# How many unassisted pull-ups and dips can you do? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 11, 2010, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-unassisted-pull-ups-and-dips-can-you-do/532166 "2010-03-11T22:39:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![sleeping](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/839c29/32.png) [@sleeping](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sleeping)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2010, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-unassisted-pull-ups-and-dips-can-you-do/532166/21 "2010-03-12T05:06:23Z")
> [@Cubsfan](#): > > Please state age, and (if you like) weight. Also, say whether or not your current number is better or worse than it was, say, 5 years ago. Also say if you feel you are physically fit or not. 23, male, 170 lbs. 6 pull-ups pronated (military-style), 12 supinated. I don’t have access to parallel bars, so I don’t do dips regularly, but they’re much easier for me–probably 25 or so. I do not feel physically fit. I have more upper body strength than I did 5 years ago, but my cardiovascular fitness has deteriorated somewhat. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2010, 5:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-unassisted-pull-ups-and-dips-can-you-do/532166/22 "2010-03-12T05:51:15Z")
For those who didn’t know what they are: [Dips](http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/PectoralSternal/BWChestDip.html) ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2010, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-unassisted-pull-ups-and-dips-can-you-do/532166/23 "2010-03-12T13:01:32Z")
> [@Cubsfan](#): > > Do you think pull-ups should be a part of a physical fitness assessment (for careers that have them, cops, military, fire etc…)? I would rather see dead lifts, which are a better test of “practical” pulling power. But I have back issues, so I can’t do dead lifts any more. Pull-ups and chin-ups don’t compress the spine, they stretch it out. Plus they give that V taper to the upper body. I use the same grip width that I use in my bench pressing, to balance out my upper body development. I used to train with a guy who could do a one-arm chin, and I considered trying to work up to that, but never committed. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2010, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-unassisted-pull-ups-and-dips-can-you-do/532166/24 "2010-03-12T13:12:41Z")
None. I have rotator cuff issues with my left shoulder. Prior to screwing up my shoulder, I could have maybe done one. I’m reasonably fit from a cardio standpoint, due to distance running, but my upper body strength isn’t great. ---
**Author:** ![Edward\_The\_Head](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ce73a5/32.png) [@Edward\_The\_Head](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Edward_The_Head)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2010, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-unassisted-pull-ups-and-dips-can-you-do/532166/25 "2010-03-12T13:17:08Z")
I might be able to pull off two pull ups, don’t know how many dips. I think the last time I tried dips I could do 10-15, but I’ve never tried to do as many as possible, usually just sets. I’m 36, 225 lbs at 6’1". I’m in shape though, at least somewhat as I swim regularly. I’ve never liked doing either so I never did them. ---
**Author:** ![Lanzy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/74df32/32.png) [@Lanzy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lanzy)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2010, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-unassisted-pull-ups-and-dips-can-you-do/532166/26 "2010-03-12T13:27:28Z")
Tried this with my son just to see Me: 57 and 280; 4 pull ups; 17 dips my son: 30 and 143; 56 pull ups; 125 dips (I think he just got tired of doing the dips) I am obviously not in good shape, son is a professional kickboxer. ---
**Author:** ![The\_wind\_of\_my\_soul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecc23a/32.png) [@The\_wind\_of\_my\_soul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_wind_of_my_soul)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2010, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-unassisted-pull-ups-and-dips-can-you-do/532166/27 "2010-03-12T14:57:05Z")
Female, 23, 130 lbs. 12 pull ups on a good day, 8 on a bad day, any number in the middle on any other day. (Last weekend, I did 7 behind-the-neck pull ups. I know you didn’t ask about those, but I couldn’t resist the opportunity to brag.) Five years ago, I couldn’t do any pull ups. As for dips, it depends on what you count. I do 15 reps for my first set and have never tried to do more than that, but my elbows go out to the side and I know they’re actually supposed to stay parallel to the bars. I can’t make them go back but I think some of that has to with the size of my frame in relation to how far apart the bars I use are set. Physical fitness level: I work out with weights for about an hour a day four days a week, and run on the treadmill for about 50 minutes twice a week. ---
**Author:** ![Zeriel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/58956e/32.png) [@Zeriel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeriel)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2010, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-unassisted-pull-ups-and-dips-can-you-do/532166/28 "2010-03-12T14:59:03Z")
Male, 30, 245lbs, can do maybe 2-3 pull-ups max. My upper body strength regularly defies attempts to improve it. On the other hand, I can pick up and carry objects that weigh 275-300 lbs for quite a distance. Muscles are weird. ---
**Author:** ![Cubsfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Cubsfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cubsfan)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2010, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-unassisted-pull-ups-and-dips-can-you-do/532166/29 "2010-03-12T15:05:52Z")
> [@Lanzy](#): > > Tried this with my son just to see > > Me: 57 and 280; 4 pull ups; 17 dips > > my son: 30 and 143; 56 pull ups; 125 dips (I think he just got tired of doing the dips) > > I am obviously not in good shape, son is a professional kickboxer. Wow. That’s a shitload of pullups. Overhand right? Not underhand? ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2010, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-unassisted-pull-ups-and-dips-can-you-do/532166/30 "2010-03-12T16:52:54Z")
