Pull-up

Movement

What the movement is

One large fitness-testing programme set out the pull-up in its test rules⁷. The programme tested 154,659 young Norwegian men and women at conscript selection⁷. Its pull-up test began from a vertical hang with straight arms and an overhand grasp⁷. The chin had to rise over the beam, and kicking or swinging was not allowed⁷.

In 21 men and 4 women, the elbow moved through a mean range of about 93 degrees in the pull-up¹. In the chin-up, the mean range was about 101 degrees¹.

The names studies give each grip

Studies name the grips in different ways, and this page keeps the name each study used^4,8. One movement study calls a shoulder-width pull-up with the palms forward a front-grip pull-up⁴. It calls one with the palms backward a reverse-grip pull-up⁴. A modelling study describes its front-grip and wide-grip pull-ups as pronated and its reverse-grip pull-up as supinated⁸. Pronation means turning the forearm so the palm faces down, and supination means turning it so the palm faces up.

How the shoulder blade moves

One study tracked the scapula (shoulder blade) in eleven healthy men who did pull-ups in regular training⁴. It measured protraction, drawing the shoulder blade forward around the rib cage, and retraction, drawing it back toward the spine⁴. The range of this movement on the way up differed with the technique⁴:

Technique	Range of protraction and retraction on the way up
Front grip (palms forward, shoulder width)	22 degrees4
Reverse grip (palms backward)	17 degrees4
Wide grip	10 degrees4

How kipping changes the movement

In eleven athletes, the maximum hip angle was about 49 degrees greater in the kipping pull-up than in the standard pull-up³. The maximum knee angle was about 57 degrees greater³.

What it loads

The most active muscles

One study of 21 men and 4 women recorded seven muscles with electromyography (EMG), which measures a muscle’s activity from its electrical signals¹. Each muscle was scored against its maximal voluntary isometric contraction, its hardest effort while the joint stays still¹. The ranges cover a pull-up, a chin-up and a pull-up on rotating handles¹:

Muscle	Average activity, % of maximal voluntary isometric contraction
Latissimus dorsi	117 to 1301
Biceps brachii (front of the upper arm)	78 to 961
Infraspinatus (a rotator cuff muscle)	71 to 791
Lower trapezius (pulls the shoulder blade down)	45 to 561
Pectoralis major (the large chest muscle)	44 to 571
Erector spinae (long muscles beside the spine)	39 to 411
External oblique (a flat muscle at the side of the abdomen)	31 to 351

The same study looked at when each muscle peaked¹. The timing suggested that the lower trapezius and pectoralis major started pull-ups and chin-ups¹. It suggested that biceps brachii and latissimus dorsi recruitment completed them¹.

What the grip changes

Two studies reached different results on what the grip changes^1,2. In 21 men and 4 women, the pectoralis major and biceps brachii were significantly more active in the chin-up than in the pull-up¹. The lower trapezius was significantly more active in the pull-up¹. In 19 strength-trained men, peak and average activity of eight shoulder, arm and forearm muscles was similar across hand positions². That study compared supinated, pronated, neutral and rope grips over whole repetitions².

Two studies reached different results on what the grip changes.

The same 19 men showed a difference in the middle trapezius, the middle part of that muscle². Its peak and average activity were significantly greater with a pronated grip than with a neutral grip².

A narrative review, a summary written without a set, checkable search method, looked at the latissimus dorsi⁹. It found broadly comparable EMG amplitude in that muscle across pull-up and chin-up grips⁹. That rested on four primary studies with about 84 participants in total⁹.

Handles, towels and grip width

Three studies changed what the hands held or how far apart they were^1,10,11:

• Rotating handles. In 21 men and 4 women, no differences in muscle activation were detected between a pull-up on rotating handles and the usual pull-up or chin-up¹.
• Suspension device and towel. In 15 resistance-trained men and women, latissimus dorsi, biceps brachii and posterior deltoid activity did not differ between these and traditional pull-ups¹⁰. Middle trapezius activity was significantly lower in the towel pull-up than in the traditional one¹⁰.
• Grip width. In fourteen trained men, the one-repetition maximum (1RM, the heaviest load a person can lift once) was similar with two grips¹¹. So were repetitions to failure¹¹. One grip was shoulder width, and the other was freely chosen and about 20% wider on average¹¹.

