Greasing the Groove

Mastering pull-ups programmatically

From Humble Beginnings

On January 1st this year, I stood beneath my newly installed doorframe pull-up bar with a mixture of determination and doubt. My max effort was a measly 8 pull-ups with working sets of 5 or 6. My ambitious New Year's resolution? To become someone who could knock out pull-ups effortlessly and in high volume.

I started with a modest 10 sets of just 3 pull-ups spread throughout my workday. Even this felt challenging at first. By day's end, those 30 total pull-ups left my arms feeling like they'd been through a gauntlet.

But two and a half months later, I'm progressing steadily on a journey that will ideally take me to a total of over 30,000 pull-ups by next January. The secret to this transformation isn't some miracle supplement or genetic advantage, instead it's a systematic approach called "Grease the Groove."

What is Greasing the Groove?

Developed by Pavel Tsatsouline, former Soviet Special Forces physical training instructor, the Grease the Groove method operates on a simple principle: to get better at a specific exercise, you need to practice it frequently but never to failure.

Think of your nervous system like machinery that needs regular lubrication. Each time you perform an exercise with perfect form, you're "greasing the groove" by creating stronger neural pathways between your brain and muscles. Increasing strength is not only physical, but also neurological. With enough repetition, these movements become second nature.

The key differences from traditional training:

1. Multiple sets throughout the day rather than one exhausting session

2. Never training to failure (you should finish each set feeling fresh)

3. Consistent, incremental progress over weeks and months

4. Focus on perfect form for every repetition

My Transformation Plan

When I began in January with those humble sets of 3, I was building a foundation. By March, I have already increased my capacity significantly to sets of 7. Now I'm ready to follow a precisely mapped journey that will take me through the rest of 2025 and culminate in a level of pull-up proficiency I once thought impossible.

Workouts now range from 10 to 20 sets. I start with 10 sets at a specified amount of reps, adding 2 sets every workout until hit 20 sets. At that point, I add 1 rep and reset back to 10 sets.

Here's the roadmap I've created:

Phase 1: Building on Progress (March-May)

As of today March 23rd, I've completed 10 sets of 7, a massive improvement from my initial 3-rep sets. I'll continue progressing until I reach 20 sets of 10 reps by mid-May.

What once seemed impossible (70 pull-ups in a day) now feels comfortable, and what lies ahead (200 pull-ups in a day) seems challenging but achievable.

Phase 2: Strength Development (May-September)

From weeks 9 through 24, I'll continue increasing both volume and intensity. By early September, I'll be performing 20 sets of 18 reps three times weekly—that's 360 pull-ups in a single day and over 1,000 pull-ups per week.

When I think back to struggling with 8 pull-ups in January, this projected progress seems almost unbelievable. Yet the incremental nature of the program makes it attainable one day at a time.

Phase 3: Pull-Up Mastery (September-January)

The final phase pushes to new heights, culminating in January 2026 with 20 sets of 27 pull-ups.

By January 8, 2026, I will have completed ~30,000 pull-ups over this journey. The person who could barely do 8 consecutive pull-ups will have successfully mastered them to the point of second nature.

The Science Behind Grease the Groove

GTG works due to several physiological principles:

1. Neural adaptation: Frequent practice optimizes the neural pathways between your brain and muscles, making movements more efficient.

2. Submaximal training: By avoiding failure, you train the movement pattern without accumulating excessive fatigue or creating compensation patterns.

3. Volume without overtraining: The distributed nature of GTG allows for high total volume without the breakdown associated with concentrated training sessions.

4. Skill acquisition: Pull-ups aren't just about strength; they're a skill. GTG treats pull-ups as a skill to master rather than just an physical exercise.

My Implementation Strategy

Here's how I've made this ambitious program work in my everyday life:

1. The Office Doorframe: My Portal to Strength

I specifically chose my office doorframe for my pull-up bar because it's unavoidable. I cannot enter or exit without passing under it which makes for a constant reminder of my commitment. I have a simple tally sheet that allows me to easily mark each set completed with a final logging at the end of the day.

2. Time-Based Practice

According to Pavel Tsatsouline, each set should be done in a fresh state with at least 10 minutes of rest in between. Being self-employed working from home means I can easily sneak in a set between meetings throughout the day. I’m not religious about the time between sets, sometimes it’s 15 minutes, other times it’s an hour. What’s important is the minimum rest period between sets to allow both physical and neurological rest.

