Walk into any CrossFit "box" during a Tuesday morning METCON and you’ll hear it. That rhythmic thwack-thwack of palms hitting the pull-up bar. It’s a sound that defines the sport. But honestly, pull ups in CrossFit are a lightning rod for controversy. You’ve seen the viral videos of people "flopping" on the bar, looking like a fish out of water. Critics call it cheating. CrossFitters call it efficiency. The truth? It’s somewhere in the middle, and if you aren’t careful, that middle ground is where your rotator cuff goes to die.
We need to talk about what’s actually happening when you jump up there.
CrossFit didn't invent the pull-up, but it certainly modified the hell out of it. Most people think a pull-up is just a pull-up. It isn’t. In this world, we’re juggling three distinct movements: the strict pull-up, the kipping pull-up, and the butterfly. They are not interchangeable. If you treat them like they are, you're basically asking for a physical therapy bill.
The Strict Foundation Nobody Wants to Build
Let’s be real. Strict pull ups are boring. They’re slow. They don’t help you win a race against the clock. Because of that, people skip them. This is the biggest mistake in the game. Greg Glassman, the founder of CrossFit, famously pushed for functional movements, but the community often forgets that functionality requires a baseline of raw strength.
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If you can’t do five strict pull ups, you have no business kipping. Period.
Why? Because kipping uses momentum to create force. When you drop from the top of a kipping pull-up, your joints—specifically the labrum and the tendons in your shoulder—have to catch all that weight. If you don't have the "meat" (the muscle) to support that tension, the connective tissue takes the hit. That’s how "CrossFit shoulders" become a thing.
Think of strict pull ups as the armor for your joints. You need that slow, controlled tension. Squeeze the bar. Pull your elbows to your ribs. Feel the lats engage. It’s not just about getting the chin over the bar; it's about owning every inch of the movement.
Kipping vs. Butterfly: It’s Not Just "Cheating"
People love to hate on the kipping pull-up. You’ve seen the memes. "That’s not a pull-up!" Okay, fine. If the goal is pure hypertrophy (building big muscles), then yeah, kipping is a terrible choice. But CrossFit isn't bodybuilding. It's about work capacity.
In physics terms, Work = Force x Distance. If you can move your body over that distance faster, you’re increasing your power output. That’s the "why" behind the kip.
The Kipping Pull-Up: This is a gymnastics-based move. It starts with the "hollow" and "arch" positions. You’re using your core and hips to create a wave of energy. It’s a full-body movement. When done right, it looks like a fluid, violent snap. When done wrong, it looks like a seizure.
The Butterfly Pull-Up: This is the elite version. It’s a continuous loop. There’s no "pause" at the bottom or the top. It’s purely for speed in high-volume workouts like "Fran" or "Helen." But here’s the kicker—it’s even harder on your shoulders than the standard kip. The eccentric loading (the "drop") is intense. Chris Spealler, a legend in the sport, could churn these out by the dozens, but he also had a massive base of gymnastics strength.
Most people jump into butterflies too soon because they want to look "Pro." Don't be that person. Your ego is not worth a surgical consult.
The "Torn Hand" Badge of Dishonor
We have to stop celebrating ripped hands. Seriously.
You see it on Instagram all the time. Someone posts a photo of their bloody palms after a high-rep set of pull ups in CrossFit. It’s treated like a rite of passage. In reality, it’s a sign of poor maintenance. A rip means you’re out of the gym for three days, or you’re training at 50% capacity because you’re wincing every time you touch a barbell.
Shave your calluses. Buy a pumice stone. Use gymnastics grips.
The friction between your skin and the powder-coated steel bar is the enemy. When your calluses get too thick, they bunch up and tear away from the sensitive skin underneath. It’s gross, it’s avoidable, and it’s not "hardcore." It’s just annoying for everyone who has to clean the bar after you.
How to Actually Progress
If you're stuck using a giant purple resistance band, don't stay there forever. Bands are okay for a week or two, but they have a fatal flaw: they help you the most at the bottom, which is exactly where you need to build the most strength.
Try these instead:
- Negatives: Jump to the top of the bar and lower yourself as slowly as humanly possible. 5 to 10 seconds. This builds the eccentric strength that translates directly to a "real" pull-up.
- Toe-Assisted Pull-Ups: Set a bar in a rack or use a low pull-up bar. Put your feet on the ground in front of you. Use your legs only as much as you absolutely need to.
- Ring Rows: Often ignored, but brilliant for building the "pulling" muscles without the full weight of your body.
The Volume Trap
CrossFit workouts like "Murph" call for 200 pull ups. That’s a massive amount of volume for a weekend warrior. The sheer number of repetitions is often where the technique breaks down.
When you get tired, your "active shoulder" goes soft. You start hanging on your ligaments. You’ll know this is happening if your shoulders feel "long" or if you feel a sharp pinch in the front of the joint. If that happens, stop. I don’t care if the clock is running. Scale the movement. Switch to jumping pull ups or rows.
Longevity is the only metric that actually matters in fitness. If you can’t do this when you’re 60 because you blew your shoulders out at 30 trying to win a local "Throwdown," you failed the test.
Practical Steps for Your Next Session
Stop looking at the pull-up as a way to finish a workout and start looking at it as a skill to be mastered.
Tomorrow, when you walk into the gym, don't just jump on the bar and start flailing. Spend five minutes on a proper shoulder warm-up. Use a Crossover Symmetry system or just some light bands. Wake up the serratus and the lats.
Check your grip. Don't wrap your palm over the bar like you’re holding a baseball bat. Hold the bar at the base of your fingers. It reduces the skin-bunching that leads to tears.
Record yourself. You might think you look like Rich Froning, but the video usually tells a different story. Look for the "kick." Is it coming from your knees or your hips? It should be your hips. If your knees are bending to create the momentum, you’re losing power.
Lastly, do some strict work every single week. Even if it's not in the programmed workout. Three sets of max-effort strict pull ups twice a week will do more for your CrossFit performance than almost anything else. It builds the raw horsepower.
Own the movement. Don't let the movement own you.
Build a solid base of 5-8 strict pull-ups before attempting to kip. Use gymnastics grips to protect your skin during high-volume sets. Prioritize hip drive over leg-kicking to maximize efficiency. Consistent accessory work like ring rows and negatives will bridge the gap between "using a band" and "owning the bar."