What kipping changes

In eleven athletes doing sets of five standard and five kipping pull-ups, the biceps brachii was less active in the kipping version³. The gap was about 27 percentage points of maximal voluntary isometric contraction³. Four trunk and hip muscles were significantly more active in the kipping version, by about 14 to 29 points³:

In eleven athletes doing sets of five standard and five kipping pull-ups, the biceps brachii was less active in the kipping version.

• the rectus abdominis, a long, flat muscle down the front of the abdomen³;
• the external oblique³;
• the iliopsoas, a deep hip muscle that bends the hip³;
• the tensor fasciae latae, a small muscle at the upper outer thigh³.

How the body adapts

Four studies measured pull-up performance before and after training^12,13,14,15:

• Men tested twice, 12 weeks apart. Of 52 men, 39 completed both tests¹². After 12 weeks of training, pull-up 1RM rose by 3.4% and maximum repetitions with body mass rose by 15%¹².
• Inactive male students. Thirty were randomly assigned to three 8-week pull-up-based programmes that differed in their supplemental exercises¹³. Maximum pull-up repetitions, grip strength and dead-hang time improved significantly¹³. The group that added forearm training had the largest gain in repetitions, 222.5%¹³.
• Climbers. A study randomly split 30 advanced to high-elite climbers into eccentric, isometric, plyometric and no-specific-training groups¹⁴. After 5 weeks, maximum pull-up strength had risen 2.2% to 5.0% in the three training groups, and the control group showed no change¹⁴. Eccentric work is done while a muscle lengthens, and isometric work while the joint does not move. Plyometric work stretches a muscle and then shortens it quickly.
• College-age women. After a combined strength and aerobic conditioning programme aimed at the pull-up, upper body strength and fat-free mass (body weight that isn’t fat) increased significantly¹⁵. Fat mass and percentage of body fat decreased¹⁵.

A narrative review of latissimus dorsi EMG in pulling exercises, the pull-up among them, set a limit on EMG readings⁹. It states that no single-session EMG finding establishes that one exercise is the better one to train with over the long term⁹. It adds that long-term training studies measuring muscle size, strength or performance are absent from that literature⁹.

Progressive overload

A 2026 position stand describes progressive overload as the need to increase the stimulus placed on the muscle throughout a training programme¹⁶. The pull-up studies here each set the work in their own way^{5,13,14,17,18}:

Who trained, and for how long	What the programme did	What was found
29 strength-trained men, 8 weeks (16 sessions) of body-mass pull-ups	One group ended each set at a 25% loss of repetition velocity; the other continued to a 50% loss5	The 25% group improved significantly in each measured variable; the 50% group remained unchanged5
290 military conscripts, 9 weeks, with training volume matched	One group did four 15-minute strength and four 15-minute endurance bouts a week; the other did one 60-minute session of each17	Repetitions rose from 7.4 to 8.5 with short bouts and from 5.7 to 7.1 with long sessions17
The eccentric group in a 5-week, twice-weekly study on a hang board (a board with small edges to grip)	The lowering phase alone: three 5-second repetitions at 95% of 1RM, then three body-weight upward jumps, for six sets14	In 30 climbers, maximum pull-up strength improved in the three training groups, by 2.2% to 5.0%14
The groups of an 8-week study, twice weekly	Assisted pull-ups, inverted rows, reverse-grip pull-ups and negative pull-ups, each for three sets of as many repetitions as possible13	In 30 inactive male students, repetitions improved significantly13
34 healthy, recreationally active male college students doing lat pull-downs under joint instability or on a stable set-up, 8 weeks, three times a week	Four sets of 12, with the load raised by 5% of 1RM every two weeks, from 65% to 80%18	Pull-up repetitions rose from about 2.2 to 8.5 in the instability group and 5.8 in the stable group18

A negative pull-up, in that 8-week study, meant lowering under control from the top position¹³. An inverted row means pulling the body up toward a bar while hanging beneath it. A lat pull-down is a machine exercise in which a seated person pulls a bar down toward the chest.

