It's time to get on that goal of being able to do pull-ups [1]. If you have access to a TRX [2] or gymnastics rings, this is the exercise CrossFit coaches and athletes like Brooke Ence [3] (who had a role in the movie Wonder Woman [4]) recommend to build upper body strength.
- Stand with your feet hip distance apart, holding a TRX handle or ring in each hand, palms facing each other.
- Walk your feet forward until your body is at a 45-degree angle to the floor, arms fully extended, and your body in one straight line. To make this harder, walk your feet further forward so your shoulders are even closer to the ground. The advanced version of this would be to have the body almost parallel to the floor.
- Holding the core stable and the legs straight with either the feet or heels planted on the floor, bend the elbows behind you, keeping them close to the body, pulling the chest toward the hands.
- Straighten the arms to lower the torso, completing one rep.
No TRX or rings? Use a low bar, like a barbell in a rack that you'd find at a gym. Or here's a video showing how you can do this move using a sturdy table [6] at home.