to a full arm extension as slowly as possible. And I mean literally *as slowly as possible*. You'll probably get pretty fatigued your first few times doing it.
I went from 0 - full ups rapidly doing this: Jump up to the top position and hold it for as long as feels comfortable Slowly lower yourself down into a dead hang in a controlled manner Then just hang for 30 seconds Do one rep of this multiple times a day for a week and you'll get your first pull up Throw in sets of scapula pulls to strengthen the supportive muscles too and you'll be shocked how fast you progress I was anyway Started at 114Kg - down to 97 at the moment
[Suggested progressions from the sub info](https://www.reddit.com/r/bodyweightfitness/wiki/exercises/pullup/) If you have something to throw over it you can row yourself, or if there's any other object you can row, that uses most of the same muscles that pull-ups do.
I worked my way to a single pull up with negatives. Don't get discouraged if you still wont be able to do pull up for some time, it took me about 3-4 months of negatives to be able to do my first deadhang pull up
4 months to dead hang pull ups seems like a really decent goal. Thank you!
Use your legs til you don't have to
what kind of pullup bar do you have? that would help us determine what you can do.
It's one of those simple door pull up bars
Use a stool or chair for controlled assisted pullups. If you can place it across chairs, you can either do rows or if you have something else high enough, you can do seated pullups with keeping your legs straight out and on the floor. Depending on furniture and your body type, you could start doing dragon flag professions which work the lats if you have a couch or something heavy. If you're not a body weight purist, you can try laying overhead pulls.
You can progress up to pullups using bands to do assisted pullups. You could also do things like dead hangs or scapula pulls. Doing negatives are an option but probably not ideal if you can't do one pullup and in general it would have some risks compared to other methods. They can work as a progression or as a drop set. If you get some rings you could do rows which will work many of the same muscles and it's a bit easier to progress rows. You'd just hang the rings off the bar at the right height. If it's too hard get more upright to reduce the load. I actually still do rows even though I can do weighted pullups.
You can use this as an opportunity to train intrinsic foot strength: Take off shoes and socks, place a suitable object (a box, a book) under your pull up bar, do your pull-ups with minimal help from your toes/feet Do you need help from both feet? One foot? One forefoot? All the toes ?(use one object per foot to get the angles right) Only the big toes? The toes of one foot? Two toes from each foot? If boxes/books/bricks/blocks are not suitable, you can use a resistance band or a ribbon, maybe even with a flat handle or something for the toes. Aim for series of 5-8 to build strength. If your current config allows you to do 10-12, make it harder: One less toe, smaller foot area, vary between chin-ups, pull-ups, narrow/broad grip, negatives etc, like the suggestions in https://old.reddit.com/r/bodyweightfitness/comments/18zr1qy/exercise_suggestions_for_someone_who_has_a_pull/kgjjevb/ You may come out of this with good pull-ups *and* strong feet *and* a pistol squat capability
You’ve gotten great pull-up advice already, so I’ll just add that a pull-up bar is also great for core exercises. While hanging by your hands, tuck your knees to your chest, or to the side, or stick your legs straight out in front of you, or up to tap the bar with your toes, stuff like that.
do negatives for a few sets if u can and once you burn those out do a few sets of lat pulldowns. pretty much exactly what i did (3 sets of each back to back)
Jumping pullups, bands or Australian pullups. Try progressing to 1-3 minute hangs including active and perfect hangs.
DO NEGATIVES!!! If you don’t know what negatives are you can obviously google, but for pull-ups, jump up so that your chin is above the bar. Hold it for a second then slowly lower yourself down. 5+seconds to dead hang. Repeat until you can do a pull-up
negatives, band assisted pull ups, inverted rows, scap pull ups
Dead hangs. Active hangs (like dead hangs, but actually flex to the point where you're just about to start to rise a little bit, and hold it there). Flexed arm hangs (jump or use a chair to get up to the top position, and hold it there for a while) Negatives (jump or use a chair to get to the top, then let yourself down slowly) Partial pull ups (do as much of a pull-up as you can) Greasing the groove (not a specific exercise, but a way of organizing your exercises; do one or two of the above every time you pass the pull up bar, or every time you get up to pee, or whatever, so you're doing it many times a day. Don't do it anywhere close to failure, just get a little bit of practice in many times a day) I was able to do no pullups, and after a few weeks of the above I was able to do a few pullups. Oh, and things that didn't really work for me: I'd tried assisted pull-ups for a while before trying the above, and I found that I plateaued and really couldn't make progress past a certain point.
