In the series “Our personal trainer“The Berlin fitness coach Sebastian Grüner helps us to become stronger, healthier and more beautiful. This article is part of TIME on the weekendissue 01/2026.

To mark the new start of the year, our trusted fitness instructor has chosen an exercise that symbolizes self-empowerment and perseverance like few others: the pull-up.

So it’s about nothing less than overcoming limits, making the most of your own strength, not giving up and moving forward. In the western pop culture world, figures like Rocky Balboa, Batman or Mulan have shown us how motivating a pull-up can be to save the (western) world. And what these guys can do, you can do too, little by little, or better: step by step. By the way, you can find the instructions for the classic pull-up here – this column is about preparing for your first free pull-up.