Fitness

My tips for doing pull-ups:

Do them a lot, in any way you can.

Resistance bands are great for putting a foot or knee into, relieving you of some of your body weight, so that you can actually put your muscles through a full range of motion at an easier level.

Pull-up machines do basically the same thing, though they aren't as common.

Gymnastics rings can give you a lower position from which to pull, so you can rest your heels on the floor with your body in an L shape, again reducing the weight you have to lift.

Negative pull-ups, where you start with your chin at bar level (normally by jumping) and then slowly lower yourself to full extension, will also build your pull-up muscles.

A chair that you can put a foot on will help, too. Or a friend who can hold your foot/feet (and who knows when to let go, lol).

And finally, losing weight in other ways (cardio is a good one, so is calorie counting) helps a lot, for obvious reasons.

Hope this helps and happy pulling!

Put a pullup bar someplace where you will pass all the time. Then it is easy to try one as you pass by. It has been years since I had such a place and thus that I could once do them is a memory.

If you are struggling to actually begin and pull up from a dead hang then build your strength first by concentrating on negatives.

Stand on something and start in the top position and then lower yourself down as slowly as possible. Try and be as controlled as you can, the slower you can go, the better. This is better than just hanging there struggling as failing to be able to pull up will not build any muscles where as this will slowly build the muscles you need and then as you get better you can transition to actually pulling up.

Even if you can do a pull up doing the negative slowly and in a controller manner will more efficiently build the muscles needed. If you just drop back down you are wasting half of the movements potential :)

Others put some great tips in, so I'll just add that scapular pull ups are a great way to help strengthen before a full pull up. Its also a good thing to do if you sit a lot during the day to help stop your shoulders from rounding, I do a couple sets while my lunch is cooking.