A pull-up is an upper-body strength exercise. The pull-up is a closed-chain movement where the body is suspended by the hands, gripping a bar or other implement at a distance typically wider than shoulder-width, and pulled up. As this happens, the elbows flex and the shoulders

adduct In chemistry, an adduct (; alternatively, a contraction of "addition product") is a product of a direct addition of two or more distinct molecules, resulting in a single reaction product containing all atoms of all components. The resultant is ...

and extend to bring the elbows to the torso. Pull-ups build up several muscles of the upper body, including the

latissimus dorsi The latissimus dorsi () is a large, flat muscle on the back that stretches to the sides, behind the arm, and is partly covered by the trapezius on the back near the midline. The word latissimus dorsi (plural: ''latissimi dorsi'') comes from L ...

trapezius The trapezius is a large paired trapezoid-shaped surface muscle that extends longitudinally from the occipital bone to the lower thoracic vertebrae of the human spine, spine and laterally to the spine of the scapula. It moves the scapula and ...

, and

biceps brachii The biceps or biceps brachii (, "two-headed muscle of the arm") is a large muscle that lies on the front of the upper arm between the shoulder and the elbow. Both heads of the muscle arise on the scapula and join to form a single muscle bell ...

. A pull-up may be performed with overhand (pronated), underhand (supinated)—sometimes referred to as a chin-up—neutral, or rotating hand position. Pull-ups are used by some organizations as a component of fitness tests, and as a conditioning activity for some sports.

Movement

Beginning by hanging from the bar, the body is pulled up vertically. From the top position, the participant lowers their body until the arms and shoulders are fully extended. The end range of motion at the top end may be chin over bar or higher, such as chest to bar. Pull-ups are a closed-chain, compound movement involving flexion at the elbow and adduction or extension of the

shoulder joint The shoulder joint (or glenohumeral joint from Greek ''glene'', eyeball, + -''oid'', 'form of', + Latin ''humerus'', shoulder) is structurally classified as a synovial joint, synovial ball-and-socket joint and functionally as a diarthrosis and m ...

. The

, infraspinatus, and brachialis muscles are most active at the beginning of the pull-up; the

, teres major, and

reach peak activity during the middle of the movement, and the

triceps brachii The triceps, or triceps brachii (Latin for "three-headed muscle of the arm"), is a large muscle on the back of the upper limb of many vertebrates. It consists of three parts: the medial, lateral, and long head. All three heads cross the elbow jo ...

and

subscapularis The subscapularis is a large triangular muscle which fills the subscapular fossa and inserts into the lesser tubercle of the humerus and the front of the capsule of the Glenohumeral joint, shoulder-joint. Structure The subscapularis is covere ...

experienced maximum activity at the top of the movement. There is similarity to the pull-down in terms of the muscle activation. A 2017 study found that pronated grip activated the middle trapezius more than the neutral grip, but that overall the muscle activation of different grip variants was similar. Muscle activation is significantly different depending on whether the pull-up is completed individually or in a set without resting between repetitions, which is more efficient due to muscle and tendon stretch-shortening rebound. Overhead movements such as pull-ups reduce the subacromial space and create a risk of shoulder impingement. According to one study, the pronated grip pull-up with hands at shoulder width apart led to less risk of impingement than other variations studied.

Variations

Pull-ups can be done with a supinated, neutral, or pronated grip; devices allow the grip to rotate during the pull-up. The pull-up performed with a supinated grip is sometimes called a chin-up. A pull-up may be completed using different widths of hand position; studies have found that participants freely choose a grip that is between 20 and 50 percent wider than shoulder width. A grip that is too wide could increase the injury risk or reduce the number of repetitions able to be completed due to lengthening the lever arm.

Equipment

Pull-ups are commonly performed using a bar; doorway mounted bars are sold for use in in-home gyms. They can also be completed by grasping towels, rotating handles or gymnastics rings.

Use

Pull-ups are a common way to measure upper body strength, endurance, and strength-to-weight ratio. The strength to do a pull-up is correlated with job-related tasks in some careers such as

firefighting Firefighting is a profession aimed at controlling and extinguishing fire. A person who engages in firefighting is known as a firefighter or fireman. Firefighters typically undergo a high degree of technical training. This involves structural fir ...

, police, and military. Pull-ups are used as a conditioning activity for many sports, especially those that require pulling strength, including

rock climbing Rock climbing is a climbing sports discipline that involves ascending climbing routes, routes consisting of natural rock in an outdoor environment, or on artificial resin climbing walls in a mostly indoor environment. Routes are documented in c ...

gymnastics Gymnastics is a group of sport that includes physical exercises requiring Balance (ability), balance, Strength training, strength, Flexibility (anatomy), flexibility, agility, Motor coordination, coordination, artistry and endurance. The movem ...

, rope climbing,

rowing Rowing is the act of propelling a human-powered watercraft using the sweeping motions of oars to displace water and generate reactional propulsion. Rowing is functionally similar to paddling, but rowing requires oars to be mechanically a ...

, and

swimming Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, such as saltwater or freshwater environments, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Swimmers achieve locomotion by coordinating limb and body movements to achieve hydrody ...

. They are also used by police and military to increase muscular strength among their members. Some organizations have allowed women to use a flexed arm hang as a substitute for a pull up in fitness tests after discovering that few female recruits could complete a pull-up. According to a 2003 study in college-age women, one third of participants were able to complete a pull-up after a twelve-week full-body strength training program.

Guinness World Records

The

Guinness World Record ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a British reference book published annually, listi ...

for the most consecutive pull-ups was set by

Japan Coast Guard The is the coast guard responsible for the protection of the Geography of Japan#Composition, topography and geography, coastline of Japan under the oversight of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism. It consists of about ...

diver Kenta Adachi in 2022 with 651 pull-ups, taking 87 minutes. In 2024 he improved his record to 1224 pull-ups. The rule was that one pull-up has to be done every 15 seconds. The world record for pull-ups with no breaks is 88, held by Joonas Mäkipelto. The Guinness World Record for the maximum amount of weight added to a weighted pull-up was set by David Marchante of Spain in 2016, with {{convert, 104.55 , kg.{{cite news , last1=Shiffer , first1=Emily , title=Watch These Guys Try to Break the Unofficial Weighted Pull-Up World Record , url=https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/watch-guys-try-break-unofficial-174600057.html , access-date=24 September 2022 , work=Yahoo News , date=12 March 2020

References

{{Reflist

Movement

Variations

Equipment

Use

Guinness World Records

References

Further reading