Article: You'll need a pair of dumbbells in a weight that you can lift 8 - 10 times before feeling muscle fatigue. Doing this exercise 2 times weekly will build up strength in your biceps and eventually help you get better at pull-ups.  Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and the dumbbells at your sides. Curl the dumbbells up to chest height, bending your elbows. Lower the dumbbells back to your sides. Repeat for 3 sets of 10 curls. This exercise simulates a pullup, but it's a lot easier to do because most of your weight is on the ground. It's an excellent way to start building up enough strength to do a pullup. You'll need either a dip bar or a sturdy mop or broom positioned across two chairs. Here's how to do it:  Lie down with your neck positioned under the bar or broom. Bend your legs and keep your feet against the floor. Grip the bar with your palms facing out. Lift your chest toward the bar as far as possible.  Lower back down to the ground and repeat. You'll need a pulldown machine to do this. It's another effective way to strengthen your upper body and make you better at pull-ups.  Stand in front of a pulldown machine and grip the bar. Sit down and pull the bar down to your collar bones. Keep your shoulder blades down and back and lean backward while you do this. Repeat. This is like a pullup, but instead of gripping the bar with your palms facing out, they should face toward you. This position is generally easier and exercises the biceps and upper back. This position is a great compound bicep exercise, and a good exercise to do when you're training to become better at pull-ups.  Grip the bar with your hands facing you. Pull your bodyweight off of the ground, crossing your feet beneath you. Keep lifting until your chin reaches the bar. Lower yourself back down.

What is a summary?
Do biceps curls. Do reverse pushups. Do pulldowns. Try chin-ups.