Man who did 20 pull-ups every day for a year shares 'powerful' outcome far beyond the physical

A man who challenged himself to complete 20 pull-ups every single day for an entire year has revealed what happened by the end of it — and the result went far beyond getting stronger.

Writer and content creator Noah Swanson started the fitness commitment on January 4, 2022, his birthday, after deciding he wanted to make sure the year didn't simply pass him by.

He implemented some straightforward rules for himself: 20 pull-ups a day for 365 days, wherever he happened to be. Swanson settled on 20 because 10 felt too easy, whilst 100 sounded like a surefire way to make the challenge impossible to maintain.

That still meant finding somewhere to do them whilst traveling, on vacations, and during the inconvenient moments of everyday life. Although Swanson did notice physical results, he told UNILAD: "But the biggest change actually wasn't physical."

The year-long routine helped Swanson build confidence by staying consistent with the daily goal (Noah Swanson)

He explained: "As far as what I noticed from doing 20 pull-ups every day, there were definitely physical changes. I became stronger, pull-ups became significantly easier, and I saw more definition in my back and arms."

However, the distinction came when he revealed the reason behind the challenge, which ran much deeper than trying to look different or improving health.

Swanson said: "I started the challenge during a season when I was struggling to believe in myself. I had too many things I wanted to do that I wasn't executing on or finishing. So I decided to give myself one simple challenge: 20 pull-ups every single day, no matter what."

It turns out that when he said, ‘no matter what’, Swanson meant it quite literally.

He recalled: "I traveled with a pull-up bar. I did them while running a 102-degree fever. I once found myself doing pull-ups on a tree branch about 20 yards from a beach wedding. I even did them the day after surgery — which was probably one of the more questionable decisions of the challenge!"

Swanson's original challenge ultimately stretched until January 6, 2023, after two separate 24-hour periods prevented him from completing the exercise. That said, instead of viewing that as a failure, his experience became an exercise in consistency rather than perfection.

He added: "What started as a physical challenge became much more about proving to myself that I could make a commitment and follow through on it.

"There was something powerful about showing up every day, especially on the days when it was inconvenient or I didn't feel like doing it. Eventually, I wasn't doing the pull-ups because I was trying to transform my body. I was doing them because I'd told myself I would."

Starting in January 2022, his commitment continued through travel, illness, and other everyday disruptions (Noah Swanson)

Looking back on the year, Swanson also highlighted the importance of accountability, getting difficult tasks done early rather than putting them off, and making a challenge hard enough to push yourself without making it unrealistic.

Be that as it may, the biggest lesson was ultimately about where confidence can come from.

He clarified: "That's probably the biggest thing I took away from the experience: confidence isn't always something you have before you do something. Sometimes you build it by repeatedly doing what you said you would do."