# 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:** 4
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2013, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-unassisted-pull-ups-and-dips-can-you-do/532166/61 "2013-06-28T19:46:23Z")
> [@Toxylon](#): > > 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. Your post makes a lot of sense, in high school I had the record for strict pull ups at 34, never did dips back then. Now I am 65 200# and can do 5 pull ups and 7 dips but I can’t go quite as low as a a strict dip but almost. I am not in shape but physically active. ---
**Author:** ![AnthonyElite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b487fb/32.png) [@AnthonyElite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AnthonyElite)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2013, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-unassisted-pull-ups-and-dips-can-you-do/532166/62 "2013-06-28T19:54:37Z")
> [@Toxylon](#): > > 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. I agree about the fact that amount of pullups is not an indicator of strength, but endurance. I disagree with anyone saying that pullups are harder than chins. It just depends on how your body is composed. In fact the world record is held in pullups, not chins. Also, I disagree with the idea that you must touch your sternum. Some people are physically limited by range of motion and unable to touch their chest to the bar. No amount of strength could ever change that. 10-12 pullups is a fair show of endurance, once past that start doing weighted. When you can consistently do 5 pullups with 50% of your body weight strapped on, then you are strong. My stats: 25, 158lbs, 20 CHINups (I don’t do pullups, I do cleans) and 20 dips. ---
**Author:** ![nate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nate/32/13085_2.png) [@nate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nate)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2013, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-unassisted-pull-ups-and-dips-can-you-do/532166/63 "2013-06-28T20:04:22Z")
It’s funny that in my gym I hardly ever see anyone doing unassisted pullups or dips and when they do it’s usually only for a few reps, but on the internet everyone seems to be able to pull off 20+ pullups and dips. I’ve never seen that once in my gym. I’ve been working out for about 7 years now and can do about 8 pullups as described and around 15-16 dips. I’m 33 yo and weigh 230 lbs. ---
**Author:** ![EmilyG](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/emilyg/32/364_2.png) [@EmilyG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EmilyG)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2013, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-unassisted-pull-ups-and-dips-can-you-do/532166/64 "2013-06-28T20:27:17Z")
I could never do a single pull-up, and I imagine zombies are pretty bad at it too. _ducks_ ---
**Author:** ![Cubsfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Cubsfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cubsfan)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2013, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-unassisted-pull-ups-and-dips-can-you-do/532166/65 "2013-06-28T23:20:37Z")
Old thread but I’ll say I couldn’t disagree more with the comments that pull ups aren’t an indicator of strength but endurance. That may be true once you get up past 5 or so but those first 5 are strength indicators. If someone can’t do one or two that’s not an indication they don’t have endurance. It’d an indication they don’t have the strength. Just like any any weight lifting exercise such as bench or curls. ---
**Author:** ![RaftPeople](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6f9a4e/32.png) [@RaftPeople](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RaftPeople)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2013, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-unassisted-pull-ups-and-dips-can-you-do/532166/66 "2013-06-29T01:20:16Z")
> [@Toxylon](#): > > 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. Totally true. When I was in my prime in college and working out a lot, my partner and me both got up to around 22 pull ups, and that was with a lot of work over a lot of time and we still weren’t extending our arms completely when down, there was always tension and a little bit of corner to the elbow, not much, but enough to get past that initial movement from straight to bent. **Shodan’s** 20 at 54 is impressive whether his form is perfect or not. Today I can do about 10, I don’t do them very often Dips, I can’t tell you how many today, but on my body, my triceps were always a unique muscle, disproportionately strong and dips was by far my best excercise. I could do double what most people that were much stronger than me could do (stronger in bench, military, etc.). I have a picture from college and I’m kind of thin but my triceps are bulging out the back of my arms, looked kind of funny actually. ---
**Author:** ![panaccione](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/94ad74/32.png) [@panaccione](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panaccione)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2013, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-unassisted-pull-ups-and-dips-can-you-do/532166/67 "2013-06-30T01:20:10Z")
Right now, probably about 15-20. Male, 27. 5’4. 145 pounds. 5 years ago: 35 max. I did about 500 a day and I weighed about 130. Best shape of my life. I plan to get back there, soon. Quick question, does anyone know how to set up a pull-up bar in your house without fucking up the walls? I’ve used the Iron Gym on the door frames before but it destroys them after only a few uses. ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2013, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-unassisted-pull-ups-and-dips-can-you-do/532166/68 "2013-06-30T17:23:44Z")
Very few. It’s not from being out of shape, it comes from having a shoulder injury that never properly healed (thank you, high school football). After about two or so, the shoulder starts sending messages to the brain that are not pleasant. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2013, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-unassisted-pull-ups-and-dips-can-you-do/532166/69 "2013-06-30T17:53:29Z")
> [@Clothahump](#): > > Very few. **It’s not from being out of shape** , it comes from having a shoulder injury that never properly healed (thank you, high school football). After about two or so, the shoulder starts sending messages to the brain that are not pleasant. Uh huh. ---
