What is the Pull Up?
The pull up is one of the most effective bodyweight exercises that you can use for building your upper body strength yet it can also be a difficult exercise to master. The pull up involves pulling yourself up to a bar until your chin goes over the bar using only your bodyweight. This exercise is very beneficial as it uses multiple different muscles, builds real functional strength, improves grip and requires little to no equipment.
Many people do struggle with performing their first pull up and it can feel very rewarding when you do manage to do it. Although it can be difficult with the correct technique and following a progression performing your first pull up can quickly become achievable. In this guide I will walk you through step by step how to unlock your first pull up and a progression to help you get their.
What muscles are trained in the Pull Up?
The pull up is a compound exercise which means that multiple muscles are trained across the upper body. As the pull up is a bodyweight movement where you pull yourself towards the bar which places significant demand on the back, arms and shoulders, whilst also requiring stability from the core muscles. The muscles which are used in the pull up depend on the variation of pull up and grip placement but in this guide we will be looking at the standard overhand pull up. Here is a breakdown of all the muscles used in the pull up:
Primary Muscles
Lats (Latissimus Dorsi)
These muscles are one of the main muscles that are used when performing the pull up. This is the largest muscle on your back spanning the middle of your back and extending down to the sides of your torso. Having strong lats are one of the key muscles you need to perform a pull up as they generate the most power when lifting yourself towards the bar.
Biceps
Although your biceps are not the main mover in the pull up, they are one of the primary muscles worked by assisting in the bending of the elbows as you pull yourself up. They mainly work at the middle and top of the movement as you begin to bring your head over the bar.
Secondary Muscles
Rhomboids
The Rhomboids are the muscles which are located between the spine and shoulder blades. In the pull up they work by stabilising the shoulders and pulling the shoulder blades together. This helps with making shoulders more efficient.
Traps
The trapezius is a diamond shaped muscle in your upper back. This muscle stabilises and moves the shoulder blade which helps you maintain good form and posture.
Rear Delts
Rear delts are the back portion of your shoulder muscles. These muscles help move with bring your arms back as you pull yourself to the bar and they also work as stabilisers for your back muscles.
Forearms
Although forearms are one of the smaller muscles these muscles help you grip the bar and they become especially important if you do weighted pull ups.
How to perform the Pull Up with Progression
In this section of the Pull Up guide we will give you a progression so that you can get your first pull up and we will also walk you through how to perform the pull up with the correct technique and form.
Level 1 – The Dead Hang
This is the first progression of the pull up if you have never done a pull up before. The dead hang is very simple you essentially just hang of a bar as easy as that. However, by just hanging of the bar you will slowly build grip strength and shoulder stability which will then help with your pull ups later on. When doing a dead hang it is important that you engage your core and you try to avoid swinging too much. When you first do it you may feel yourself swinging but overtime you should become more stable. The goal is to consistently manage over 30 seconds of dead hang time.
Level 2 – Scapular Pull Ups
Once you can successfully do do a dead hang for over 30 seconds consistently you are ready for the next progression which is scapular pull ups. To perform a scapular pull up you first begin in a dead hang position then you want to bring your shoulder blades down and together while keeping arms straight. A good way to imagine it is imagine you are about to begin a pull up, your arms remain straight and you are pulling your shoulders away from your ears. Perform 3 sets of 10 and each rep you want to squeeze for a few seconds before releasing into a dead hang. Once you can consistently perform this with good control and you are comfortable with the movement you can move on to the next progression.
Level 3 – Negative Pull Ups
If you are comfortable doing the scapular pull ups you can now move on to negative pull ups. To perform a negative pull up you jump or use step to get your chin over the bar and then you want to slowly lower yourself with control until your arms are straight. Try to really control it for at least 5 seconds and perform 3-4 sets of this. This will really help will building your back strength.
Level 4 – Assisted Pull Ups
The next level after you become comfortable with negative pull ups is assisted pull ups. You can either perform an assisted pull up with a resistance band or use a training partner to lift a part of our bodyweight if you do not have a resistance band. Perform 3-4 sets of 5-10 reps and try mantaing good form. This helps you train for the actual pull up motion but with a lighter weight. Once you can do this you are now ready to learn how to perform a full pull up.
Step by Step: How to Perform the Pull Up
If you have completed all the early levels of progression for the pull up you are now ready to perform the pull up. Remember before you perform it that even if you have completed all the exercises progression your first pull up may still be challenging and its completely normal so don’t feel disheartened.
Follow these steps to perform the pull up safely and effectively
Step 1: Grip the bar
The first step to the pull up is to ensure you have the correct grip. For a standard pull up you would grip the bar with an overhand position, this means that you palms are facing away from you. This is the standard overhand pull up position. Your hands should be shoulder width apart and your wrist should be kept straight not bent.
Step 2: Hanging and engaging muscles
The next step to the pull is the engage your muscles to prepare for the pull up. To do this hang of the bar with your arm full extended and straight. Engage your shoulders just like you would with the scapular pull ups while also keeping core tight and avoiding the swinging. So if you followed the pull up progression this part should be fairly straightforward as you have already practiced this several times.
Step 3: Doing the Pull Up
To actually do the pull up you want to do the following:
- Bring your elbows back towards your sides as your pulling and you should bring you chest towards the bar.
- As you are pulling yourself towards the bar really try think about using lats (back muscles) to pull yourself.
- Pull until your chin clears the bar and is over the bar.
- While doing the pull try to avoid using any momentum from jumping
- As you come down from your pull lower yourself with control, dont just let yourself drop. The eccentric part of the motion is very important and rly helps with building back strength.
- Repeat for number of reps and sets
Still can not do do the pull up?
If you still can not do the pull up do not worry and it is completely normal. It will come with time and practice. Continue practicing assisted pull ups, negative pull ups and dead hangs and your strength will build gradually. Always focus on form and remember even if you can only go up halfway that is progress and you will see your strength slowly build and you will get their!
For more progression and a visual guide of how to do the pull ups here is a video by Max Euceda: