If I were to tell you of an exercise that, if done correctly, would dramatically build your upper body strength and contribute to a well-defined physique, what would come to mind? Keep in mind that this exercise is not really popular at your local gym but has been getting some much needed recognition over the last several years. This exercise does not require any fancy machines or even weights (although this can be added to increase the difficulty). This exercise leverages your own body weight and involves basically your entire upper body.
Give up?
The exercise I will be discussing is the pull-up, the greatest upper body workout in history.
Why is the pull-up the greatest upper-body exercise on the planet? It all boils down to the amount of body parts that work in tandem to provide the lift so you are looking over the bar. Plus, another great thing about pull-ups is that, over time, it will correct any muscle imbalances that you may have on your upper body.
As this blog is about being a refined human being and improving upon key aspects of your life, there is no question in my mind that the pull-up is the workout of choice in maximizing your strength and overall upper body appearance.
As mentioned above, multiple muscles cooperate to perform this seemingly simple lift. It is staggering the amount of areas of the upper body that are being worked on. Here are the main body parts that are utilized during a pull-up
- Forearms – Gripping the bar tightly while lifting yourself up will put strain on your forearms and increase strength. I can remember the first few times I did pull-ups. I couldn’t help but notice how much of a burn I got on my forearms!
- Core – Having a strong core is a huge advantage in the majority of workouts and the pull-up is no exception. The great news is that the core is getting a complete workout when doing a pull-up. As the pull-up bar is fixed, our bodies have to move according to this set environment as we can’t compromise the bars position in any way. Since this is the case, our abdominal muscles have to work extra hard in lifting ourselves which is good news if you want to strengthen your core
- Fingers – Similar to forearms, gripping the bar with the hands while our body weight is dangling beneath them can greatly increase the strength on the fingers. There are not many exercises that can increase the strength in the fingers and the pull-up is probably the best at it.
- Biceps – Who wouldn’t want bigger biceps? If you do, pull-ups are a necessary component to add to your workout regime. To truly maximize the strength in your biceps, the chin-up, which is a variation of the pull-up, is a great workout to include. The difference between the two workouts is in the position of the hands. For the pull-up the palms of your hands are facing away from you, while the chin-up has the palms facing you.
- Back – Probably the biggest beneficiary from pull-ups is the back muscles. It is crazy how much you can increase your back strength with this amazing exercise. The one thing to keep in mind is to squeeze your lats when you are lifting yourself up to the bar. It’s really easy to over utilize your biceps when doing pull-ups so remember to keep your chest up, squeeze your lats and focus on your back muscles to ensure this large area is getting worked.
- Shoulders – As shoulders are a great stabilizer that works in conjunction with the rest of your upper body, it is no wonder that they will get a workout from doing pull-ups. What I love is that so much of the shoulder is needed to complete an effective pull-up. For example, your posterior deltoid muscles as well as the lower trapezius and pectoralis minor muscles are getting worked which will give your upper body a balanced workout without worrying about having one area of the shoulder bigger than the other.
Do not be discouraged if you can only do a couple reps of this fine exercise in the beginning. Who said refining your workout would be easy? Start off with a few sets of only 2 or 3 reps if that is all you are able to muster.
If you are still having trouble with doing even a single rep or cannot obtain any increases, here are some tips to get you on the right track
- Stand on a bench and grip the bar in any width or formation you are comfortable with. Bend your knees and slightly bend your elbows so you have lifted yourself about 20% of the way. Hold this position for 10 seconds and then go back down and step on the bench. Do about 4-5 sets of this.
- Never fully extend your elbows as this can cause injury. The key is to extend your elbows but not lock them
- Use multiple grips to add variation to your workout and get different muscle stabilizers involved
- Always do the pull-up first before performing any other exercise to eliminate the fatigue factor that could come into play
- Use the pyramid technique to increase your repetitions and build even more strength. You will also break through barriers with this approach. You will need to discover what your maximum repetitions with pull-ups are. Then, you will need to perform repetitions in increments of either 2 or 3 depending on what your maximum is. For example if your maximum was 12, you could do increments of 3 repetitions, such as:
- Set 1: 3 reps
- Set 2: 6 reps
- Set 3: 9 reps
- Set 4: 12 reps (maximum, top of the pyramid)
- Set 5: 9 reps
- Set 6: 6 reps
- Set 7: 3 reps
So if you have not already done so, I would highly advise including pull-ups in your workout routine as there is no other workout quite like it. It is called the “upper body squat” for good reason!
