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Not everybody can do a pull-up. Or a push-up, or a full ab wheel roll-out, on day one. That is not a problem to fix before you start, it is the starting point itself.
Each of the four HeartKore exercises has its own ladder, broken into small steps. You do not need to guess when you are ready to move up. Every step has a clear, testable standard. No vague "when it feels right." Either you meet the standard, or you keep practicing the step you are on.
How to actually build through these steps. The rep targets on this page are checkpoints, not workouts. Do not attempt the full advancement standard as your training session, that is testing, not building.
The way to build the capacity is older and simpler than any modern program: practice the movement often, at low effort, well short of failure, several times a week. A few reps here, a few reps there, spread across days rather than concentrated into one hard session. The rep count creeps up on its own, usually within one to three weeks per step. Test yourself against the advancement standard only occasionally, not after every attempt.
This does not feel like progress from one session to the next. It is, however, the most reliable way to build a movement pattern your body has never owned before, and far less likely to result in frustration or injury that comes from repeatedly testing a movement you are not yet ready to test.
Pull movement
Pull-up
01
Standing row
Stand facing a bar or sturdy surface at chest height and hold it steady. Lean back until your arms are fully extended, your body in a straight line from head to heel. Pull yourself back to a standing position. With the help of straps and an anchor point above you, you can lean back at a more acute angle than a fixed bar allows as you get stronger.It gives you infinitely adjustable difficulty as you progress from the standing row toward the steeper inverted row. It solves the practical problem that not everyone has a bar at the right height to progress through multiple incline angles.
Advance when: 3 sets of 8 reps, controlled, two consecutive sessions.
02
Steep inverted row, aka Australian pull-up
Same movement. Steep describes the angle of your body. If your feet are directly under the bar and your torso is more vertical (steep), it is easier. As you walk your feet forward so your body becomes horizontal, the exercise gets much harder, again a way to infinitely scale difficulty.The Australian Pull-Up usually describes the standard, horizontal version. Your body is close to parallel to the floor, meaning you lift a larger percentage of your bodyweight.
Advance when: 3 sets of 8 reps, controlled, two consecutive sessions.
03
Dead hang scapular pulls
Grab the bar with your palms facing away (overhand grip), slightly wider than shoulder-width apart. Let your body hang completely straight. Your shoulders should be relaxed, resting by your ears.Drive your shoulder blades down and slightly back. Imagine sliding your shoulder blades into your back pockets. As your shoulder blades pull down, your chest will lift slightly. Do not bend your arms. Pause for one to two seconds at the top, then slowly return to a full dead hang.
Advance when: 3 sets of 8 reps, controlled, two consecutive sessions.
04
Negative pull-up
Negative pull-ups are an eccentric exercise where you focus solely on the downward lowering phase of a pull-up.Place a sturdy box or bench under a pull-up bar so that you can easily step up with your chin clearing the bar. Overhand grip, slightly wider than shoulder-width apart. While you squeeze your shoulder blades down and back, and engage your core to maintain a tight body position, you step off the box or jump gently so your chin is above the bar.Slowly and under complete control, lower yourself until your arms are fully extended. Aim for a descent that takes about 5 seconds.
Advance when: 5 reps with a full 5 second descent, two consecutive sessions.
05
Band-assisted pull-up
Hang a large resistance band over your pull-up bar. Loop the band over the bar so both ends hang down, then pull one end through the other loop and pull tight. Pull the band down and safely place your knee or foot inside. A foot provides more help; a knee less help. Grip the bar, palms facing away from you.Hang with your arms fully straight and your core tightened. Pull your shoulder blades down first. Then, drive your elbows toward your hips to pull your chin above the bar. Lower down. Slowly straighten your arms in a controlled manner back to the starting hang. Move to a lighter band as you get stronger.
Advance when: 5 reps with the lightest band you have, two consecutive sessions.
06
Pull-up
Hang from the bar as before. Do not just start pulling with your arms. Imagine you are snapping the pull-up bar in half while driving your elbows straight down toward your ribs. Aim to bring your upper chest to the bar, not just your chin. Chest lightly touches the bar. Lower yourself, letting your arms fully extend at the bottom.
Standard achieved when: 1 strict rep, full range of motion.
Bridge to Entry level of the HeartKore
Entry level for the pull-up is 1 rep, which is exactly the standard above. Once you have your 1st strict pull-up, you are already at Entry. No bridge needed here.
