how to pass the military pull up test

The pull up test is a non-negotiable requirement of the United States Military’s Physical Fitness requirements.

To pass the Semi-Annual Physical Test as a Marine, men across all age groups have to do at least three pull ups. Women in each age division have to be able to three pull ups to pass, and eight to receive a perfect score (the pull up-for-women requirement was added in 2014).

The Army Ranger Physical Fitness Test includes three phases after a preliminary fitness test. Before attending Ranger School, candidates should be able to do a minimum of 6 pull ups (but should strive to be able to do 12 or more).

Of course, it is always better to be able to do more than the bare minimum. Physical fitness is a huge component of life as a marine and life as a ranger. Both Marines and Rangers are encouraged to go above and beyond the minimum standards required to pass the Physical Fitness Tests.

Pass the Military Pull up Test: How many People Fail the Military Pull up Test?

Only 45 percent of women pass the three pull up minimum. 86 percent of women fail the marine physical fitness test. This is sad news for women. Despite knowing the fitness requirements before the test, most women fail the test.

Even those who eek by and pass the military, marine, and army rangers Physical Fitness Tests may not be prepared for the mental and physical rigors of military life.

Marines should be able to achieve a better level of physical conditioning and upper body strength than the minimum standards. This can help them prepare them for the rigors that lie ahead in active duty.

Achieving a better level of pull up and upper body strength (and better physical conditioning in general) will:

reduce the stress on the body

prepare marines and rangers for the physical challenges of their work

reduce the risk of injury

make activities involving climbing much easier

Pass the Military Pull up Test: No Excuses!

There really is no excuse for failing the pull up test–besides poor preparation.

Women–and men–can pass the pull up test, but it will take special planning and preparation.

Women and men will need to develop their upper body strength, monitor (or change) their body composition, improve their nutrition, change their mentality and improve their cardiovascular conditioning to pass the pull up portion of the marine or army rangers physical fitness tests.

Pass the Military Pull up Test: Part 1 Upper Body Strength

Both women and men will need to develop their upper body strength to be able to pass the pull up test.

Traditional weight training exercises and non-traditional strength training can help the trainee better prepare for the test.

Exercises like the banded pull up, lat pull down, bent over row, ring row and scapular retraction, can help develop the specific muscles involved in the pull up.

Women and men should also perform exercises like the bench press/dumbbell press, overhead press, push up, bicep curl/tricep extension to develop balanced upper body strength and development. (They should also work to improve their lower body strength and core/trunk strength).

Specific pull up exercises like negative pull ups, banded pull ups, rack chin ups, and more can be implemented once the trainee has developed a certain level of basic upper body strength and muscular development.

And non traditional exercises like scaling the monkey bars at a local playground, rock or wall climbing, scaling fences with weighted backpacks and more can help prepare the trainee for the unorthodox “training” involved in marine and ranger life.

The important part is that you add weight, reps, or sets to your training over time. You have to continually increase the challenge to get stronger over time. If you don’t make progress, you won’t make progress. You have to push yourself to do a bit better each session to make long-term improvements to your strength.

Skip to the end of this article for military pull up training programs for men and women. 

Pass the Military Pull up Test Part 2: Improve Body Composition

Most people need to improve their body composition and decrease their body fat percentage to improve their pull ups. Remember that extra fat is dead weight which you have to lug around and pull over a chin up bar.

Overweight or over-fat trainees should focus on improving body composition to improve their pull up performance. This is best accomplished by utilizing a small to moderate calorie deficit.

Calories for Folks who Need to Lose a Few

Simple Method for Determining Weight Loss Calories: Multiply Body Weight in lbs by 10-13 (10 for more sedentary individuals, 13 for more active individuals).

Example: 200 lb x 10 = 2000 Calories per day for weight loss

Try the recommended calories for 2-3 weeks. You should be losing weight at a rate of .5-1 % of bodyweight per week. Any slower than that, deduct 100 calories per week until you start hitting the recommended weight loss. If you are very overweight you can lose weight at a bit faster rate. Leaner individuals should lose weight slower to prevent muscle tissue loss.

Protein: Aim to consume about 1 gram of protein per pound of bodyweight. Good protein sources include lean chicken breast, turkey breast, salmon, lean beef, eggs, egg whites, protein powder, cottage cheese, Greek Yogurt, Tofu, Tempeh, white fish and more.

Getting adequate protein will give your body the building blocks to build new muscle tissue.

As long as you are tracking your calories correctly and are losing weight at the right rate while performing weight training, you should be reducing body fat and unnecessary weight. You want to reduce weight and fat that does not serve a purpose and just makes it harder for you to perform pull ups.

Reducing your “spare tire” will help make the pull up test significantly easier!

