Doing an overhand grip pull up is the ultimate test of upper body strength, maybe outside of a proper push up. If you are able to perform 5 full range of motion strict pull ups, you have adequate upper body strength for most things in life. The pull up develops the lat and bicep muscles which are essential for most upper body movements that require strength. For athletes in overhead sports such as baseball, softball, and volleyball the throwing and volleyball swinging motion is driven by the lats. For this reason, I work hard with these athletes to develop the proper lat strength to do a pull up. For the general population this is a great exercise and also a great test of strength.
Strict pull-up
I recommend chasing a strict pull-up before we do any other form of a pull-up or chin-up. A good strict pull-up requires your feet slightly out in front of the body as opposed to the feet crossed behind the body like you would see in a traditional gym. The reason you do this is
Once you can do 1 full range of motion strict pull-up, its time to build up strength so you can attain 5 strict pull-ups in a row. Here are some exercises I recommend to build strength:
- Negative strict pull-ups 3 sets of 6 reps (Works the eccentric portion of the movement, strengthening while controlling down)
- Seated Pull ups 3 sets of 6 reps (Simulates the pull-up just takes some weight off and easy to progress)
- Banded pull-ups 3 sets of 6 (Simulates the pull up the most, but each bands resistance varies and its easy to cheat on these by bouncing. I like to include these, because it does simulate the pull up.
Try and throw these in at the end of your workout 3 day a week. So Monday you would do the negatives, Wednesday the seated pull ups, and Friday the banded pull ups. Here is video of each one.
Kipping Pull up
This might be the most controversial movement in the history of exercise. A lot of people say that a kipping pull up is “cheating” and think its pointless. Many people do not understand what we are trying to accomplish with this move. The kipping pull-up uses your whole body to complete the movement in order to create a metabolic stimulus. This is similar to running while using your arms to help propel you forward or a power clean in which you use your whole body to help get the bar to the front rack position. Strict pull-ups are designed for strength and kipping pull-ups are designed for a cardiovascular effect. If you did the CrossFit workout “Fran” which is 21-15-9 thrusters and pullups, a strict version would take around 7-10 minutes and would not be super taxing. Doing this workout with kipping pull-ups makes this a 3-5 minute workout and increases the metabolic demand. Either way I recommend you have 3-5 strict pull-ups before working at your kipping pull ups. The reason I want adequate strength is due to the bottom of the pull-up position being hard on your labrum and rotator cuff. Especially when you are fatigued this is not a good position for the shoulders.
The kipping pull-up requires 3 things: a good kip swing or arch to hollow, good hip drive or hip extension, and good timing on the pull….Oh ya and adequate strength as I mentioned before hand. Here is a good video demoing these, plus great audio as well. Enjoy.
Chin-up
The chin-up is an additional way to do a pull-up in which you hold the bar with an underhand grip. This version recruits more of the bicep muscle and in most people makes this movement easier. Not sure why one is called a chin-up and one a pull-up but never the less both are beneficial.
I like the overhand grip better due to the fact that the underhand grip requires a lot more mobility in your wrist and shoulder. Many people compensate with their elbow to achieve this range of motion, so if you feel any elbow pain this is the reason.
Like this article? Sign up for mailing list on the homepage
Follow my on social media
IG-Wollschleger_training
Facebook-wollschleger S&C
Twitter-CWollschleger