All About Pull Ups

Pull ups are just like pushups in a sense that they are often avoided due to the fact that they can be extremely difficult for some people. A lot of people make this mistake when they are planning their workouts. If an exercise is difficult for you, this simply means that you need to make progress in that particular area. It is common for weight lifters to be able to pull down heavy amounts of weight on the machines, however they will struggle when it comes to just a single pull up. This is because pull ups are the ultimate in bodyweight exercise, and in order to do them you must have an incredible amount of strength. With these exercises you can build a lot of lean body mass in very little time. They also build a strong back and arms.

Since these exercises require the movement of multiple joints and work out a group of muscles, they are considered to be compound exercises. A standard pull up in which you grasp a bar with your palms directed away from your body focuses most of the work on the wings or lats, as well as providing a secondary workout for the forearms, biceps, traps, chest and rhomboids.

A chin up or an underhanded pull up puts most of its focus on the wings and lats as well, but shifts part of its attention to the backs of the shoulder and then also places a lot of emphasis on the biceps. You can use chin ups as an alternative to doing curls, since they do work the biceps so well.

The third most common variation of this exercise is when you grip the bar sideways with your palms facing each other. This is a mix of the chin up and the pull up. A good thorough workout will have all three of these variations in order to maximize your efforts.

You will be making fast progress due to the fact that you will be lifting the same amount of weight each time you perform your workout. As you gain muscle you will progressively be lifting more weight, however this is relative. You shouldn’t feel discouraged if you are only able to do one rep at first. Just find a set amount that is comfortable for you, even if it is only one, and do as many sets as you are able to do in a day. Then take a day off where you just rest, and go back to it the following day. Keep on repeating this until eventually you will be able to complete more sets or more reps.

If you have a hard time doing any at all, you can try another strength building exercise called a supine row. Basically, it is a horizontal version of a pull up. Use your bar or bench press and lay down beneath it. Get your body stiff and pull yourself up toward the bar.

You can use this information on pull ups to build strength in new ways, and it won’t be long before the results start showing!

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