3. Meticulous Tracking

My workout notebook outlines every single workout from January 1, 2025, to January 8, 2026. I know exactly what I accomplished the workout prior, with the goal to always improve upon the prior workout.

4. Recovery Protocol

I follow an every other day schedule to ensure adequate recovery. On “off” days, I follow a compound movement strength routine that includes bench, squat, deadlift, overhead press, and dips. Though I had some initial soreness when starting the protocol mixed in with other strength training, I’m now accustomed to the volume levels.

Thus far, I’ve avoided any injury with the only hiccup being a week of COVID that set me back a bit temporarily. While I can’t guarantee smooth sailing the rest of the year, it seems generally doable.

This protocol could also be applied in a normal gym routine by spacing sets of a certain exercise at every 10 minutes, though it is limited based on your energy levels performing other exercises as well as total gym time you allow yourself.

From Doubt to Belief: The Mental Transformation

Perhaps the most profound change hasn't been physical but psychological. In January, the idea of doing even 50 pull-ups in a day seemed daunting. Now, I confidently plan for hundreds.

This shift in mindset has affected other areas of my life as well. How can I improve incrementally in other areas through repetition that encourages neurological and physical development without approaching exhaustion?

Progress Milestones

Looking at my planned trajectory from last January to next January:

• January 2025: 10 sets of 3 reps (30 daily pull-ups), max effort of 8 reps

• March 23, 2025: 10 sets of 7 reps (70 daily pull-ups)

• May 15, 2025: 20 sets of 10 reps (200 daily pull-ups)

• September 4, 2025: 20 sets of 18 reps (360 daily pull-ups)

• January 8, 2026: 20 sets of 27 reps (540 daily pull-ups)

From humble beginnings of 30 pull-ups per session to a projected 540. Maybe I’m being overzealous, but with the rapid progress thus far I’m confident I’ll be able to continue my strength gains.

What This Could Mean For You

I share this not to boast but to inspire. If someone who struggled with 8 pull-ups can embark on a journey to 500+ in a day, what might be possible for you?

The beauty of the Grease the Groove method is its accessibility. You don't need:

• Expensive equipment (just a doorframe bar)

• Hours of daily training time (just 30-second intervals)

• Previous athletic experience

• Special supplements or diet protocols (though nutrition, especially protein matters)

What you do need is consistency, patience, and faith in the process.

Lessons Learned So Far

As I approach the three-month mark of this year-long journey, here are some insights I've gained:

1. Progress isn't linear—Some weeks bring rapid improvements, others plateau. Trust the process.

2. Environment dictates behavior—Placing the bar in an unavoidable location was perhaps my smartest move.

3. Logging creates accountability—Seeing the growing numbers in my spreadsheet provides tremendous motivation.

4. Small time investments yield outsized returns—Those 30-second sets add up to remarkable progress over time.

5. The body adapts to what you ask of it—What once felt impossible now feels routine, and this continues to amaze me.

Beyond Pull-Ups

While my focus this year is the pull-up, the Grease the Groove method can be applied to virtually any bodyweight exercise or skill:

• Push-ups

• Dips

• Kettlebell swings

• Pistol squats

• Handstands

• Muscle-ups

The principles remain the same: frequent practice, perfect form, never to failure, and progressive overload.

Eventually, I’d like to increase my skills in both pull-ups and dips to be able to easily do muscle-ups, something I’ve never done before. Currently, I’m able to do working sets of 12-14 dips so I feel that it will be possible as I increase my strength in pull-ups and practice the more coordinated movement to combine the two.

The Road Ahead

As I continue this journey through 2025, I'll be sharing updates with progress reports, challenges overcome, and lessons learned. The comprehensive schedule I've mapped out gives me confidence that by this time next year, pull-ups will be a natural habit.

This doorframe bar represents more than just a piece of exercise equipment, it's a portal to a version of myself I'm still getting to know: someone capable of extraordinary consistency, solidifying my already intrinsic motivation for bettering myself.

I invite you to follow along on this journey. Perhaps you'll be inspired to find your own "impossible" goal and break it down into achievable daily practices. After all, transformation rarely happens in dramatic moments; it happens in doorframes, between meetings, one pull-up at a time!