Even as he approaches 60, Hugh Jackman is still pushing himself in the gym with complex challenges. In a video recently posted on Instagram, Jackman showcases impressive strength on the pull-up bar. But rather than smashing out endless reps, he makes the movement far tougher by pausing throughout each rep, involving his legs and mimicking the motion of climbing stairs.
Jackman begins by creating a taut hollow-body hold, before raising one leg at a time to ‘step’ upwards. Each rep takes around 15 seconds to complete, with the Australian actor spending close to 10 seconds in the concentric phase as he emphasises control of the bodyweight movement. But how do you emulate Jackman – and what are the benefits of the exercise?
How to Do Staircase Pull-UpsHang from the bar in a dead hang position.Create a taut hollow-body position while hanging, unshrugging your shoulders.Lift one leg to mimic stepping onto a staircase.Press your leg down while pulling with your upper body a few inches at the same time.Repeat this motion until your chin is above the bar.At the top, reverse the movement, ‘walking’ back down with your legs as you lower under control.Benefits of the Staircase Pull-Up
While staircase pull-ups aren’t necessarily ‘better’ than regular controlled pull-ups, they offer a range of benefits. With reps taking around 15 seconds, you significantly increase
time under tension, placing greater demands on your core control and grip strength.
They also provide a novel stimulus, which can help drive new growth – particularly useful if you’ve hit a plateau. Plus, they build the control needed for more advanced movements, such as muscle-ups, caterpillar pull-ups and ring pull-ups.
How to Get Your First Staircase Pull-Up
As a highly technical movement requiring strength and control, most people won’t be able to jump straight in. Start by mastering strict pull-ups.
That means using minimal momentum, performing reps under control and building the endurance to manage double-digit reps. From there, begin slowing the movement down. Add pauses of 5–10 seconds at different stages of each rep to get used to prolonged time under tension – these static holds are key to recreating the ‘staircase’ effect.
Eccentric staircase pull-ups can also help bridge the gap. Perform a regular pull-up to the top, pause briefly, then lower yourself slowly while completing the ‘walk-down’ motion Jackman demonstrates.
Related Stories
With almost 18 years in the health and fitness space as a personal trainer, nutritionist, breath coach and writer, Andrew has spent nearly half of his life exploring how to help people improve their bodies and minds.
As our fitness editor he prides himself on keeping Men’s Health at the forefront of reliable, relatable and credible fitness information, whether that’s through writing and testing thousands of workouts each year, taking deep dives into the science behind muscle building and fat loss or exploring the psychology of performance and recovery.
Whilst constantly updating his knowledge base with seminars and courses, Andrew is a lover of the practical as much as the theory and regularly puts his training to the test tackling everything from Crossfit and strongman competitions, to ultra marathons, to multiple 24 hour workout stints and (extremely unofficial) world record attempts.
You can find Andrew on Instagram at @theandrew.tracey, or simply hold up a sign for ‘free pizza’ and wait for him to appear.