Core stability
Ab Wheel Roll-out
01
Plank hold
Get into a plank position on your elbows and feet and hold. Squeeze your glutes and lightly tuck your pelvis. Pull your belly button toward your spine. Your body forms one straight line from head to heel.This is not a rest position. It is an anti-extension exercise, meaning your entire job is to resist sagging into the floor. The moment your lower back drops or your hips rise, the position breaks. That is the signal to stop the hold, not to grind through it.
Advance when: 3 holds of 30 seconds, or 1 hold of 60 seconds, two consecutive sessions.
02
Short kneeling roll-out
Kneel on a mat, wheel directly below your shoulders. Set your brace before you move: glutes squeezed, ribs down, pelvis slightly tucked. Keep your arms straight throughout. They guide the wheel. They do not press or curl it.Roll the wheel forward until it lightly contacts a wall 20 to 30 centimetres away, then return. The wall prevents you from going further than you can control. This is the point: not distance, but control within whatever range your core can hold a neutral spine. Stop at any point where you feel your lower back arch, even if that is only a few centimetres.To return, do not jerk the wheel back with your arms or raise your rear end. Drive your hands down and engage your lats as if you are trying to push the wheel into the ground. Your abs pull the torso back. Let them do the work.
Advance when: 3 sets of 8 reps, no hip sag, two consecutive sessions.
03
Half roll-out
Remove the wall. Same setup and brace. Roll until your forearms approach the floor, then return. Add a 1 to 2 second pause at your end range. That pause forces your core to hold the position under tension rather than relying on momentum to bounce back.A common mistake here is hips piking on the return. If your rear end rises before the rest of your body, you are using your hip flexors instead of your abs to pull back. Reduce the range until you can return with everything moving as one unit.
Advance when: 3 sets of 6 reps, no hip sag, two consecutive sessions.
04
Full kneeling roll-out
Same setup again. Roll until your body is fully extended and parallel to the floor, arms overhead, spine neutral. Pause one second. Return by driving your hands down and pulling with your abs, not by throwing your hips back first.The difference between a full roll-out and a controlled full roll-out is significant. Most people can get to extension. Far fewer can return from it without the hips piking or the lower back collapsing. If you lose the position on the way back, shorten the range and rebuild.
Standard achieved when: 1 strict rep, full extension, controlled return, no hip sag at any point.
Bridge to Entry level of the HeartKore, 1 to 2 reps
You can do 1 strict roll-out. 2 is the next checkpoint, not a distant one. Practice the full roll-out three to four times across the week, 1 rep per attempt, well short of fatigue. Let a few days pass between attempts rather than repeating it daily. Most people can add the 2nd rep within one to two weeks. Test by attempting 2 in a row, full extension, controlled return, no rest in between.
Push movement
Push-up
01
Wall push-up
Stand facing a wall. Hands at shoulder height and width, fingers pointing upward. Step back until your arms are at a slight angle.This is a lesson in full-body tension: before you lower, squeeze your glutes, brace your core, and grip the wall as if you are trying to leave fingerprints in it. That grip irradiates tension up through your arms and into your shoulders and chest, making the movement more effective immediately.Lower your chest to the wall, elbows tracking back at roughly 45 degrees, not flaring wide. Push back. The body moves as one unit throughout.
Advance when: 3 sets of 12 reps, full range, two consecutive sessions.
02
Incline push-up, table
Hands on a table. Same body line and tension. The greater the angle from vertical, the more bodyweight you are pressing. Imagine your body is a plank being carried horizontally: nothing bends at the hips, nothing sags in the lower back. Elbows track at 45 degrees. Chest touches the surface.
Advance when: 3 sets of 10 reps, full range, two consecutive sessions.
03
Incline push-up, bench
Same movement, lower surface. The steeper angle increases the load meaningfully. You will feel the difference immediately. This step earns the floor. The tension cues remain identical: grip the surface, squeeze the glutes, brace the core before the first rep.
Advance when: 3 sets of 10 reps, full range, two consecutive sessions.
04
Kneeling push-up
Knees on the floor, hands slightly wider than shoulder width, straight line from knees to shoulders. Cross your ankles. Do not let the hips sag or rise. Your chest must touch or nearly touch the floor on every rep. A kneeling push-up that stops short of the floor is not a kneeling push-up. It is a quarter-push-up, and it builds nothing useful.
