Pullups

Pullups is a compound strength exercise using body only that trains the lats.

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StrengthBody OnlyBeginnerCompoundPull

Primary muscles: Lats

Secondary muscles: Biceps, Middle Back

How to do it

  1. Grab the pull-up bar with the palms facing forward using the prescribed grip. Note on grips: For a wide grip, your hands need to be spaced out at a distance wider than your shoulder width. For a medium grip, your hands need to be spaced out at a distance equal to your shoulder width and for a close grip at a distance smaller than your shoulder width.
  2. As you have both arms extended in front of you holding the bar at the chosen grip width, bring your torso back around 30 degrees or so while creating a curvature on your lower back and sticking your chest out. This is your starting position.
  3. Pull your torso up until the bar touches your upper chest by drawing the shoulders and the upper arms down and back. Exhale as you perform this portion of the movement. Tip: Concentrate on squeezing the back muscles once you reach the full contracted position. The upper torso should remain stationary as it moves through space and only the arms should move. The forearms should do no other work other than hold the bar.
  4. After a second on the contracted position, start to inhale and slowly lower your torso back to the starting position when your arms are fully extended and the lats are fully stretched.
  5. Repeat this motion for the prescribed amount of repetitions.

Track it with MyoAmigo

MyoAmigo pre-fills every set of the Pullups from last time, charts your estimated 1RM trend so you can see strength move without testing a true max, and flags a stall with a concrete fix. It also credits this work toward your weekly Lats volume on the MyoMap heatmap. New to the movement? Start with picking a working weight and progressive overload.

Related Lats exercises

Other

Band Assisted Pull-Up

Barbell

Bent-Arm Barbell Pullover

Cable

Cable Incline Pushdown

Medicine Ball

Catch and Overhead Throw

Stretching

Chair Lower Back Stretch

Body Only

Chin-Up

Cable

Close-Grip Front Lat Pulldown

Stretching

Dynamic Back Stretch

Cable

Elevated Cable Rows

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