Exercise Spotlight: Pull-Ups

Ah yes. The Pull-Up. The Pull-Up is one of the cash cows of building upper body strength. No matter what goes on in the fitness market, the Pull-Up will consistently perform to make you stronger. Other 'new' products, fads, approaches, trends... they sizzle in hot... but then fizzle out cold.Shake weight anyone?Sure, the shake weight sold millions of products... that are now all being resold at a garage sale near you.But not the Pull-Up.The Pull-Up will always be a reliable, cash flow-positive, competitive and high-resale-value product that will consistently help you build upper body strength. The movement is simple enough: just pull your body up and down while suspended from an elevated bar. But the engagement of several muscle groups along with the multiple variations of this movement makes the Pull-Up the cash cow movement it always will be. So let's get into the nuts and bolts of the Pull-Up. All of the following information is nicely summarized for you on the Pull-Up Video page at Layman's Fitness. LF_How to do a Pull-UpBut here are the highlights. The muscle groups engaged by the Pull-Up: 

• The muscles in your back (latissimus dorsi, trapezius, teres major, etc...)

• The muscles in your arms (biceps, forearms, shoulders)

• (Bonus) The muscles in your core, for stabilization (abs, obliques, lower back)

The 10 variations of the Pull-Up (non-exhaustive, but more than enough to make you sweat): 

• (easiest) Perform Inverted Rows. 

• Perform Leg Assisted Pull-Ups. You can do this by  having either one or both legs on the ground or elevated surface underneath the bar.

  • Instructions on how to do leg assisted pull-ups on monkey bars are found here.

  • Instructions on how to do leg assisted pull-ups on a low bar are found here.

• Perform the Pull-Up: Classic movement. 

• Perform the movement with your palms facing towards you, which now makes this movement a chin-up.

• Perform at a 1/1/2 tempo. 1 second to raise your body, 1 second hold at the top of the movement, and two seconds to lower your body back to starting position. 

• Perform the movement, and at the bottom of the movement do a Hanging Leg Raise.

• At the top of the movement, laterally move your body to the right until your head is by your right hand, pause, then laterally move your body to the left until your head is by your left hand, then return to the middle of the bar and lower yourself to starting position.

• Perform at a 2/1/4 tempo. 2 seconds to raise your body, 1 second hold at the top of the movement, and 4 seconds to lower your body back to starting position. This variation is grueling. 

• Add a weight vest (or a toddler). 

• (hardest) Perform using only one arm. For the arm not holding the bar, use that arm to hold the wrist of the arm on the bar. 

The Pull-Up is one of the key movements for the Layman's Fitness exercise program, which can be viewed and purchased

here

: 

Have fun with this bodyweight

cash cow

!

 - Don