More than 40 Pullups

You've Cleared 40 Pull-Ups. Now What?

Let's be clear about what you've done: more than forty pull-ups puts you in rare company. Most people never string together five clean reps, and plenty who train seriously plateau well before this. Getting here took months, probably years, of showing up when it would have been easier not to. So before anything else, sit with that for a second. This is a real accomplishment, and it didn't happen by accident.

The honest question at this level is what to do with all that pulling strength, because simply chasing a bigger and bigger number eventually stops being interesting. Adding reps 41 through 60 mostly builds endurance you already have plenty of. The more rewarding path is usually to change the challenge rather than just extend it, and there are a few directions worth considering.

One is to add load. Hanging weight from a belt turns your effortless bodyweight set back into a hard few reps and opens up a whole new progression, this time measured in kilos rather than repetitions. Another is to chase skill instead of volume. Movements like the archer pull-up, the typewriter, the muscle-up, and eventually the one-arm pull-up demand control and precision that raw rep counts don't, and they'll keep you humble for a long time.

You can also let this strength feed the rest of your training. Pairing pull-ups with pushing movements like dips and push-ups builds a more balanced upper body, and combining them with squats or core work rounds out your overall fitness. If you've spent years fixated on the bar, cross-training into climbing, gymnastics, or a sport that rewards pulling strength can make the work feel fresh again while putting your hard-won capability to use.

Whatever you choose, the mindset that got you past forty is the real prize here. You've already proven you can pick a hard, slow goal and grind toward it without a shortcut, and that habit transfers to just about anything. Keep training in a way you enjoy, keep your form honest as the movements get harder, and treat this number as a milestone rather than a finish line. The bar isn't going anywhere, and neither, clearly, is your discipline. Well done, and keep reaching, both for the next goal and the pull-up bar.