Bodyweight Exercises:~

The Pull-Up ~

Joseph M. Warpeha, MA, CSCS, *D, NSCA-CP't *D

Many yearsago I wasinter-viewed by a reporter fora local newspaper and

one of the questions I was asked was: Ifyou could only do five exercisesfor therest of your life, what would they be? Ibelieve the majority I chose were body-weight exercises; one non-bodyweightexercise was the bench press which,as a competitive bench presser, I hadto include on principle. Bodyweightexercisesutilize one's own weight as theresistance for the movement as opposedto the more familiar forms of dumbbells,barbells, machines, etc. This article seeks

to specifically examine one of the pre-mier exercises ror upper body strength-the pull-up.

The pull-up is seen by many as one ofthe most difficult exercises out there

because of the upper body strengthcomponent and the fact that 100% ofone's bodyweight must be dealt with.UnfOrtunately,most people associatethepull-up with the physical fitness testingthey underwent back in the high schooldays where many were called up in frontof the classonly to hang there in a futileattempt to get their chin anywhere nearthe bar from which they were dangling.Of course, individuals with the combi

nation of lower bodyweight and above-average upper body strength typicallyexcel in an exerciselike pull-ups so thereis some advantage to having a certainbody type. However, that is not to saythat heavier people cannot also becomeproficient at this movement. Quite sim-ply, to get good at doing pull-ups, youmust practice doing pull-ups.

A quick terminology session is requiredat this point. A pull-up is done withan overhand grip whereas a chin-uputilizes an underhand grip. Most peoplecan do more chin-ups than pull-ups(presumably because of the significantcontribution of the biceps in the chin-up exercise). What the acrual ratio ofchin-ups to pull-ups is for each personis likely quite variable, but Harder (1)indicates that the averageperson can dothree pull-ups for every four chin-ups.The ideal pull-up begins in a full hang(arms fully extended) from an overheadbar with the person then pulling theirbody upwards until their chin clearsthe bar followed by a lowering back tothe beginning position. Whether thelegs remain extended or tUcked withthe ankles crossed seems to be more a

matter of personal preference than bio-mechanical advantage or disadvantage.

One thing to avoid is a kicking or swing-ing with the legs in an attempt to createmomentUm in the upward direction.

The pull-up exerciserequiresthe involve-ment of the major upper body flexionmuscles (or the "pullers"), namely thelarge latissimus dorsi as prime moverand the relatively smaller biceps andforearm muscles as secondary movers.As mentioned previously, the type ofgrip derermines which arm muscles aresignificantly involved. An overhand gripwill bring the forearm/wrist extensorsas well as the brachioradialis (an elbow

flexor) into play whereas the chin-upwith its underhand grip rorces the bicepsand forearm flexors into a more promi-nent role.

Grip width is a frequent question withthe pull-up exercise.In general, everyonewill have a grip width that is optimal forthem to perform the most repetitions.This seems to be somewhere around a

shoulder-width grip but that is certainlynot written in stone. While very wideand narrow grips seem to have a place,particularly in the muscle region-spe-cific training of bodybuilders, a generalshoulder-width grip is the usual recom-mendation for most.

NSCA's Performance TrainingJournal I www.nsca-lift.org/perform Vol. 5 No.4 I Page6

So the next question is what to do whensomeone cannot do a single pull-up.They could just do set after set of Ih or% pull-ups and presumably they willachieve a full range of motion (ROM)sooner or later, but this type of train-ing can be quite frustrating. There are afew different approaches here. First, theperson could have someone assist themby grabbing the legs, ankles, or hips andgiving just enough help to allow theperson the get the full ROM.

Large bands (like the ones used foraccommodating resistance training) canbe used as a substitUte if another personis not available. In this case, one end

of the band is attached to the pull-upbar and the person then puts the otherend around their feet or knees (depend-ing on whether they are performingthe pull-ups with straight legs or bentknees). The sizeof the band will dependon how much assistance the personrequires. While it is trUe the band willbe of little assistance at the top of thepull-up (because it will be slack), thebottom of the pull-up is where mostpeople encounter difficulties,which justhappens to be the region where the bandwill help the most.

If an assisted pull-machine is available,this is another option to improve pull-ups for those who can not achieve asingle unassisted movement. A sufficientweight should be used that allows theperson to get at least a few full repeti-tions. As they get stronger, the assistanceweight will decreaseuntil the person cansuccessfully do a pull-up with no helpttom the machine.

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Finally, there is always the lat pulldownmachine. While the same muscles are

essentially used, there are some subdedifferences between a pull-up and latpulldown, owing primarily to the factthat in the fat pulldown the person isanchored to the ground whereas in thepull-up, the entire body moves towardsthe bar which is fixed.

So how about the relatively smallergroup of people who can do a lot of pull-ups and want to work more on strengthor mass building? It's pretty much theopposite of the above. This group ofpeople will need to add resistance totheir body instead of subtracting it. Thisis best achievedwith a weight belt (com-monly called a chin/dip belt) that has achain for attaching weight (dumbbells orplates/discs). The pull-ups are then donein the normal fashion. It is not uncom-

mon to see some strength athletes withtremendous upper body strength relativeto their bodyweight (powerlitters, gym-nasts, pole vaulters, etc.) doing pull-upswith over 100 pounds attached. Anotherway to make a pull-up more difficult isto increase the range of motion. Thiscan be accomplished by "pulling" thechest into contact with the bar at the

top instead of just clearing the bar withthe chin or by using a pull-up bar that isangled downward towards the ends.

Pull-ups are an extremely beneficialexer-cise for enhancing strength (includinggrip strength), increasing muscle size,orfor general physicalpreparedness (GPP).Due to the inherent difficultyof pull-upsthey are ttequendy underused. However,if one were to look at the routines of the

best strength athletes, it is a sure bet thattheir program includes (or at least hasin the past) some type of pull-up move-ment. In the next issue of the PTJ, theupper body complement to the pull-upwill be examined - the parallel bar dip.

Reference1. Harder, D. (2001). Strength. CastroValley,CA: Education Plus.

About the AuthorJoe Warpeha is an exercise physiologist

and strength coach and is currently work-

ing on his PhD in exercise physiology at

the University of Minnesota-Minneapolis.

His current researchfocuses on bone and

tendon adaptations to training and the

effects of skeletal loading on their physi-

ological and mechanical properties. Joe

teaches several courses at UM including

"advanced weight training and condition-

ing" and "measurement, evaluation, and

research in kinesiology". He has a master's

degree in exercisephysiology and certifica-

tions through the NSCA, ACSM, USAW

ASER and YMCA. He has over 14 years of

resistance and aerobic training experience

and has been a competitive powerlifter

since 1997. Joe is a two-time national

bench press champion and holds multiplestate and national records in the bench

press while competing in the 148, 165,

and 181-pound weight classes.

NSCAs Performance Trainingfournal I www.nsca-lift.org/perform Vol.5 No.4 I Page7