Calories for Folks who don’t need to lose much weight but want to trade fat for muscle

You can eat roughly maintenance calories. Aim for 13-17 calories per lb of body weight (more for active individuals, less for more sedentary folks) and focus on eating about 1 gram per pound body weight of lean, high quality protein sources.

Focus on training intensely 3-6 times per week and your body composition should change. Your body will use some of its fat stores and energy consumed in the diet to build muscle tissue. Provided your weight stays the same, you will have more muscle but less fat, which will definitely make the military pull up test easier!

Calories for Truly Skinny People

Around 15-18 calories per pound of body weight will help put on muscle mass at an optimal rate. There is a limit to how fast trainees can add muscle, after which any additional calories will be stored as body fat, so it is important that you only provide your body with the building blocks for growth without going overboard.

Skinny trainees should focus on weight training intensely and should be careful not to add too much cardio or extra activity that would prevent them from gaining quality muscle mass.

Trainees interested in learning a bit more about optimal body composition and diet should read this .

Pass the Military Pull up Test: Part 3 Focus on Quality Calories

After getting your calories and protein in check, you want to improve the quality of your diet so you can recover from training quickly and keep inflammation at a minimum. Choose whole, nutrient dense foods for 80-90 percent of your meals. Aim to eat a rainbow of fruits and vegetables. Limit processed and fast food.

Pass the Military Pull up Test: Part 4 Improve your Mental Muscle

Men and women need to get over the mental hurdle of the pull up test. You must believe you can do pull ups with ease to be able to do pull ups with ease.

Visualization is a key component to pull up training and has been shown to improve performance. Spend 5-10 minutes a day in a quiet place with your eyes closed, visualizing yourself passing the pull up test with ease. Get in the habit of visualizing yourself, and you will soon believe you can really pass the test.

Women especially need to change their belief pattern. Many women wrongly believe they are incapable of doing pull ups. Compound that with the fact that over 85 percent of women fail the marine pull up test and you can see why women may doubt their abilities on the pull up.

Women need to train hard and change their belief pattern.

The day of the test, don’t watch others struggle with the pull up test. Watching others struggle will make you doubt your own strength. Strength is contagious and so is weakness. If you watch a lot of women struggle with the pull up test or listen to others who don’t believe you can pass the pull up test, you will begin to doubt your own capabilities. The important thing is to keep telling yourself “I can” and go forth, do the training, and get a bit better each day.

Pass the Military Pull up Test: Part 5 Embrace Long-Term Progress

A lot of trainees start full steam ahead on a pull up program and then get discouraged when they don’t get radically better right away.

Unfortunately, once you get past the beginner stages of training, you are likely to add strength and size at a very slow rate.

You can expect only a .5-2 percent improvement every week, depending on your training experience and training age. You need to learn to be happy adding a pound or two or an extra rep to your upper body exercises or pull ups each week. Over time, this slow, steady progress will compound and you will make huge progress over the long term.

Most people have become so used to instant gratification that they think they will get good at pull ups right away. The truth is that just like anything, getting good at pull ups and passing the military’s pull up tests with flying colors necessitates a long term plan and solid work ethic day after day after day.

It is important to think of your pull ups as a long term project and prepare for it accordingly. Give yourself 3-6 months of daily training (at least!) to prepare for the pull up test, longer if you are out of shape!

Pass the Military Pull up Test: Part 6 Cardio/Aerobic Conditioning

A better developed cardiovascular system will make just about any fitness challenge–including the pull up test–easier.

Including cardio will also help you to reduce the overall stress on your body and can help you lose body weight and body fat a bit easier, provided you are still taking in fewer calories than you are consuming.

This is huge! If a bit of cardio helps you to lose body fat, it will make your pull ups easier, too.

Even skinny trainees need some aerobic training. If you find you are not adding lean mass or strength, bump up your calories a bit at a time until you are gaining weight at an appropriate rate (1-2 lb per month).

A better developed cardiovascular system will make it easier for you to recover from intense weight training, helping you to make a bit faster progress over the long term. Being able to recover quickly between sets of pull ups and training days will help you fit in more quality pull up training, which will help you get to pull-up domination a bit faster.

Start with easy cardio work keeping your heart rate between 120-130 beats per minute for 45-60 minutes, 2-3 times per week.

As you develop your aerobic base (and lose some body fat, if needed), progress to keeping your heart rate between 130-150 beats per minute, 1-2 times per week.

As you get even fitter, your third aerobic session can evolve into interval training, pushing your heart rate even higher between periods of recovery.

Pass the Military Pull up Test: Part 7 Training Programs

I’ve created three separate training plans, for beginner, intermediate and advanced trainees. Each training plan builds on the last. Don’t advance to the next training stage until you are crushing your current stage. You will probably spend between 1-6 months at your current training stage, depending on your physical conditioning and effort. Direct pull up training is in bold. 

