The pull-up is the benchmark bodyweight pulling movement: a bar, your two hands, and your whole upper back at work. This guide covers the whole subject and, for each point, links to the article that goes into detail.
The muscles worked
To compare how your back and arms work with different grips, see our guide to the muscles used in pull-ups.
The pull-up is a compound exercise: your shoulder and elbow move at the same time, so several muscle groups share the effort. Your back does most of the work, your arms follow, and your grip and core hold everything together.
| Muscle | Its role in the pull-up |
|---|---|
| Latissimus dorsi | The main driver: it brings your arms down to your sides. It's what gives your back its width. |
| Teres major, rhomboids, middle and lower traps | They pull your shoulder blades down and together at the start and the top of the movement. |
| Biceps, brachialis, brachioradialis | They bend the elbow. Worked harder with an underhand grip. |
| Forearms | They hold the bar. They're often the first link to give out. |
| Abs and glutes | They brace your body and stop you swinging. |
| Rear shoulders and rotator cuff | They stabilise your shoulder throughout the rep. |
Your chest and triceps do very little: for them, you need a pushing movement, such as dips or push-ups.
The technique step by step
The standard version is done overhand, palms facing away, with no swinging. A rep counts when you start with straight arms and your chin clears the bar.
- Grab the bar. Hands slightly wider than your shoulders, thumbs wrapped around the bar. Avoid jumping to grab it: stand on a step if it's high.
- Hang with straight arms. Squeeze your abs and glutes, legs straight or slightly in front of you. Your body forms one block, with no arch.
- Pull your shoulders down. Before bending your arms, move your shoulders away from your ears and squeeze your shoulder blades together. Your body rises a few centimetres: your back is engaged.
- Pull your elbows towards your hips. Think about bringing your chest to the bar rather than lifting your chin. Breathe out on the way up, look straight ahead.
- Lower over 2 to 3 seconds. Control the descent down to straight arms, breathe in, then go again without bouncing at the bottom.
Common mistakeCounting half pull-ups. If you don't lower to straight arms, you skip the hardest part of the movement and overestimate your level. Better 4 full reps than 8 cut short.
Overhand, underhand, neutral
The direction of your hands changes how the effort is shared between your back and your arms, and how comfortable your joints are.
- Overhand (pull-up): palms facing away. Your biceps help less, your back works harder. It's the most demanding version and the one used as the standard.
- Underhand (chin-up): palms facing you, hands shoulder-width apart. Your biceps do more, which usually makes it easier. It's the right grip to start with.
- Neutral grip: palms facing each other, on parallel handles. Strength is close to the underhand grip, with less strain on your wrists, elbows and shoulders. You need a bar with the right handles, such as the neutral grip wall-mounted pull-up bar.
Width matters too. A grip at shoulder width or slightly wider is the base. A narrow grip gives your arms more work, a wide grip isolates the lats more and shortens the movement. Beyond one and a half times your shoulder width, you mostly gain strain on your shoulder. The diagram of the three widths is in our list of pull-up bar exercises.
TipChange your grip from one session to the next rather than always repeating the same one. You spread the load on your elbows and work your whole back.
Pull-up variations
From the most accessible to the hardest. The first three help you learn the movement, the rest make it harder.
| Variation | Level | What it's for |
|---|---|---|
| Inverted row | Beginner | Learning to pull with your back |
| Negative | Beginner | Building lowering strength |
| Band-assisted | Beginner | Practising the full movement |
| Wide grip | Intermediate | Emphasising the lats |
| L-sit pull-up | Intermediate | Adding the abs |
| Weighted | Intermediate | Building strength |
| Explosive | Advanced | Preparing for the muscle-up |
| Archer | Advanced | Loading one arm at a time |
Inverted row
You get under a low bar, heels on the floor, body straight, and pull your chest to the bar. You only lift part of your weight, so you can repeat the movement and feel your shoulder blades squeeze together. The more horizontal you are, the harder it is. Aim for 3 sets of 8 to 12. You can also do it with rings set low.
Negative pull-up
You get to the top using a step or a jump, chin over the bar, then control the descent over 3 to 5 seconds. Muscles are stronger lowering than pulling: so you work the full movement before you can pull yourself up. Do 3 to 5 sets of 3 to 5 negatives. It's the most effective exercise for getting your first one.
Band-assisted pull-up
A band looped over the bar, a foot or a knee in it: it carries you at the bottom, where you're weakest, and helps less at the top. Choose a resistance that lets you do 5 to 8 clean reps, then move to a lighter band. How to choose based on your weight is covered in what resistance band to choose.