Male, 140 pounds, I think I can do about 15 pullups. I don’t have a dip-bar so not sure how many dips I can do. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2010, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-unassisted-pull-ups-and-dips-can-you-do/532166/31 "2010-03-12T17:06:53Z")
It’s the Internet so…I’m up to a thousand a day.😃 ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2010, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-unassisted-pull-ups-and-dips-can-you-do/532166/32 "2010-03-12T17:31:00Z")
male, 49, 210# I’m sure I could not do even a single pull-up, and might be able to do 3 dips. Never could do many pull/chin-ups. Part may be due to my long arms, but more undoubtedly due to my being a weakling. Always had pretty strong core, legs, and shoulders, but just never could do many pull-ups. (Never really tried to increase them either, tho.) Always had the toughest time developing my chest/arms. At my strongest, about a decade ago, I lifted my way up from 185# to 215#. At one point I did 6 pull-ups, my all-time best. Could crank out quite a few dips. Now that I don’t train as seriously anymore, and am just trying to keep in shape for an old man, I doubt I’ll ever be able to do an unassisted pull-up again. Last summer I saw my 20-year-old kid crank out 30 without slowing down. I’ve passed the torch! 😛 ---
**Author:** ![MLS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MLS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MLS)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2010, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-unassisted-pull-ups-and-dips-can-you-do/532166/33 "2010-03-12T19:03:29Z")
None. 64-year old female. I couldn’t do any when I was a teenager, either. Or at any time in between. I don’t particularly care, either, as I cannot for the life of me figure out what good it would do. ---
**Author:** ![Acid\_Lamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Acid\_Lamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acid_Lamp)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2010, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-unassisted-pull-ups-and-dips-can-you-do/532166/34 "2010-03-12T19:09:23Z")
35-40 pull ups, probably about half that many dips. I haven’t done those in long while. I’m Male, 30 years old. 5’7", 160 lbs. I consider myself strong, but probably not fit in usual “lean runner cardio guy fit”. That’s better than five years ago. I’ve only gotten stronger over the past years though that window will probably close by 40. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2010, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-unassisted-pull-ups-and-dips-can-you-do/532166/35 "2010-03-12T19:14:02Z")
When I was at my peak fitness, which isn’t anywhere near “fit” for normal people (24, female, 220#) I could not do one single pull-up or dip. I worked out with my friend 3-4 days a week and he’d always be working on his pull-ups, and I just couldn’t do it. It was weird, I would hang on the bar and be all “dude, I can’t even imagine how to engage the muscles needed for this activity.” I don’t think I could figure it out! My strength is 100% in my legs. ---
**Author:** ![Aestivalis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Aestivalis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aestivalis)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2010, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-unassisted-pull-ups-and-dips-can-you-do/532166/36 "2010-03-12T21:16:15Z")
Male, 35, 205 lbs and I can do six pull-ups. That’s up from two a couple of years ago, when I started rock climbing. I’ve been working on it, but I may have plateaued since I started using more technique as opposed to strength when climbing. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2010, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-unassisted-pull-ups-and-dips-can-you-do/532166/37 "2010-03-12T23:20:22Z")
Male, 34, 5’11", 165 lbs. I just tried it and I almost got off two pull-ups. I don’t ever remember being able to do more than two or three. I’m in very good cardiovascular shape, just don’t have a lot of upper body strength. My strength is my legs (I’m a runner), although now I want to work on pullups. It’s hard to do so when you can only do one or two at a time, though. ---
**Author:** ![Snarky\_Kong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2010, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-unassisted-pull-ups-and-dips-can-you-do/532166/38 "2010-03-13T02:36:53Z")
I can do 7 pull ups and around 25 dips. I’m 25, not in good shape. In high school I could do around 15 pull ups and 45-50 dips. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2010, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-unassisted-pull-ups-and-dips-can-you-do/532166/39 "2010-03-13T05:33:18Z")
The last time I even tried to do a pullup was gym class senior year (class of '03). I think I managed 2 or 3. ---
**Author:** ![Toxylon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f05b48/32.png) [@Toxylon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Toxylon)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2010, 12:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-unassisted-pull-ups-and-dips-can-you-do/532166/40 "2010-03-13T12:02:25Z")
Big pullup and dip numbers are kinda like supernatural phenomena: you’ll forever hear stories, but when critical observers are present, things tend to shrivel up. Range of motion is a HUGE factor in both of these exercises. People routinely and unwittingly cut the ROM on both ends, making reps way easier. I have a friend who completed 14 pull-ups in an army fitness test. While on a leave, he asked to try out my pullup bar. I showed him the way they are supposed to be done (from a still dead hang to bar hitting the upper sternum), and he got six reps. Similarly, dips done from full extension on the concentric to biceps hitting the forearms on the eccentric tend to reach really low numbers as opposed to half-assed, hurried reps. Big pullup and chinup numbers, up to 100+, are done by kipping, or using full-body momentum to “swing” oneself up and down. By comparison, 40+ strict pullups is a world-class feat. At 200#, I can do 14 strict chinups, only 8 strict pullups, and 24 army-style, kipping, short -range chins. As **Shodan** noted above, unweighted pullups aren’t that good an indicator of strength. Past a dozen reps or so, it’s a question of muscular endurance, not strength. Hook 50 % or more of your bodyweight in iron onto your belt and then it becomes a test of strength. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-unassisted-pull-ups-and-dips-can-you-do/532166.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-unassisted-pull-ups-and-dips-can-you-do/532166.md?page=3)