Pull-Ups ! The greatest back exercise
Have you ever asked yourself which is the best back exercise?
Think of Pull-Ups! They are truly one of the oldest and most effective ways to target your back muscle and the entire upper body. Pull-ups are great if you want to build muscle, add definition, widen your back, build strength and endurance. In other words ; pull-ups are great! They are a compound multi-joint movement and stimulate several muscle groups at once. Pull-ups are a must. It doesn’t matter if you are a beginner, or advanced. An Effective back workout should consist of at least one type of pull-ups.
To perform a pull-up you need a bar, but be creative! Even without one you can use a tree branch, cradle or everything that resembles a bar. Pull-ups are a great addition to outdoor workouts and performing them with dips, push-ups and squats they will make an effective entire body workout.
They are several types of pull-ups you can do. Depending on the way you grip the bar, you can make them target your lats or biceps.
Wide grip pull-ups
This type is the best to achieve the V-taper back. Wide grip pull-ups target the lattsimus dorsi muscle of your back (lats) in a way that stimulates the widening of the muscle. The biceps is stimulated as well, but the back is predominantly involved. The form is most important. You have to perform them slow and steady – 2 seconds on the positive, hold for 1 second at the top and 2 seconds on the negative portion of the pull-up. This way your results regarding muscle mass will be maximized.
Underhand Chin-Ups
Chin-ups are performed the same way as pull-ups. Only difference is that you grip the bar in a way that your palms are facing you. There are considered easier than pull-ups, that’s way they are more commonly performed. They hit the back muscle as well, but target the biceps predominantly.
Beginner Pull-ups
Pull-ups are quite difficult to be performed, especially by beginners. There are several alternatives, which can be incorporated for building up the strength in your back muscles until you can do real pull-ups.
1- You hang from the bar as the picture shows and pull towards your chest, then release to starting position.
2- Ask a friend to help you
– If you have a training partner, you can ask him to help you. He must help you with the positive portion of the pull-up while holding and supporting your hips, when you reach the highest point the negative part of the pull-up should be all on you. Go down in a slow and controlled manner.
3- With a chair
Take a chair or something else that can support you reaching the highest point of the pull-up. Once you’re up, move the chair aside and go down very slowly. Repeat as much times as you can.
L-chin-ups
They are harder than the regular chin-ups. They can be performed with a narrow, as well as wide grip. You legs have to be stretched in front of your body in a L-shape. They are performed slowly with a hold at the highest point of the chin-up. 2 seconds up, 1 hold, 2 seconds down. This pull-up targets your abdominal muscles as well as you back.
At the end – do pull-ups. They are a great exercise, performed them correctly and slowly. Change and experiment with the grips from optimal results.
Pull ups are probably my favourite exercise and thats why I’ve put so much effort in this article ! They are an AMAZING exercise, don’t neglect them !
I’m expecting your comments bellow.
