Pull Up
The classic bodyweight pull: hanging from a bar with an overhand grip slightly wider than your shoulders, you pull until your chin clears the bar, mainly using your lats.
- Primary muscles
- Lats
- Secondary
- Upper back, Rear delts, Biceps, Forearm flexors
- Difficulty
- Intermediate
- Logged as
- Reps
Loads from YouTube only when you press play. The video is by an independent creator.
Why do it
The pull-up is the standard test of upper body pulling strength and builds a broad, strong back with just a bar. The overhand grip puts more of the work on your lats and less on your biceps than a chin-up, so most people manage fewer reps. If you can't do full reps yet, use a band or the assisted machine, or practice slow negatives. Once you can do clean sets of high reps, add weight with a belt or vest.
How to do it
Grip the bar overhand, slightly wider than shoulder-width, and hang with your arms fully extended.
Pull your elbows down toward your hips until your chin clears the bar.
Lower yourself under control until your arms are straight again.
Keep your core tight so your legs don't swing. Use a band or the assisted machine if you can't do full reps yet.
Common mistakes
Kipping and swinging
Swinging your legs adds momentum and makes it a different exercise. Keep your core tight and your legs still from the first rep to the last.
Half reps from bent arms
Stopping short at the bottom lets you do more reps, but skips the stretch. Lower until your arms are straight before every pull.
Pulling with your arms
Curling yourself up puts the load on your biceps. Think about driving your elbows down toward your hips so your lats lead.
Gripping too wide
A very wide grip shortens the range and makes the top harder to reach. Keep your hands just outside shoulder width.
Sets, reps and progression
How many sets you do and how close to failure you take them depend on your goal and your week, not on the exercise. These guides cover it:
Alternatives that train the same thing
Same movement, a different angle or piece of equipment.