Stage 1 (Beginner Stage)

Monday:

Squat 3 x 12 reps (add weight as able)

Barbell Bench Press 3 x 10 reps

Romanian Deadlift 3 x 8 reps

Dumbbell Bent over Row 3 x 8 reps

Plank 5 x 30 seconds

Tuesday:

Cardio (Run, Walk, Ruck, Row, Swim, Cycle, or Jump Rope) at a steady pace, keeping your heart rate between 120-140 beats per minute, for 45-60 minutes. Over time you should be able to go a little faster, keeping your heart rate at the same (or lower) level.

Wednesday:

Step up 3 x 10 reps (add weight as able)

Dumbbell Overhead Press 3 x 8 reps

Lying Hamstring Curl 3 x 10 reps

Lat Pulldown 3 x 15 reps

Back Extension 3 x 15 reps, 1 count pause at the top

Thursday:

Cardio (Run, Walk, Ruck, Row, Swim, Cycle, or Jump Rope) at a steady pace, keeping your heart rate between 120-130 beats per minute, for 45-60 minutes. Over time you should be able to go a little faster, keeping your heart rate at the same (or lower) level.

Friday:

Walking Lunge 3 x 10 each leg (add weight as able)

Dumbbell Incline Bench Press

Barbell Glute Bridge 3 x 8 reps, 1 count pause at top

Flexed Arm Hang: 5 x 15 seconds (add time each week)

Face Pull 3 x 15 reps

Side Plank 3 x 30 seconds each side

Saturday:

Rest

Stage 2 (Intermediate Stage)

Monday:

Barbell Back Squat 3 x 8 reps (add weight as able)

Barbell Bench Press 3 x 10 reps

Romanian Deadlift 3 x 8 reps

Dumbbell Bent over Row 3 x 8 reps

Plank 5 x 60 seconds

Tuesday:

Cardio (Run, Walk, Ruck, Row, Swim, Cycle, or Jump Rope) at a steady pace, keeping your heart rate between 130-150 beats per minute, for 45-60 minutes. Over time you should be able to go a little faster, keeping your heart rate at the same (or lower) level.

Wednesday:

Step up 3 x 10 reps (add weight as able)

Dumbbell Overhead Press 3 x 8 reps

Lying Hamstring Curl 3 x 10 reps

Assisted Pull up 5 x 8 reps 

Back Extension 3 x 15 reps, 1 count pause at the top

Thursday:

Cardio (Run, Walk, Ruck, Row, Swim, Cycle, or Jump Rope) at a steady pace, keeping your heart rate between 130-150 beats per minute, for 45-60 minutes. Over time you should be able to go a little faster, keeping your heart rate at the same (or lower) level.

Friday:

Walking Lunge 3 x 10 each leg (add weight as able)

Dumbbell Incline Bench Press

Barbell Glute Bridge 3 x 8 reps, 1 count pause at top

Pull ups 3 x 2-3 reps (Do Negatives when you can no longer do pull ups)

Face Pull 3 x 15 reps

Side Plank 3 x 30 seconds each side

Saturday:

Rest

Stage 3 (Advanced Stage)

Monday:

Barbell Squat 3 x 6 reps

Barbell Bench Press 3 x 6 reps

Romanian Deadlift 3 x 8 reps

Dumbbell Bent over Row 3 x 8 reps

Plank 5 x 60 seconds

Tuesday:

Cardio (Run, Walk, Ruck, Row, Swim, Cycle, or Jump Rope) at a steady pace, keeping your heart rate between 130-150 beats per minute, for 45-60 minutes. Over time you should be able to go a little faster, keeping your heart rate at the same (or lower) level.

Wednesday:

Barbell Step up 3 x 10 reps (add weight as able)

Dumbbell Overhead Press 3 x 8 reps

Lying Hamstring Curl 3 x 10 reps

Pull ups 3 x 6-8 reps, stop 2 short of failure each set

Back Extension 3 x 15 reps, 1 count pause at the top

Thursday:

Interval Cardio (Run, Walk, Ruck, Row, Swim, Cycle, or Jump Rope).

Warm up: 5 minutes

Alternate for 20 minutes:

1 min: Heart Rate between 150-170 Beats per minute

2 min: Get Heart Rate back down to 130-140 Beats Per minute

Cool Down: 5 minutes

Friday:

Barbell Walking Lunge 3 x 10 each leg (add weight as able)

Dumbbell Incline Bench Press 3 x 12 reps

Barbell Glute Bridge 3 x 8 reps, 1 count pause at top

Pull ups 1 x As Many Reps as Possible

Face Pull 3 x 12-15 reps

Side Plank 3 x 60 seconds each side

Saturday:

Rest