Wide grip pull-up
Hands at one and a half times your shoulder width, overhand. Your arms help less, your lats take more. The movement is shorter and harder: wait until you can do 8 standard pull-ups before adding it, and don't go any wider.
L-sit pull-up
You keep your legs straight and horizontal throughout the pull-up. Your abs and hip flexors work the whole time, and you can't cheat with your legs. Start with your knees bent at 90 degrees if the straight-leg version is too hard.
Weighted pull-up
Once you can do 8 to 10 strict pull-ups in a row, adding weight makes you progress faster than adding reps. Start with 5 to 10% of your bodyweight, hung from a dip belt, in sets of 4 to 6. Don't wedge a dumbbell between your feet: it slips. The full method is in weighted pull-ups: where to start.
Explosive pull-up
You pull as fast as you can to bring the bar to your chest, then to the bottom of your breastbone. It's the foundation of the muscle-up: without a high pull, the transition doesn't happen. Do short sets, 3 to 5 reps, at the start of your session.
Archer pull-up
Wide grip: you pull up towards one hand while the other arm stays almost straight and acts as a support. One side carries most of the load. It's a step towards the one-arm pull-up, to save for when you can do 12 to 15 strict pull-ups.
What about kipping? The swinging CrossFit pull-up is used to string together a large number of reps. It's not a variation for beginners or for building strength: learn the strict pull-up first.
If you can't do one yet
Not being able to do a pull-up is normal at first: you have to lift your whole weight with muscles that get little training in everyday life. Two things matter: the strength of your back and arms, and your bodyweight. You can work on the first in a few weeks.
The order that works: dead hang, inverted row, negatives, then resistance band, underhand, two to three times a week. The sets and the criteria for moving from one step to the next are in how to do your first pull-up.
Going from 1 to 10 pull-ups
Once you've got your first pull-up, the number goes up with volume, not with sets to failure. Three rules are enough.
- Stay well short of failure. Stop each set with 1 or 2 reps in reserve. You do more clean reps over the session.
- Rest properly. 90 seconds to 2 minutes between sets, 48 hours between two pull-up sessions.
- Train two to three times a week. Less and you plateau. More and your elbows will let you know.
| Your max | Method | Sample session |
|---|---|---|
| 1 to 3 | Single reps and negatives | 5 to 6 sets of 1, then 3 negatives |
| 4 to 7 | Sets at half your max | 5 sets of 3 |
| 8 to 12 | Pyramid or descending sets | 1, 2, 3, 4, 3, 2, 1 |
| More than 12 | Added weight or a harder variation | 4 sets of 5 with added weight |
The pyramid: you do 1 pull-up, rest, 2, rest, and so on until you can't add another rep, then you come back down. The descending set: you start from your max, rest 2 minutes, and take off one rep each set.
Test your max once every two to three weeks, not every session. To fit pull-ups into a full week, see the 3-session full-body programme.
Mistakes to avoid
- A cut-short range of motion. Straight arms at the bottom, chin over the bar at the top. Anything in between doesn't count.
- Swinging. If your legs go forwards then backwards, you're using momentum. Squeeze your abs and glutes, and pause at the bottom.
- Shoulders up by your ears. Starting with bent arms without engaging your shoulder blades puts the load on your biceps and elbows.
- Chin poking forward. Stretching your neck to scrape the last few centimetres doesn't count. Bring your chest up.
- Dropping on the way down. It jolts your elbows and shoulders, and you lose half the work.
- A grip that's too wide. It reduces the range of motion and loads your shoulder for no benefit.
- Too many sessions. Pain on the inside of the elbow is the most common warning sign: cut the volume and switch to a neutral grip.
Useful calisthenics equipment
You need a stable bar, high enough to hang with straight arms without touching the floor. A multi-grip wall bar lets you change hand spacing without taking anything apart: our 6-handle wall-mounted pull-up bar offers wide, standard and close positions. If you cannot drill, a multi-grip doorway bar offers different grips for strict pull-ups, provided your frame is compatible. See the full comparison in which pull-up bar to choose.
Two accessories follow your progress: a pull-up resistance band while you can do fewer than 5 reps, a dip belt once you can do 10. If the bar slips in your hands before your back gets tired, a little chalk solves the problem.
Mentioned in this guide
Multi Grip Wall Mounted Pull Up Bar, 6 Handles200 kg · 6, foam · Wide, standard, narrow63,90 €
View product
View product