**Author:** ![Silvorange](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8dc957/32.png) [@Silvorange](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silvorange)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2013, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-unassisted-pull-ups-and-dips-can-you-do/532166/70 "2013-07-01T02:04:31Z")
I can’t do any yet. Female, 195 lbs (down from 260!). I spent years as a bicycle commuter, but never did much for my upper body, so I am built like a T. Rex. I do assisted pull-ups, chin-ups, and dips. I did a pull-up once when I was a kid. My dad said he would give me a quarter if I could do one. I tried and tried, but didn’t manage it until after he had gone inside. No witness, no quarter. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![flatlined](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/eb9ed0/32.png) [@flatlined](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flatlined)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2013, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-unassisted-pull-ups-and-dips-can-you-do/532166/71 "2013-07-01T03:34:50Z")
I’ve never done a dip, didn’t know what they were until this thread. Female, 36, 120 lbs. I can do forehand chin ups all day long. I can do 5 right handed one hand chin ups and 4 left handed ones. That’s probably because I spent 7 years moving boxes of paper by hand and handtruck. 40 lb boxes don’t sound like that much but when you move a ton an hour, upper body strength improves a lot. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2013, 7:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-unassisted-pull-ups-and-dips-can-you-do/532166/72 "2013-07-01T07:15:12Z")
Unassisted? None. Assisted? None. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2013, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-unassisted-pull-ups-and-dips-can-you-do/532166/73 "2013-07-01T17:06:48Z")
I tried this today. i don’t do pullups very often, so I got 7 (I could have maybe done 10 with a gun to my head). I do weighted dips as one of my standard exercise, but I don’t go for high reps, so I only got 25 bodyweight dips. I’m 53, Male, 165lbs. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2013, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-unassisted-pull-ups-and-dips-can-you-do/532166/74 "2013-07-01T18:21:01Z")
Didn’t realize this was a zombie until I ran across my own post from 3 yrs ago! 😛 Opened the thread, because I actually tried to do a pull-up yesterday as we walked through a park that had an exercise station. Absolutely ZERO chance of coming close to a single pull- OR chin-up. Hell, it was pretty uncomfortable just hanging from the damned bar. Of course I never was good at pull-ups. Max of 6 when in my best shape - and I use to be in pretty good shpae 10-15 yrs ago. My thinking was that arm length and such had an effect on the amount of strength needed to pull up a given weight. I’m not a physicist, but it always struck me as tho I had to move weights a further distance than someone with shorter limbs. And I’ve always had better core/leg than upper body strength. I’m 52, 6’3", 200#. After a couple of knee and foot surgeries my exercise is limited to long brisk walks, biking, swimming, push-ups, and sit-ups. I’m nowhere as fit as **Shodan** , but I’d say I’m definitely in the top 10-20% of 50+ guys I see. But - MAN - from yesterday’s experience, I’d say its a pretty safe bet that I’ll never do a pull-up again. ---
**Author:** ![NurseCarmen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5daacb/32.png) [@NurseCarmen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NurseCarmen)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2013, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-unassisted-pull-ups-and-dips-can-you-do/532166/75 "2013-07-01T20:24:11Z")
I suck at pullups. I can do about 7. Dips I can do all day long. I decided to see how many today, 27. I suspect if I had done them before pushups, flys, and bench presses, I could have added a dozen more to that number. They just seem easy to me. And I go wayyyy down. Male. 46. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2013, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-unassisted-pull-ups-and-dips-can-you-do/532166/76 "2013-07-02T00:20:01Z")
> [@Lanzy](#): > > Tried this with my son just to see > 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. Don’t believe. > [@Acid\_Lamp](#): > > 35-40 pull ups. . In one set? Also don’t believe. > [@panaccione](#): > > 30 pull ups. Yep. Don’t believe. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2013, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-unassisted-pull-ups-and-dips-can-you-do/532166/77 "2013-07-02T02:04:38Z")
15 decent form pull ups and 23 dips shaking quite a bit on the last one. Towel pull ups seem easier for me for some reason and after 15 of those I can still do a set of 12 regular overhand pull ups. But, having just checked, not more than 15 overhand ones, even straight out. Towel pull up and regular overhand ones must use different sections of the muscles. 53, 5f6i, 155 I think. [World record for consecutive pull ups](http://www.recordholders.org/en/list/chinups.html) is 232 but in 36 minutes (had to hang by at least on hand the whole time, 100 in 3 minutes, and 59 in one minute. [Dips](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pfzJBv7bqm0) is 85 in 5 minutes although the resting in extension seems cheap. I think it should be straight out with no pauses. Ambi, if recall correctly you can do some absurd number of pull ups … 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Ponch8](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponch8/32/9883_2.png) [@Ponch8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponch8)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2013, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-unassisted-pull-ups-and-dips-can-you-do/532166/78 "2013-07-02T02:21:44Z")
Male, 36 years old. I can do about 11 or 12 pullups and maybe 15 to 18 dips. This has been pretty consistent since I was in high school. I don’t have a whole lot of upper body strength, but I don’t weigh a whole lot, so that helps. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2013, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-unassisted-pull-ups-and-dips-can-you-do/532166/79 "2013-07-03T01:06:40Z")
> [@DSeid](#): > > Ambi, if recall correctly you can do some absurd number of pull ups … 🙂 Ehh, absurd maybe among mere mortals. But when compared to the Beasts of the Dope here, I got nuttin’. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![panaccione](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/94ad74/32.png) [@panaccione](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panaccione)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2013, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-unassisted-pull-ups-and-dips-can-you-do/532166/80 "2013-07-03T02:40:59Z")
> [@Ambivalid](#): > > Yep. Don’t believe. That’s fine. You don’t have to believe. Doesn’t change a thing. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-unassisted-pull-ups-and-dips-can-you-do/532166.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-unassisted-pull-ups-and-dips-can-you-do/532166.md?page=5)