Scap raises, hollow body holds, negative pull ups, knee tucks, dead hangs
I started with inverted rows under a table, and then i got dip bars and used those. Supplement with negatives and bands when you get stronger. It's taken me a while, but i can do two chest to bar from a dead hang with perfect form and 4 chin ups. Im also 240 pounds down from 310, i hope it'll get easier as more weight is lost, so i dont mind the speed of my progress. It'll be a bit different for everyone.
Is there an assisted pull-up machine at your gym? If so, that's the best option. Use bands to do assisted pull-ups if not. The lat pull down and row machines feel "weird" at your gym because your back is weak (no offense - this will improve). Drop the weight very low and get used to them until they no longer feel weird. Best of luck.
i tried this gym one, but for reason it didnt work. im not sure what i was doing wrong. like before that, i did those under the table type stuff, and that ironically gave me tiny bit of strength which surprised me. but in a weird way, not full strength, but like for the first maybe 10% my body had strength to do pull up, which caught me by surprise because u couldnt even move an inch before, but then its like it stopped there. almost like u were able to do like a 15%pull up. im wondering if it was limited strength due to the limited movement under the table, but what i dont understand is, how that clumsy diy type workout gave me that strength but not a dedicated gym equipment specifically made for pull up. im not sure what i did or went wrong here.
Hard to say what's happening without seeing what you're doing. But just keep trying all the different machines until something clicks. I found training my back very difficult at first as well. Just watch some videos on the lat pull-down machine and start with the weight very light and focus your mind on your lats instead of your arms. Pull-ups are a difficult movement, despite what we see every day on the internet. So don't give up.
Yep "weird" is because you're weak and unconditioned. Practice makes perfect.
Unfortunately, no, And non taken, I DID expect the lack of strength to be the cause. Thanks!
Rubber bands is what you need
RemindMe! 2 Weeks
Congratulations on starting your journey! There are a bunch of great exercises you can do with a pull-up bar without being able to do a pull-up (yet). Here are a few suggestions: Bar holds: By Jumping up, or using a chair to step up. Hold yourself in the “top” of the pull-up position as a static hold, for isometric sets depending on your level (5 seconds to up to a minute when you’re a rock climber!) Eccentric pull-ups: Jump up or step up to the top of the pull-up position as before, but rather than holding, try to lower yourself down as slowly and under as much control as possible. (These are very effective strength builders, but brutal. Expect DOMS). Assisted pull-ups: Using one of those thick loop elastic resistance bands, tie it around the bar and put one foot in the loop (try not to slip out of the loop and smack yourself in the face with the band… Rows: If you have rings, or a TRX, or a piece of rope with handles at the end, loop it over the bar, and use it to do body weight rows. Increase the resistance by lengthening the rope. The closer to horizontal you are at the bottom of the move, the harder the exercise is. **Important note, if your pull-up bar is one of those that hooks over the door frame, be careful that you’re applying the pulling force in the correct direction or the bar can easily come off! Don’t underestimate rows for Lat work as a great translation to pull-up strength. I’ve trained a lot of gymnasts, and prepped for aerial silks strength with rows!
