Band-assisted pull-ups to bridge the gap to your first rep.
Still pull with your back, the band assists, it doesn't do the rep for you.
Looping a band over the bar and standing or kneeling in it takes the most weight off at the dead hang, where the band is most stretched, then tapers the help as your back and biceps take over toward the top. That matches the pull-up's difficulty curve almost perfectly, most people fail at the bottom, and that's exactly where the band contributes most. It's the standard route to a first strict pull-up and a volume tool for anyone who can do a few but wants to train sets of ten.
One that leaves you finishing sets of 5 to 8 with genuine effort. Too much assistance turns it into a token movement, too little and your form falls apart. Drop band thickness over time, that's the progression.
The band might be too thin, or the dead-hang start is leaking your strength. Try a thicker band, start each rep by pulling your shoulder blades down before bending your arms, and add slow negatives to build the missing range.
Yes, back and biceps through the same range, just with reduced load at the bottom. The one gap is the very start of the pull, so mix in dead-hang scapular pulls or negatives to cover it.
