What Muscles Pull-Ups Work On?

In this article, we list all the muscles pull-ups work on and bring you amazing facts and benefits of this popular exercise. Pull-ups can be done without any sophisticated gym equipment or setup. You just need a bar that you can hang on to and perform this simple and effective exercise.

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What Is a Pull-Up?

Lats and biceps are among the muscles pull-ups work on (Photo by Lawrence Crayton on Unsplash)

This is a compound exercise that uses multiple muscle groups. The primary target muscle group is the lats, but certain other muscle groups such as biceps and deltoids are involved too. Pull-ups are among the best bodyweight exercises for mass and strength.

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What Muscles Pull-Ups Work?

Pull-ups can increase your strength (Photo by Anastase Maragos on Unsplash)

Lats, Trapezius, Rhomboids, Deltoids, and Biceps are among the muscles pull-ups work on. However, many other minor muscles are also involved in the movement. You can try out other exercises to strengthen Trapezius muscles as well.

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Lats Muscles

These are the lat muscles, also known as the back muscles. It’s the biggest part of your back and is fan-shaped.

The muscle group starts from the lower back and goes all the way up to the upper arm. Usually, a pull-up is used as a warm-up or a finisher, but it can also be used as a part of a super-set as well. Lats are the largest group of muscles pull-ups work on.

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Trapezius Muscles

This muscle group is popularly known as ‘traps’ and is triangular-shaped. It runs from the middle of the back to the base of the skull. Additionally, it runs down to the shoulder blades’ spine.

The upper trapezius is one of the primary muscle groups engaged in a pull-up, but the middle and lower parts are engaged as secondary muscle groups. Traps are the second group of muscles pull-ups work on.

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Rhomboids

The muscle group can be found between the shoulders in the upper back. Rhomboids are the third group of muscles pull-ups work on.

During pull-ups, rhomboids engage as a secondary muscle group. It helps with moving the shoulder blades and acts as a stabilizer for the shoulder muscles.

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Biceps

This is the upper arm muscle group and is involved in several pull movements. Biceps are the fourth group of muscles pull-ups work on.

Biceps brachii is often heard during arm or bicep exercises. In a pull-up, the biceps brachii works as a secondary muscle group, but if you don’t keep a strong muscle-mind connection, it can easily take over from the lats.

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Deltoids

You will find this muscle group on your shoulders. Usually, anterior deltoids (front deltoids) engage during a pull-up. But since all three delts are joined together, there is a certain degree of impact on the lateral and rear delts as well. Deltoids are a minor group of muscles pull-ups work on.

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Pecs

This is a muscle group located in your chest. It plays a major role in the movement of the arm and focuses on posture. Though pull-ups are not among chest exercises, pectoralis muscles play a minor role in assisting in this exercise.

While there is slight engagement in the muscle group during pull-ups but it doesn’t directly assist the lats. It supports the arms and shoulders, which are secondary muscle groups in a pull-up. If you want to work primarily on your chest, you can focus on push-ups. Pecs are another secondary group of muscles pull-ups work on.

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How to Do a Pull-Up?

Biceps play an important role in pull-ups (Photo by GMB Fitness on Unsplash)

Follow these steps to do a pull-up:

• Step 1: you’ll need access to a pull-up bar.
• Step 2: place yourself underneath the bar and grasp the bar with your hands while keeping them shoulder-width or slightly wider apart.
• Step 3: your palms should be facing outwards (away from the torso).
• Step 4: let your body hand while you hold the bars.
• Step 5: engage your lats and pull yourself towards the bar.
• Step 6: keep moving upwards until your chin is above the bar.
• Step 7: slowly come back to the starting position.

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How to Increase the Strength of the Muscles Pull-Ups Work On?

Remember, you might not be able to do the perfect pull-up on your first try. Nevertheless, the more you practice and build your upper body strength, the easier it becomes to do pull-ups. There are certain exercises to improve pull-ups such as dead hangs and barbell rows.

Now, if you make your grip smaller than shoulder-width, the impact is more on your biceps than on your lats. This is a popular variation in bodyweight exercises for biceps, but it’s better to start with a shoulder-width pull-up before moving to a narrow-grip pull-up. These variations and alternative exercises can help you increase the strength of the muscles pull-ups work on.