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Blake Johnson
Professor Melton
ENGL 5
March 15 2016
The Proof is in the Pull-Up: Rhetorical Analysis of The Secret to Pull-Up Success: Specificity +
Frequent Practice by Major M.J. Posey, USMC
In The Secret to Pull-Up Success: Specificity + Frequent Practice, Major M.J. Posey of
the US Marine Corps addresses the pull-up; an exercise which was previously thought to only be
possible for male Marines, and is considered one of the toughest exercises even at that. After
discussing the problems with the exercise and its sole application to males, Posey asserts that
anyone can reach high numbers of pull-ups (20+), including women. She explains that this is
possible through the use of a program she has developed that accelerated her, a female, to reach
over the maximum pull-up score for males in the Marine Corps (again, 20+). Poseys effective
assertion of the success of her program lies in her appeals to both logos and ethos; she draws
heavily from both personal stories and testimonies from Marines and civilians who have used her
program, and explains just how her program achieves the results it does.
In establishing the logos of her argument for her program, Posey first explains the
mechanics of the pull-up exercise itself. Addressing the idea of many that assisted pull-up
machines are effective, Posey proceeds to explain why her programs method better prepares one
to do pull-ups. Typically, people will tend to advise a person attempting to learn pull-ups (albeit,
who cannot yet do them) to gradually build strength on some sort of assisted machine before

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moving on to an actual pull-up bar. Posey believes that success can only come from work on an
actual bar, and explains that Training on a bar with just your body weight and gravity builds
strength in the exact muscles required for the pull up while simultaneously training your
nervesthe mechanics of a pull up (Posey, 2). By using scientific information and research to
examine the specific effects of her proposed idea, Posey makes it difficult to argue her stance
regarding the efficiency of her method versus others. There is simply no logical room for any
other arguments after Posey presents her facts about how muscle building actually works.
Afterwards, Posey also discusses issues pertaining to female Marines regarding the pull-up.
Posey asserts that one reason that female Marines have such a difficult time with the pull-up is
that, until just recently, women werent required to do them in the Marine Corps (having
previously been thought to be unable to accomplish them). She claims that this causes the
creation of a psychological barrier (Posey, 2), and discourages female Marines from attempting
pull-ups. Simply overcoming this barrier and attempting the exercise with dedication, Posey
claims, enables development of the muscles required for the exercise. This logical approach to
the issues at hand sets up a solid framework for Poseys defense of her argument, and gives little
to no room for counterargument thanks to the focus on facts and information.
The second major aspect of Poseys defense of her program involves her excellent and
precise use of ethos. One notable way that she implements this element into her piece is through
the periodic interjection of a testimony from a Marine throughout the course of the paper. At key
points, Posey inserts a further quote from the Marine praising her program for its proven success.
Reading almost like a story, the quotes provide a sort of backbone to Poseys paragraphs that
shows that she knows what she is talking about. By the end of the paper, the Marine has gone
from being, embarrassed for not being able to do any [pull-ups] to being able to execute

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pull-ups and teach himself (and others) how to do them (Posey 1, 5). Coupled with that, Posey
also ties in some personal stories regarding how she came up with the program. Posey uses
herself first as an example of how the program could bring about success, telling of how she used
it to (as a woman) force herself to break 20 pull-ups. Then, she goes on to talk about how she
began recommending and teaching her method to other Marines, both female and male. These
proven success stories of her program make Poseys argument much stronger than it would have
been without them. These make it quite difficult to argue the effectiveness of her program.
Poseys combination of hard logos, and compelling ethos make for a very solid argument
for her program. Alone, her use of logos regarding the mechanics of the pull-up make it very
difficult to argue against her program, and the success she shows in the ethos of the paper only
serve to back her up further; any doubts to be had about her program are given (literally) living
proof to their success. Overall, Posey makes a very compelling case for her improved pull-up
program.

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Works Cited
Posey, Misty, J. The Secret to Pull-Up Success: Specificity + Frequent Practice. Marines.mil
v20, February 25, 2016. Web. February 2016.
http://www.marines.mil/Portals/59/Docs/SecretToPullupsHowToGoFrom0To20.pdf