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How To Do A Pull Up? 7 Best Variations Of Pull Ups
Madhura MohanWhen you apply force on an object to draw it towards you, the force is a pulling force. And when the force is applied to pull yourself up — it is a pull-up exercise and a great compound movement. Here we come folks with the most interesting and powerful bodyweight exercise: PULL UP.
Pull-up is a calisthenic compound movement that typically involves use of body mass index as resistance. Pull-ups involve gripping the stationary bar overhead and pulling the body mass upward to the bar.
The timeless exercise engages multiple muscles of the upper body and streamlines your workout routine, so you don't have to spend time on individual muscles.
Pull-ups improve upper body muscle strength, endurance, hypertrophy, and performance of tasks that require upper body pulling strength.
In this blog, we'll walk you through how to do the perfect pull-up, discuss the variations of pull-ups, and the muscles involved in each type.
Tips For Proper Pull-Ups
- The more you weigh, the harder you find it to do a pull-up. So if you are overweight, focus on making changes to your diet while working towards your pull-up.
- Maintain a tight grip on the bar (your knuckles should be on the top of the bar to avoid swinging).
- As you lift, avoid shrugging your shoulders.
- Exhale during the pulling phase and inhale during the lowering phase.
Also Read: How To Do Deadlift?
1. Basic Pull Ups
- Stand directly under a pull up bar.
- Reach out to the bar and grip it with an overhand grip, palms facing away from your body. Your hands should be placed slightly further than shoulder-width apart.
- Engage your core, back, and arm muscles — pull your shoulder blades together, pull your elbows down, and bend your arms to lift yourself up towards the bar until your chin is over the bar.
- At the top, you can lean yourself a little bit backwards, bring your chest forward, and bring your shoulder blades together to activate the same muscles.
- To avoid swinging and to keep the bodyweight centered, you can cross your feet as you lift yourself up.
- Extend your arms and lower your body back down to the starting position. Repeat.
Muscles Worked: Lower back, upper back, rear delts, triceps, core, lower traps, biceps, forearms, shoulders
Also Read: 6 Battle Rope Exercises For a Quick Full Body Workout
2. L-Sit Pull Ups
L-Sit pull ups vary from regular pull-ups in that this exercise increases torque at the shoulders and builds strength in the abdominals and hip flexors to hold your legs straight out in front of you throughout the movement.
- Stand directly under the bar.
- Grip the bar with an overhand grip, palms facing away from the bar, and hands just outside of shoulder-width.
- Your feet should not be in contact with the floor.
- While maintaining a firm grip over the bar, bring your legs up until they are parallel to the floor and perpendicular to your body (your body in this position will resemble an ‘L’ shape).
- Holding this position, engage your core, lats, and arms to pull your body up until your chin is slightly above the bar.
- Extend your arms and return to the starting position. Repeat.
Muscles Worked: Middle back, lats, abs, biceps
Also Read: 7 Fast & Effective Crunches To Strengthen Your Abs
3. Close Grip Pull Ups
- Stand directly under the pull up bar.
- Jump and grip the bar with a hand grip narrower than shoulder width. Your arms should be fully extended.
- For a stable grip, cross your ankles and bend your knees.
- Keeping your core tight and your back straight, pull your body up until your elbows are completely bent and close to your body. Pull yourself up until lats are fully extended and chin is above the bar.
- Lower your body until your arms and legs are fully extended as in the starting position. Repeat.
Muscles Worked: Lower back, biceps, forearms, upper back, lower traps
Also Read: How To Get V-Cut Abs? 10 Best Exercises To Define Lower Abs
4. Bar Leg Lifts
- Stand directly under the pull up bar.
- Jump over to the bar and grab it with an overhand grip wider than shoulder-width.
- Maintain fully extended arms and legs.
- Raise your legs until your toes touch the bar.
- Lower your legs to the starting position.
- Repeat the movement.
Muscles Worked: Lower abs, oblique, middle back, lats, biceps, forearms
Also Read: 8 Best Shoulder Strengthening Exercises For Bulk & Stability
5. Inverted Row Pull Ups
- Set the pull up bar around waist height (you'd better opt for a smith machine at your gym).
- Position yourself lying under the bar with face up and gripping the bar with both hands using an overhand grip (hands should be placed slightly wider than shoulder-width apart).
- Retract the scapula, pull your abs in, and engage your upper back before initiating the movement.
- Keeping your body straight, pull yourself up towards the bar by bending your elbows until your chest touches the bar (you're going to lead with your chest, not with your hips).
- Hold at this position and squeeze your arms and back muscles.
- Lower yourself back down to the starting position. Repeat.
Muscles Worked: Lower back, upper back, lower traps, abs, biceps, shoulders
Also Read: Stretching Exercise For Office Workers
6. Weighted Pull Ups
- Secure a weighted belt (with desired weight) and loop it around your hips.
- Stand below a pull up bar.
- Reach the bar and grip it using a pronated grip (hands wider than shoulder-width apart).
- Brace your core, depress the shoulder blades, and bend your elbows as you pull yourself up towards the bar.
- Slowly descend yourself to the starting position.
Muscles Worked: Lats, abs, biceps, shoulders, upper back
Also Read: 6 Best Hamstring Exercises For Lower Body Strength
7. Muscle Ups
- Stand directly under the pull up bar. Grab the pull up bar with an overhand grip and hang from the bar without locking your elbows.
- In one explosive movement, pull yourself up vertically and bring yourself to the bar (your elbows will be bent in this position).
- Engage your core and pull down on the bar to move up, allowing your legs to swing backward a bit (at this position, the bar should be at the belly button position).
- Lower back to the starting position.
Muscles Worked: Lower back, upper back, triceps, lats, deltoids, lower traps, abs, biceps, shoulders
If you want excellent upper body strength, then your workout routine should consist of functional moves such as pull-ups…
Regularly practising pull-ups helps develop the V taper back, which most people find a hard time to achieve…
Also Read: 6 Barbell Workouts To Build Total Body Strength
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