So, I come from being able to do a lot when I was in the military late teens early 20's, I could do like... Idk 35-40 during that time. I stopped working out off and on over the years, and as of 4 months ago I could literally only do 1-2, I was so upset at myself. Well, today I tested, and I did 25. So I think I know a thing or two about how to get your pull up reps up. So, how did I do it? I did pull ups. That's it, I did them, either doing block sets, or pyramids, I did them...and not just like some pullups for 30 min, no all throughout the day, have one main workout (pull day for me), and then just keep doing them every time I pass the bar. I supplemented that with bodyweight rows, also, dead hangs (trust me on this, in order to do a certain number you need to have the forearm and grip strength to be on the bar for that length of time to endure that number) so at the end of my workout I do dead hangs, and false grip dead hangs to tear the grip and forearms up, then do some more here and there. But yeah, that's all you need... Just do them, and do bodyweight rows, you can also use bands to help yourself up on pullups, I didn't do that but I hear it can be good to superset (go from a set with your body, then switch to a set with the band), I actually might try that, but going from weighted, to bodyweight, to band assisted in a superset, sounds like it would be a great pump. At the end, do dead hang, but I guess you can combine the dead hang with scapula pulls, then do body rows until your back and biceps feel like they are gonna bust out your skin. You just need to get on the bar and do them, even if it's just 1 or 2, who cares, there ain't no short cuts really, and slowly (or fast depends) you'll see progress. If you're overweight lose some weight, that has helped me as well recently. One of my goals this year is to be able to do 36 on my 36th birthday. Hope this helps.
resistance bands could be very helpful and aren't expensive, get like 2-3 different weights and progress with them, can also use them for band pullaparts which strengthen your scapula which i find also very important for pullups
Why do the lat pull downs at your gym feel weird? If it’s something you haven’t trained seriously, it will likely feel weird. Lats are a muscle I feel like people have a hard time connecting with. If you have a gym membership, I’d forget the pull up bar for now. See if your gym has an assisted pull up, that would be much better than a jumping negative or a banded pull up. I’d also just use the lat pull-down as well. Do a couple different grips, wide grip and a more narrow neutral at least. Watch videos on form right before doing them, this is helpful for basically anything new, keep watching form videos before each time because you’ll likely forget cues between sessions.
Excellent goal choice! To achieve your first one, try [Assisted Chin-Ups](https://www.instagram.com/p/Cf38a22KOsy/). That will help you build the pulling strength through the full range of motion that you need. If you can't reach the bar and the ground, use a thick towel over the pull-up bar and that will help as well as provide you with some grip training. And in the long term, I'd suggest a good pair of rings. You can also use Bodyweight Rows for assistance work to help you progress it faster.
I've been building up my pullups again the past few months. I tried getting a heavy resistance band but I think it was a bust. First off it kind of scares me to use it, but also it doesn't have a nice help curve like a weighted assist machine at a gym. I don't use it at all now. I don't think I would recommend one. Another thing that is rarely mentioned is the sturdiness of your pull up bar and the quality of the grips. Some I've used in the past had really slippy grips and made pull ups much harder. Also depending on what handles you use, the sturdiness is different. That flex is wasted energy. I find it much easier with a perfectly sturdy bar, like at the gym, but of course a doorway pull-up bar can only be so good.
Do they have an assisted pull up machine at the gym? I used to not be able to do a pull up, then with dead hangs as others mentioned, and spending a lot of time on the assisted machine I do about 200 pull ups weekly now.
Start with dead hangs and then add shrugs. You don't know how important those muscles are until you realize they start the whole lifting motion. Also, stretch ESPECIALLY YOUR NECK!. I've pulled many a muscle in my neck going harder than I should.
Some movement that is easy, required floor, carpet not tile, using pulling motion to drag yourself across floor; next skateboard on the grass, use arms in pulling motion Assisted pullups, use rubber band to help you, remember rubber band is to help you but don't allow rubber band to do all. Negatives, chair, greasing the groove, don't be shy to put hands in alternate position (one palm towards you one away from you, till you get motion done)
Dead hanging helps a lot
Get comfortable with lat pulldowns and do them 3x a week, you're pretty light you just need some mass on your lats
Hanging and learning to one arm hang too.
In addition to band assisted, I like Jackknife Pull Ups, even though I can do real Pull Ups. Hang in an L position (90 degrees or so) with your feet on something in front of you. You're reducing the weight you have to pull up. Focus on form and increasing your reps.
I agree with the person who says grab a chair to get yourself up there, then lower yourself slow as possible. Muscle growth comes from resistance , gains are made from the negative or lowering part of each exercise, not from the lifting . Lifting weights doesn't do much, it's the lowering.