The authors of the velocity-loss study concluded that repetitions past a 25% velocity loss did not bring additional gains⁵. They added that such repetitions can even blunt improvement in strength and endurance performance⁵.

Injuries reported with pull-ups

Surveys and a cohort in CrossFit training

Most of the injury evidence here comes from people doing CrossFit training^6,19,20,21:

• A systematic review of 25 studies covered 12,079 CrossFit practitioners¹⁹. The shoulder was the most injured area, at 26%¹⁹.
• A survey of 187 people who trained in CrossFit gyms found 44 reporting a shoulder injury in the previous six months⁶. Respondents named gymnastics exercises as the primary cause of 25 of 46 injuries⁶. Those included the kipping pull-up for 5 and the butterfly pull-up for 2⁶.
• A survey of 386 participants found the shoulder was the area most often injured in gymnastic movements²⁰. The authors defined that category to include pull-ups alongside muscle-ups, dips and push-ups²⁰.
• A 12-month prospective study of 109 athletes recorded 0.79 shoulder injuries per 1,000 training hours²¹. Gymnastics exercises (35%) and Olympic weightlifting (45%) were associated with shoulder injury²¹. The rotator cuff tendons were the structure most often injured²¹.

What movement studies suggested

Two suggestions come from authors who studied how eleven people moved⁴. From a study of eleven healthy men, the authors suggest the wide-grip pull-up may be associated with an increased shoulder injury risk⁴. Their reason was its significantly reduced range of scapular protraction and retraction⁴. They call this a concern for kipping pull-ups⁴.

From an observational study of 11 people who regularly do pull-ups, the authors suggest the reverse-grip pull-up potentially raises the risk of subacromial impingement⁴. That term means pinching of tissue in the space beneath the acromion, the bony point at the top of the shoulder. They place the risk in the hanging and starting phase, since this grip starts with the main shoulder joint turned far outward⁴. The shoulder impingement page covers that condition.

Single cases

Three case reports, each on a single patient, involve pull-ups or a related exercise^22,23,24:

• A 44-year-old woman had both shoulders dislocate forwards at the same time during chin-ups²². The authors wrote that, to their knowledge, this mechanism had not been reported before²². The shoulder dislocation page covers that injury.
• A 30-year-old male CrossFit athlete tore his latissimus dorsi tendon during a bar muscle-up²³. The authors describe that exercise as a combination of a pull-up and a dip²³.
• A male athlete had exertional rhabdomyolysis, a rapid breakdown of muscle tissue brought on by exercise²⁴. After a period of detraining, he had done one session of 24 sets of push-ups and 24 sets of chin-ups²⁴. He took no rest between sets²⁴.

Connections

The muscles it works

• The latissimus dorsi, which extends, adducts and internally rotates the arm at the shoulder^9,25,26. Those words mean moving the arm backward, toward the midline and turning it inward.
• The biceps brachii and the infraspinatus, second and third in the ranking of 21 men and 4 women¹.
• The trapezius, whose lower fibres depress the shoulder blade²⁷.
• The pectoralis major, erector spinae and external oblique, the last three in that ranking¹.
• The rectus abdominis, more active in the kipping pull-up in eleven athletes³.

The shoulder and related pages

The shoulder was the body area most commonly injured in gymnastic movements in a survey of 386 CrossFit participants²⁰. That survey grouped pull-ups with the dip and the push-up²⁰. The dead hang is the position one tested pull-up started from⁷.

