● Hang from the bar with a firm grip, palms facing towards you.
● Keep your shoulder blades engaged and pulled down and back.
● Begin the movement by pulling your elbows down and back to lift your body.
● Try to get your chin over the bar, maintaining a neutral spine.
● Lower yourself down slowly and with control to complete each repetition.
Pull-Up Form
How to do a Pull-Up|Proper Form & Technique|NASM
● Hang from the bar with a firm grip, palms facing away.
● Engage your shoulder blades by pulling them down and back.
● Initiate the movement by pulling your elbows down to lift your body.
● Aim to get your chin over the bar, without arching your back excessively.
● Lower yourself down in a controlled manner to complete one repetition.
💪🏻 Want to master pull-ups? Add a compelling copy here and hyperlink to check out the how to get better at pull-up guide.
Risks and Injury Prevention
The last thing you want to have
happen is an injury during a workout. Even though chin ups and pull ups
are bodyweight movements, there is still a possibility for injury when
done improperly. Here’s how you can prevent some of the most common
injuries related to chin ups and pull ups.
Shoulder Strain
The first injury to prevent is
shoulder strain. This injury can happen either with overuse or improper
form causing strain to the shoulder joint and muscles. Before attempting
chin ups or pull-ups, it’s important to establish good stability and
strength in and around the shoulder joint to build a solid base. From
there, follow proper progressions to work toward your first chin up or
pull up. During chin ups and pull ups, focus on proper scapular
positioning and controlled movements to prevent unnecessary strain to
the shoulder joint.
Elbow Tendonitis
This pesky overuse injury is most
often associated with doing a repeated high volume of work without
adequate recovery. The best way to avoid elbow tendonitis is to
gradually increase your intensity over time and incorporate rest days
between chin up or pull up practice days.
Variations of Pull-Ups and Chin Ups
If you’re looking for even more
variation in your upper body pull movements, then you have some options.
You might choose to include these variations just to mix things up or
to reap the unique benefits that each variation offers.
Neutral Grip Pull-Ups
Neutral grip pull ups are performed
with the palms facing each other. Like chin ups, this variation allows
the biceps to share the load with the lats, but this grip places less
stress on the wrists and shoulders. Give this variation a try if your
wrists or shoulders need a break.
Wide Grip Pull-Ups
Place your hands even wider than
traditional pull ups to perform the wide grip variation. The change in
hand placement increases lat engagement (also making this move more
difficult than traditional pull ups) and will aesthetically build a
broader upper back.
Close Grip Chin Ups
Alternatively, you can try a close
grip chin up by placing your hands closer together than a traditional
chin up to emphasize bicep activation. This can be a great place to
start when practicing chin ups since the biceps will take on even more
of the load. Be forewarned that this variation does also challenge grip
strength – an important component in being able to do chin ups and pull
ups alike!
Assisted Pull-Ups and Chin Ups
Using a resistance band or an
assisted machine is a great place to start as you’re beginning your pull
up/chin up journey. You can find the amount of assistance that you need
to complete the move with good form and slowly decrease assistance over
time until you’re ready to perform your first unassisted chin up/pull
up.
How Many Reps and Sets?
Beginners: Start with 2-3 sets of 5-8 reps.
Intermediate/Advanced: Aim for 3-4 sets of 8-12 reps.
There
are two ways to increase intensity: increasing weight, or increasing
volume. Is your goal to complete a certain number of chin ups/pull ups?
Or are you aiming to build maximal strength (which typically occurs in
the 1-5 rep range with 85-100% intensity)? Once you know your goal,
progressing is easy.
To increase volume, you will slowly increase the total number of
reps that you do in a workout to help you build toward your ultimate
goal (example goal: perform 15 pull-ups). If your goal is maximum
strength, you can try adding weight to a belt during your sets once
you’ve mastered bodyweight at the rep ranges listed above. Start by
adding 5 pounds at a time and slowly increase over time as your form
allows.
Benefits of Pull-Ups and Chin Ups
Need more convincing? There are
more benefits to being able to perform pull-ups and chin ups than just
looking really cool at the gym (because let’s be honest, they do look
pretty awesome). Check out these other enticing reasons why you should
incorporate pull ups and chin ups into your weekly routine:
Strengthens Upper Body Muscles
Pull ups and chin ups are a
multi-joint movement, meaning that they engage multiple muscle groups
(lats, biceps, shoulders, and upper back). They promote overall upper
body muscle development and can lead to some serious strength gains.
Improves Grip Strength
Grip strength is critical in being
able to lift heavier in a variety of exercises that require you to hold
the weight, but it is also important as we age. Chin ups and pull ups
challenge forearm and hand strength to help you build and maintain
better grip strength.
Functional Movement
Should you ever find yourself
hanging from a cliff, pull-ups would come in handy. But in all
seriousness, pulling is one of the basic human movement patterns that we
all need to master for healthy functional fitness. Pull-ups and chin
ups are challenging pull movement that also enhance overall physical
performance by improving upper body strength.
Convenience and Accessibility
Pull ups and chin ups can be
performed almost anywhere: at the gym, at home using a pull up bar, or
virtually anywhere that you can (safely) hang a suspension system.
Because these movements require minimal equipment, they are ideal for
any fitness enthusiast from gym goer to world traveler.
Example Pull Up & Chin Up Workout Routine
● Warm-up
○ 5-10 minutes of light cardio or dynamic stretching.
● Neutral Grip Pull Ups
○ 3 sets of 8 reps.
● Wide Grip Pull Ups
○ 3 sets of 8 reps.
● Close Grip Chin Ups
○ 3 sets of 10 reps.
● Assisted Pull Ups
○ 2 sets of 8 reps (using resistance bands).
● Chin Ups
○ 3 sets of 8 reps.
● Cooldown
○ 5 minutes of static stretching.
Final Thoughts
Pull ups and chin ups are extremely
effective when it comes to building upper body and back strength.
Gradual progression over time will allow you to perform chin ups and
pull ups with good form to reduce the risk of injury and to see the
results that you’re looking for. Incorporate these exercises into your
fitness routine for a fun yet challenging upper body exercise that’s
sure to yield great results.
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