Achieving a pull-up is a significant fitness milestone for many people.

First one, then maybe five, 10 or more: “The ability to do pull-ups is, in my book, an impressive sign of fitness and not a given,” says physiotherapist and trainer Johannes Frank, proprietor of a fitness facility in Berlin.

A basic bodyweight exercise like push-ups and knee bends (using only your body weight as resistance), pull-ups strengthen your upper body – particularly the back, shoulders and arms – but engage lower body muscles as well.

This is why sport scientist Dr Daniel Kaptain, an instructor at the BSA School for Health Management in Saarbrücken, Germany, regards them as especially important. “At some point, they should be integrated into every fitness and strength sports training,” he says.

To do pull-ups, you need sufficient upper body strength, and there are several exercises that can help to build it. One is known as negative pull-ups.

Here’s how: Standing under a horizontal bar, jump up, grabbing the bar with a slightly wider than shoulder-width grip and using your momentum to pull yourself up until your chin is above the bar. Hold the position for a few seconds, then slowly lower yourself into a “dead hang,” your arms fully extended.

“Pulling yourself up is the harder part – lowering yourself is easier,” remarks Kaptain, who says you should work on extending the duration of the holding position, “starting with five seconds and gradually increasing it to 20.”

There are also exercises you can do on training equipment to build strength for pull-ups. One is the lat pulldown, performed on a lat pulldown machine, which strengthens the back muscles, particularly the latissimus dorsi (lats).

“It’s like a pull-up, only you pull down a bar connected to a weight stack while seated, rather than pull yourself up,” Kaptain says.

Training on a rowing machine is good preparation too. Or instead of using a machine, says Frank, you can do a bent-over barbell or dumbbell row.

Another variant he suggests is the ring row, using a pair of gymnastics rings suspended at hip height. Grab the rings and walk your feet out until your body forms a 45-degree angle with the ground. Extend and lock out your arms, pull the rings towards your chest, then slowly lower yourself back down. Repeat 15 or 20 times.

As with any sporting endeavour, it pays to train regularly. “So long as you don’t overexert yourself, you can train daily,” Kaptain says. “If you’re still unable to do a pull-up, you should definitely include your efforts in your training regimen every other day.”

Elastic band-assisted pull-ups make the exercise easier: Loop a band around the pull-up bar, place your feet or knees in the band loop, and pull yourself up with the help of the band’s resistance. Or use an assisted pull-up machine, where you kneel on a platform connected to a weight stack that offsets some of your body weight.

“Assisted pull-up machines aren’t bad if you select the right resistance,” says Frank, who advises consulting with gym staff on the resistance to use.

As for elastic bands, Kaptain says they make little sense, as they minimize your muscle effort so much that you hardly get any stronger. This can mean more stress on your joints when you transition to “real” pull-ups.

So how long will it take to achieve your first one? “This naturally depends on how fit you are. If you’re overweight, for instance, it’s harder because you’ve got to pull up more weight,” Kaptain says, adding that having healthy, sturdy joints is a prerequisite.

“It’s much easier for men,” notes Frank, who cites studies showing that men have up to twice as much shoulder strength as women do, and are genetically better equipped for pushing and pulling loads.

In any case, he says, three to six months of targeted training often suffice to build the strength necessary for a pull-up, but intensive training can shorten the timeline considerably.

How to do a proper pull-up? Kaptain recommends gripping the bar with your hands slightly more than shoulder-width apart. There are two basic grips: underhand (with your palms facing towards you), and overhand (palms facing away).

The former, commonly known as chin-ups, “focuses more on the biceps and arm strength. It’s the easier grip,” says Kaptain. Chin-ups also stretch your shoulders more, he adds, which is especially good for people who sit for long periods at a desk.

Overhand pull-ups especially strengthen muscles in your back and shoulders. For either variant, it’s important to maintain body tension throughout the exercise, engaging your core and buttocks and avoiding any swinging or kicking.

You should reach a position where your chin is above the bar and biceps nearly touching your forearms. And when pulling yourself up and lowering yourself back down, you should maintain an even tempo.