Advance when: 3 sets of 8 reps, chest to floor every rep, two consecutive sessions.
05
Negative push-up
Full plank position: hands slightly wider than shoulder width, body in a straight line from head to heel. Before you lower, generate maximum tension: squeeze your glutes hard, brace your core as if bracing for an impact, grip the floor by trying to screw your hands outward into the ground without actually moving them. This tension is the difference between a controlled negative and a collapse.Lower slowly over 5 seconds. When you reach the bottom, drop your knees and push back up from there. This gives you the eccentric strength and body awareness to own the bottom of the push-up before attempting to press from it.
Advance when: 5 reps with a full 5 second descent, two consecutive sessions.
06
Push-up
Full plank. Generate the same full-body tension as the negative: glutes squeezed, core braced, hands screwing into the floor. Lower with control. Your chest grazes the floor. Your body has moved as one unit, hips and shoulders descending and rising together. Push back. Do not think about pushing yourself away from the floor. Think about pushing the globe away from you.
Standard achieved when: 1 strict rep, full range of motion.
Bridge to Entry level of the HeartKore, 1 to 3 reps
1 push-up with the chest touching the floor is the hard part, you have already done it. 3 in a row asks your body to repeat that effort without the benefit of a fresh start each time. Practice 2 to 3 reps per attempt, three to four times across the week, always stopping with a rep or 2 left in the tank. Most people reach 3 clean reps within one to two weeks. Test by attempting 3 in a row, full range each time, no rest in between.
Squat and hinge movements
Air Squat
01
Box squat
Stand in front of a chair or sturdy box, feet shoulder width apart, toes turned out 15 to 30 degrees. This external rotation is not cosmetic. It creates space for the hips to descend between the thighs and keeps the knees tracking over the toes rather than caving inward.Before you descend, think about screwing your feet into the floor, pressing outward without actually moving them. This activates your glutes and hip external rotators before the movement begins.Sit back and down as if the chair is slightly behind you, not directly beneath. As soon as you touch the seat, drive through the entire foot back to standing. Weight balanced heel to toe throughout. Chest up, gaze forward.
Advance when: 3 sets of 12 reps, controlled descent, two consecutive sessions.
02
Lower box squat
Same movement, lower surface. A stacked cushion, a low step, a yoga block: whatever gets you closer to parallel without losing the chest-up position. Sit to the surface, keep tension in your legs throughout, do not fully relax onto it. Drive back up.
Advance when: 3 sets of 10 reps, controlled descent, two consecutive sessions.
03
Assisted full squat
Hold a doorframe, a pole, or straps at arm's length. Feet shoulder width, toes out. The support allows you to sit into full depth without falling backward, giving your hips, knees, and ankles the chance to find the bottom position before you need to control it unsupported.Squat until your hip crease drops below your knees. That is the standard. Imagine a marble placed on your knee: if it rolls backward into your hip crease, you are at depth. Push your knees outward throughout the descent, tracking them over your toes. Drive through your whole foot to stand. Use the support only for balance, not to pull yourself up.
Advance when: 3 sets of 10 reps, full depth, two consecutive sessions.
04
Air squat
No support. Feet shoulder width, toes out 15 to 30 degrees. Arms extend forward as a counterbalance. Screw your feet into the floor before you descend.Sit back and down, keeping your chest up and your spine neutral. Push your knees out over your toes, not inward. Your hip crease drops below your knees. Drive the floor away with your entire foot on the way up. Stand to full extension, glutes locked out at the top.The most common failures are heels rising (ankle mobility, fix by squatting with a small plate under the heels temporarily while you work on ankle mobility separately), knees caving inward (weak glutes and hip external rotators, fix with the screw-feet cue and slow deliberate reps), and stopping above parallel (just not going deep enough, fix by using the hip crease cue and checking in a mirror or on video).
Standard achieved when: 1 strict rep, full depth, no support.
Bridge to Entry level of the HeartKore, 1 to 4 reps
Squats tend to move faster than upper body pulling or pushing work, the movement is more familiar to most bodies. Practice 2 to 3 reps per attempt, full depth, three to four times across the week. Most people reach 4 clean reps within a week, sometimes sooner. Test by attempting 4 in a row, full depth each time, no rest in between.
Either you meet the standard, or you keep practicing the step you are on. There is no in between, and there is no rush.
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