Basic
| Exercise | Sets | Reps | Rest |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australian Pull-up | 3 | 8 | 1 min |
| Chin-up | 5 | 1 | 90 s |
| Push-up | 3 | 10 | 1 min |
To unlock the next level in a single set
- 12 Australian Pull-up
Pro program
How to do 10 pull-ups in a row: a 4-level program
Ten pull-ups in a row are built as a ladder: australian rows first, then chin-ups, and only at the end the pronated pull-up. Each level is gated by a different exercise, matching wherever your weak link is, until you reach ten in a row. Twelve weeks estimated, four levels.
The 4 levels, exercise by exercise
Here the gating exercise changes at every level: the australian pull-up first, then the chin-up, then the pronated pull-up. That's what orders the progression: you don't move up a rung until you own the previous one, even though you're already touching the other exercises in the session.
Medium
| Exercise | Sets | Reps | Rest |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australian Pull-up | 3 | 10 | 1 min |
| Chin-up | 4 | 3 | 90 s |
| Push-up | 3 | 12 | 1 min |
To unlock the next level in a single set
- 4 Chin-up
High
| Exercise | Sets | Reps | Rest |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pull-up | 4 | 3 | 2 min |
| Australian Pull-up | 3 | 12 | 1 min |
| Chin-up | 3 | 5 | 90 s |
To unlock the next level in a single set
- 5 Pull-up
Advanced
| Exercise | Sets | Reps | Rest |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pull-up | 5 | 5 | 2 min |
| Australian Pull-up | 2 | 12 | 1 min |
| Push-up | 3 | 15 | 1 min |
To complete the program in a single set
- 10 Pull-up
All four levels are laid out on this page. Inside the app, levels two and up are part of Tatakae Pro.
A ladder, not a single exercise
This is the only program in the catalogue where the exercise that unlocks the level keeps changing. That isn’t a quirk. It’s the shape of the progression.
You start on the australian pull-up, a horizontal pull with your feet on the floor. You move to the chin-up, palms facing you, which brings in the biceps and arrives before the pull-up does. And you finish on the pronated pull-up, the real one, the one the goal is counted in.
Each rung opens when you own the one below: 12 rows, then 4 chin-ups, then 5 pull-ups, and finally 10. Skip a rung and you spend weeks doing sets of two with poor form, which is exactly where most people stall.
If you’ve never completed a full pull-up, the short road isn’t this one: it’s Your First Pull-up, then back here once you have two in a row.
Where the weak link sits at each level
At the Basic level, pulling endurance. Five sets of one chin-up is almost a technique drill: they can be done with a jump and a three-second descent. The real work is done by the rows.
At Medium, vertical pulling strength. Four sets of three chin-ups are proper reps now, and the mark is four in a row.
At High the pull-up enters at 4 sets of 3, with two minutes of rest between sets because these are quality sets, not endurance sets. The mark of five in a row is where most people finally feel the exercise belongs to them.
At Advanced the problem changes: 5 sets of 5. Twenty-five pull-ups in the session. It isn’t strength any more, it’s volume, and volume is what turns five in a row into ten.
The form that decides whether you reach ten
Start from a dead hang, arms straight. Half reps are the most common way to inflate the number, and neither the camera nor your back counts them.
Shoulder blades first. Before you bend your elbows, pull your shoulders down as if tucking them into your back pockets. Pull with the arms alone and the number stalls while the elbow complains.
Chin over the bar, without craning your neck to fake it.
No kipping. Swinging drives the body from the hips and belongs to a different sport; here it fakes the rep and doesn’t build the strength you’re after.
Lower under control instead of dropping. The descent is half the stimulus, and it’s where the elbow gets protected.
The mistake that stretches this into months
Attempting sets to failure every session. On the pull-up you pay dearly for it: you arrive at the third set with nothing left, do half reps, and bank grip and elbow fatigue without banking useful volume.
Look at how the Advanced level is built: 5 sets of 5, not 2 sets of 10. The goal is ten in a row, but the road is fifty clean reps per session spread across short sets.
Where to put your phone
Side on, low down, with the bar and your whole body in frame. Check your head doesn’t leave the top of the frame as you reach the bar: it’s the most common framing mistake on pull-ups and it costs you good reps.
At a park, put the phone where nobody will cross behind the bar while you count a set.
What comes after ten
From here bodyweight stops being enough and you choose: added weight to keep building strength, or variations like assisted one-arm pull-ups and L-sit pull-ups. But that’s another sport already.
Ten in a row, first.
Frequently asked questions
How long does it take to do 10 pull-ups in a row?
The estimate is twelve weeks at three sessions a week, and it's the longest program in the catalogue for a reason: the pull-up is the calisthenics exercise that progresses slowest, because you're moving your whole bodyweight with the smallest muscles in the chain.
What's the difference between a chin-up and a pull-up?
The chin-up is taken with your palms facing you and brings in far more biceps, so it comes sooner. The pull-up, palms facing away, loads the back more and is harder. That's why the program uses the chin-up as a bridge: it lets you bank real reps while the pull-up still isn't there.
Do I need to be able to do a pull-up before starting this?
No. The Basic level only asks for one chin-up per set, which can be done with a jump and a controlled descent. Still, if you've never completed a full rep, the shortest road is the Your First Pull-up program, then come back here.
Why does the program keep australian rows until the end?
Because they're the only way to bank pulling volume without wrecking yourself. When you're doing five pull-ups per set, your back needs more work than fits into those five reps, and rows supply it without the fatigue of hanging your whole bodyweight.
Should I use added weight to progress faster?
Not yet. Added weight makes sense from about twelve or fifteen clean pull-ups; before that, what's missing is rep volume, not extra load. That's exactly why the program leans on sets of 3 and 5.
How often should I train pull-ups?
Three sessions a week on alternate days. Your grip and elbows bank more fatigue than you'd think, and on this exercise training tired doesn't just pay less: it's where elbow trouble shows up.