World-renowned strength coach Charles Poliquin calls it the single most important exercise for upper body strength development.
Elite level athletes from Crossfit to bodybuilders think of it as the toughest bodyweight move there is, whereas others have placed such importance on the pull up that they simply call it the ‘Upper Body Squat’, it’s THAT important.
For the regular gym goer the pull up occupies a weird middle ground, between bodyweight god, where you can approach the bar and pound out a set without breaking a sweat, and fish out of water, body flailing around hopelessly as you try to pull yourself up with everything you have only to collapse in embarrassment as you barely raised an inch.
The truth is most people can’t do a full set of pull-ups, let alone one or two.
Although the majority of females do struggle with pull-ups it’s not solely women that are unable to complete a pull-up, many men find it just as hard.
This article will explain
Why the Pull-Up?
If you’ve ever tried a pull up you’ll know just how hard they are.
Pull-ups place enormous demand on your shoulders, back, and arm muscles not to mention your core, forearms and your glutes.
The pull up really is a full body exercise that can have your body aching from head to toe.
The back muscles (lats, traps, and rhomboids) and arms work incredibly hard to be able to lift your entire body up, you can challenge yourself even more by altering the grip you use or adding weight to your lift.
With so many muscles being worked at once, the pull up is a true test of upper body strength and one that carries many benefits.
You may not need to climb up trees to gather food or pull yourself up a rock to avoid predators like our ancestors did in order to survive, but being able to successfully complete pull-ups is a fantastic sign of a strong and fit upper body that comes with some handy benefits.
It will aid your movement, impress your friends and give you some eye-catching results, not to mention:
The pull up is a unique bodyweight exercise that has gigantic benefits and should be included in every workout program, especially if adding size and developing an impressive physique are your goals.
As you see the overall improvements you won’t be asking “why the pull up?” you’ll just be wondering why you waited so long before regularly doing them.
Where You’re Going Wrong
You may have been trying to master the pull-up for years, only to be stuck in the same 2 rep cycle, maybe you gave up and haven’t tried it since, chances are, you were probably doing one of these things wrong.
So How Do You Get Started?
You know where you’re going wrong, let’s take a look at what you can do to fix it. Don’t worry there are many things you can do to get yourself ready to complete a pull-up.
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