Build Muscle
Ten Strict — 6-Week Pull-Up Ladder
Six weeks, five short days, one bar. A test set in the first session routes you to one of three tracks — slow lowers, band-assisted, or straight ladders — and every set stops two reps short on purpose. Built to move you toward ten strict pull-ups. Free, about twenty-five minutes a day.
- Category
- Build Muscle
- Length
- 6 weeks
- Frequency
- 5 days/week
- Est. session
- 50–70 min
Last updated: June 2026
About this program
Ten Strict is a single-lift specialization block for a stuck pull-up. It trains the pull-up itself five short days a week at a deliberately submaximal dose — roughly 40-50% of your tested maximum reps per set, always stopping at least two reps short of failure. Frequency is the stimulus here, not fatigue, and the hardest skill in the program is learning to end a set early.
For anyone stuck between zero and ten strict reps with a bar at home, in a garage, or at a park, and for climbers who want more pulling exposure without more hard sessions. The entry standard is a 20-second dead hang; if you cannot hold that yet, run a beginner bodyweight program built on inverted rows first and come back. Skip this if you want a balanced full-body program, if your elbows are currently irritable, or if you cannot commit to five 20-30 minute sessions a week — shortest in weeks one and two, longest in week four, when set counts peak.
Session one contains a single all-out set of strict pull-ups, performed once and never repeated, which routes you to one of three tracks: zero reps, one to four, or five and up. Per our Training Frequency framework, repeated submaximal exposure drives skill-limited lifts better than infrequent maximal work, and per our Injury Prevention framework the weekly pulling total is capped in week one and raised by no more than 20% into week two to give the elbow tendons an on-ramp. Accessory work is horizontal and scapular rather than more vertical pulling, because accumulated elbow load — not lat strength — is what usually ends a high-frequency block.
Expect two weeks of grooving the dose, two weeks where set count rises and reps do not, one sharper week where reps rise and set count drops back, and a re-test in the final session of week six.
Build Muscle · 6 weeks · 5 days/week
Start to finish
- Frequency
- 5 days/week
- Per session
- 50–70 min
Who it's for
Four ways to tell at a glance whether this block belongs in your week.
- 01The goal
- Six weeks, five short days, one bar.
- 02The commitment
- A high-frequency week, most days in the gym
- 03The arc
- 6 weeks, 4 phases that build and reset
- 04The coaching
- Your coach drives the plan forward — it reads each session and moves you up the moment the work gets easier, so you keep progressing
How it progresses
6 weeks across 4 phases — your coach watches the effort in your logged sets and moves the weight up the moment a load starts getting easier, so you keep climbing instead of waiting on the calendar.
- Weeks 1–260Intensity
Phase 1 · Standard
Calibrate
Test once, find your track, and learn the dose. Short ladders at an easy percentage of your tested max while the elbows get used to pulling five days a week.
- Weeks 3–462Intensity
Phase 2 · Accumulation
Density
More short sets at the same easy reps. Set count climbs across both weeks while per-set reps stay exactly where they were.
- Weeks 5–582Intensity
Phase 3 · Intensification
Sharpen
Set count drops back and per-set reps rise. One harder week that converts six weeks of practice into visible reps.
- Weeks 6–688Intensity
Phase 4 · Testing
Re-Test
Four light days, then one honest all-out set of strict pull-ups to see what six weeks of frequent practice bought.
Sessions in this program
The individual workouts this program schedules through the week — open any session for its full exercise list, sets, and coaching notes.
Why your coach builds it this way
Ten Strict is a single-lift specialization block for a stuck pull-up. It trains the pull-up itself five short days a week at a deliberately submaximal dose — roughly 40-50% of your tested maximum reps per set, always stopping at least two reps short of failure. Frequency is the stimulus here, not fatigue, and the hardest skill in the program is learning to end a set early.
For anyone stuck between zero and ten strict reps with a bar at home, in a garage, or at a park, and for climbers who want more pulling exposure without more hard sessions. The entry standard is a 20-second dead hang; if you cannot hold that yet, run a beginner bodyweight program built on inverted rows first and come back. Skip this if you want a balanced full-body program, if your elbows are currently irritable, or if you cannot commit to five 20-30 minute sessions a week — shortest in weeks one and two, longest in week four, when set counts peak.
Session one contains a single all-out set of strict pull-ups, performed once and never repeated, which routes you to one of three tracks: zero reps, one to four, or five and up. Per our Training Frequency framework, repeated submaximal exposure drives skill-limited lifts better than infrequent maximal work, and per our Injury Prevention framework the weekly pulling total is capped in week one and raised by no more than 20% into week two to give the elbow tendons an on-ramp. Accessory work is horizontal and scapular rather than more vertical pulling, because accumulated elbow load — not lat strength — is what usually ends a high-frequency block.
Expect two weeks of grooving the dose, two weeks where set count rises and reps do not, one sharper week where reps rise and set count drops back, and a re-test in the final session of week six.
The principles behind it
Common questions
The facts most people check before they commit a block to it.
01How long is the Ten Strict — 6-Week Pull-Up Ladder program?
Ten Strict — 6-Week Pull-Up Ladder runs 6 weeks at 5 days a week, structured into 4 phases so the load builds and resets on schedule. In Squatly, the coach tunes it to you, so the plan keeps moving with your training.
02Who is Ten Strict — 6-Week Pull-Up Ladder for?
Six weeks, five short days, one bar. It sits in the Build Muscle category, and the coach reads your training to tell you whether it's the right fit before you commit a block to it.
03How does Ten Strict — 6-Week Pull-Up Ladder progress over the weeks?
It opens with calibrate and finishes with re-Test. Each phase has a job — accumulate work, push intensity, or back off to absorb it — and the coach moves your load when your logged sets earn it, not on a fixed schedule.
04Does the coach adjust Ten Strict — 6-Week Pull-Up Ladder to me?
Yes. The program is the starting structure; the coach reads your e1RM trend, your weekly volume, and your effort on each lift, then tells you when to push — when a load is getting easier, it's time to add weight. It shows you the trend lines behind every call, and you accept, edit, or reject it. With every workout, the plan gets more yours.
Keep moving forward.
The program sets the structure. Your coach drives it forward — reading your numbers and pushing the weight up as you get stronger, so the plan stays yours and you keep progressing.
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Aleks · Coach
Proposal — add weight