Pull-ups
Vertical pull from a bar — the king of upper-body pulling for back, biceps and grip.
Execution
- Hang from a pull-up bar, grip shoulder-width, palms facing forward (standard) or back (chin-up).
- Actively depress the shoulder blades — no shoulder shrug at the bottom.
- Pull the chest to the bar, elbows driving down and slightly back.
- Lower under control into a full hang — no kipping.
Tips
- Regression: negatives (jump up, lower slowly) or a band-assisted pull.
- Full range — chin over the bar at the top, elbows fully extended at the bottom.
Why the pull-up is so hard
In a push-up you move 65 to 75 percent of your body weight. In a pull-up it's a hundred percent, held by a muscle group that daily life barely demands. That's why many beginners fail on the very first rep — not from lack of will, but because the jump from zero to a full rep is too big.
It trains the lats, biceps, forearms and the entire shoulder girdle. As a vertical pull, it's the direct counterpart to pressing and therefore essential for a balanced shoulder.
Execution
Grip roughly shoulder-width or slightly wider, backs of the hands facing you. Before pulling, depress and retract the shoulder blades — that first millimeter decides whether the back or just the arm does the work. Then pull up until the chin clears the bar, and lower under control to nearly full arm extension.
The path to the first rep
The progression runs in five stages: passive hangs, scapular pull-ups, inclined rows under a bar, negatives with a slow lowering phase, and finally assisted pull-ups with a band or foot support. Only move to the next stage once the current one supports three clean sets. Count in weeks to months, not days.
Common mistakes
- Kipping from the hips. Produces reps without training stimulus.
- Half range of motion. Nearly straight at the bottom, chin over the bar at the top — everything in between only counts halfway.
- Pulling with the arm alone. Without the initial scapular movement, the biceps become the bottleneck.