Pullups are one of the toughest bodyweight moves out there, and now they're a supported activity on Cadoo. That means you can put real money on hitting your pullup goal with friends, and trust that the number on your screen is the number you actually earned. No honor system, no arguing over what counted. Your phone's camera and AI pose tracking do the counting, so everyone plays by the same rules.
Here's exactly how it works, and how to make sure every rep you earn gets counted.
How Cadoo counts your pullups
When you record a pullup set, Cadoo watches you move using your phone's camera plus AI pose tracking. It maps key points on your body — your shoulders, elbows, and wrists — and follows them as you move. For pullups, it's watching your arms bend as you pull your body up, then straighten as you lower back down to a hang.
One clean pull-up-and-lower counts as one rep. Pull your body up, then lower yourself all the way back to a full hang, and that's a rep in the books. Cadoo tracks the angle at your elbows to know when you've done a complete pull and a complete return.
Practice mode: get set before it counts
Before your reps start counting, Cadoo walks you through a quick guided setup so your framing is right. You'll fit your body inside the outline on the screen, hold still for a moment so Cadoo locks onto you, and do one practice rep to confirm everything looks good. Then you record for real.
The camera is the source of truth, so good framing matters. Set up side-on or front-on with your full upper body and arms in the frame, in decent light. When Cadoo can see you clearly, your counts are accurate.
How form scoring works (and why some reps don't count)
Every single rep gets a form score from 0 to 100%. If a rep falls below the quality bar (around 40%), it simply doesn't count. This keeps sloppy or partial reps from padding anyone's total.
For pullups, Cadoo looks at two things:
- Pull height — you need to bend your arms and pull high enough, bringing your chin up toward the bar. A half-pull that stops short scores low.
- Full hang — you need to straighten your arms at the bottom between reps. Bouncing without a real hang won't count.
After your set, you'll see your attempted reps, your credited reps, and your average form score. That gives you an honest picture of your work and shows you exactly where to tighten up.
What this means for you
Only credited reps count toward winning money. That's the whole point: it keeps games fair, protects the pot, and gives everyone a level field. When you win, you know you earned it — and so does everyone else in the game. The camera confirms it, so there's nothing to dispute.
Tips to get every rep counted
- Frame your full upper body and arms in the shot, side-on or front-on.
- Record in decent light so the camera can see you clearly.
- Pull to full height — get your chin up toward the bar.
- Straighten your arms at the bottom for a real hang between reps.
- Keep your phone steady, ideally propped up or on a tripod.
The camera keeps things honest. And it's not just pullups — Cadoo scores your other bodyweight moves like pushups, squats, situps, dips, and plank the exact same way.
Frequently asked questions
How does Cadoo count pullups?
The camera and AI pose tracking watch your arms bend as you pull up and straighten as you lower. One pull-up-and-lower is one rep.
Why didn't a pullup count?
Each rep is form-scored on pull height (chin toward the bar) and a full hang at the bottom. Half-pulls or reps with no hang score low.
Where do I put my phone?
Side-on or front-on with your full upper body and arms in frame, in decent light.