Sources

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2. Dickie JA, Faulkner JA, Barnes MJ, Lark SD (2017). Electromyographic analysis of muscle activation during pull-up variations.. Journal of electromyography and kinesiology : official journal of the International Society of Electrophysiological Kinesiology. doi:10.1016/j.jelekin.2016.11.004 PMID 28011412
3. Dinunzio C, Porter N, Van Scoy J, Cordice D, McCulloch RS (2019). Alterations in kinematics and muscle activation patterns with the addition of a kipping action during a pull-up activity.. Sports biomechanics. doi:10.1080/14763141.2018.1452971 PMID 29768093
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5. Sánchez-Moreno M, Cornejo-Daza PJ, González-Badillo JJ, Pareja-Blanco F (2020). Effects of Velocity Loss During Body Mass Prone-Grip Pull-up Training on Strength and Endurance Performance.. Journal of strength and conditioning research. doi:10.1519/JSC.0000000000003500 PMID 32213783
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9. Di Fonza D, Di Claudio G, Colantuono G, Persichini L, Cerulo N, Sangregorio B, Buonsenso A, Fiorilli G, Calcagno G, di Cagno A (2026). Electromyographic Analysis of Latissimus Dorsi Activation During Common Resistance Training Exercises: A Narrative Review.. Journal of Functional Morphology and Kinesiology. doi:10.3390/jfmk11030315 PMID 42647355
10. Snarr RL, Hallmark AV, Casey JC, Esco MR (2017). Electromyographical Comparison of a Traditional, Suspension Device, and Towel Pull-Up.. Journal of human kinetics. doi:10.1515/hukin-2017-0068 PMID 28828073
11. Ortega-Rodríguez R, Feriche B, Almeida F, Bonitch-Góngora J, Padial P (2021). Effect of the Pronated Pull-Up Grip Width on Performance and Power-Force-Velocity Profile.. Research quarterly for exercise and sport. doi:10.1080/02701367.2020.1762835 PMID 32669057
12. Sánchez-Moreno M, Rodríguez-Rosell D, Pareja-Blanco F, Mora-Custodio R, González-Badillo JJ (2017). Movement Velocity as Indicator of Relative Intensity and Level of Effort Attained During the Set in Pull-Up Exercise.. International journal of sports physiology and performance. doi:10.1123/ijspp.2016-0791 PMID 28338365
13. Sepehri Rahnama H, Ganji S, Vadasz K, Prokai J (2025). Comparative Effects of Core Versus Forearm Training on Pull-Up Repetition Performance in Physically Inactive Males.. Sports (Basel, Switzerland). doi:10.3390/sports13120433 PMID 41441417
14. Vigouroux L, Devise M (2024). Pull-Up Performance Is Affected Differently by the Muscle Contraction Regimens Practiced during Training among Climbers.. Bioengineering (Basel, Switzerland). doi:10.3390/bioengineering11010085 PMID 38247962
15. Flanagan SP, Vanderburgh PM, Borchers SG, Kohstall CD (2003). Training college-age women to perform the pull-up exercise.. Research quarterly for exercise and sport. doi:10.1080/02701367.2003.10609064 PMID 12659476
16. Currier BS, D'Souza AC, Singh MAF, Lowisz CV, Rawson ES, Schoenfeld BJ, Smith-Ryan AE, et al (2026). American College of Sports Medicine Position Stand. Resistance Training Prescription for Muscle Function, Hypertrophy, and Physical Performance in Healthy Adults: An Overview of Reviews.. Medicine and science in sports and exercise. doi:10.1249/MSS.0000000000003897 PMID 41843416
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18. Li Q, Yan J, Qiao M, Quan J, Chen Y, Gong M, Niu W, Wang L (2025). Eight-week lat pull-down resistance training with joint instability leads to superior pull-up endurance performance and reduced antagonist coactivation in recreationally active male college students.. European journal of sport science. doi:10.1002/ejsc.12243 PMID 39716392
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21. Bakaraki A, Tsirogiannis G, Matzaroglou C, Fousekis K, Xergia SA, Tsepis E (2025). Demographic, Epidemiological and Functional Profile Models of Greek CrossFit Athletes in Relation to Shoulder Injuries: A Prospective Study.. Journal of functional morphology and kinesiology. doi:10.3390/jfmk10030278 PMID 40700214
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26. Hovsepian JM, Cartaya MA, Glaser J, Oehler N, Solovyov I, Abi Mansour C, Avila JC, Vogt S (2026). Surgical anatomy, biomechanics and clinical outcomes of latissimus dorsi transfer for irreparable rotator cuff tears: a review.. Journal of Orthopaedic Surgery and Research. doi:10.1186/s13018-026-07200-9 PMID 42661214
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Every source the library cites

Changes

• October 8, 2026 Revised to report sources added after their published corrections were read