Pull-ups are a very common exercise in the gym for improving back muscles. Many people do this exercise but aren't entirely sure which muscles are involved depending on their grip and technique.
For this reason, in this article we are going to talk about the muscles involved in pull-ups, how many types of grip exist, and the best tips to do a pull-up correctly.
How to do a pull-up correctly
We are going to give you the main steps to learn how to do a pull-up correctly:
- Initial position: Get under the bar and grasp it firmly with your palms facing forward, slightly wider than shoulder-width apart. Keep your arms fully extended.
- adjust your grip: You can choose a wide or narrow grip, depending on your preferences and the muscles you want to target. A wide grip will work your back muscles more, while a narrow grip will engage your arm muscles more.
- Start of movement: Start the movement by bending your elbows and bringing your body up, keeping your torso straight. Avoid swinging or using boost to go up. Focus on using the strength of your muscles to get up.
- Pull up to the chin above the bar: Continue going up until your chin is above the bar. Keep your elbows close to your body and keep your back straight. Don't let your shoulders slouch forward.
- Go down controlled: Slowly lower yourself back to the starting position, maintaining control at all times. Avoid dropping or letting go of the bar suddenly. This lowering phase is just as important as the lifting phase, as it helps you build muscles to their maximum length.
Muscles involved in pull-ups
While the greatest benefit lies in the muscles responsible for the pull (lats and biceps), you should also pay attention to the other muscles involved.
- latissimus dorsi: The lats are one of the muscles most involved in pull-ups. They perform the pulling movement, pulling the upper half of the arm and raising the body above the bar.
- Teres major, teres minor and infraspinatus: the latissimus dorsi cannot function on its own. To do this, you need the help of the teres major, teres minor, and infraspinatus muscles.
- Biceps: The biceps is another muscle involved in this exercise. He is in charge of carrying out the traction force, working with the back. The forearms are also involved.
- Trapeze: The trapezius also plays an important role in this exercise, as it is responsible for supporting the weight of your body as you move up and down.
- Deltoids: The deltoids are activated more with the overhand grip. The activation percentage depends on the type of grip used in the pull-up.
- Pectorals: The pectorals are also activated slightly during the pull-ups because it helps the lats when going up.
- Others: Pull-ups also engage core stabilizing muscles, such as the abdominals or erector spinae.
grip types
There are 3 types of grip in pull-ups that will have a different activation effect on the muscles:
- prone grip: These types of pull-ups are performed with the palms of the hands facing out. Pull-ups work the back muscles, especially the lats, trapezius, and infraspinatus.
- Supine grip: Here you have to turn your palms towards you. Here the back muscles are worked, but they also involve the biceps, the erector spinae, the external obliques and the pectoralis major.
- Neutral grip: is performed with the palms of the hands facing inward. Neutral pull-ups work muscles similar to the overhand and underhand grips, but activate the pectoralis major more.
Study on the muscles involved in pull-ups
Contrary to what many people think, a study published in 2017 that aimed to measure the differences in muscle activation between pull-ups depending on the grip used (prone, supine, neutral) showed that the four grips that activate our muscles lead to results Similar. Although there are minor differences, they are not significant.
The maximum and average muscle activation of the brachioradialis, biceps, middle deltoid, pectoralis major, lower trapezius, latissimus dorsi, and infraspinatus was similar in all pull-up grip variations.
The only and biggest difference is the middle trapezius, which is activated more in overhand grip pull-ups, while neutral grip pull-ups activate this muscle the least.
Thus, apart from the middle trapezius, where there are important differences, especially between pronated grip (which activates it the most) and neutral grip (which activates it the least), in different pull-ups the maximum and average muscle activation in the shoulder-arm-forearm complex was similar during changes in body movement upwards, regardless of hand orientation.
Thus, the typical assumption and common belief among fitness professionals that there are many differences in muscle activation based on the grip strength we use in pull-ups is refuted.
Tips to do a pull-up well
- Control the descent and descend well: One of the most common mistakes when doing pull-ups is to go down a bit, creating a kind of "trap" to do more repetitions. If you want a full rep, it's best to lower until your elbows are fully extended. If you control your descent, you will also reduce the risk of injury and achieve better results.
- Leave your ego at home and avoid the urge: When you're doing pull-ups, it's best to keep your ego out of the gym. Do as strict a repetition as possible, pulling mainly on the aforementioned muscles, avoiding swinging your legs or abs. Even if you do fewer reps, you'll still do a good job of it, resulting in better results in the long run.
- Don't shrug: If doing this exercise hurts your shoulders or trapezius, you're shrugging them too much.
I hope that with this information you can learn more about the muscles involved in pull-ups and what differences there are depending on the grip you use.