Pull ups

Edited by Dr. Umberto Miletto

The pull-up exercise represents the multi-joint exercise par excellence for the back.
There are two main techniques with which this exercise can be performed: prone grip and reverse or supinated grip. Both exercises put tension on the whole back, especially the dorsal, shoulder, triceps (long head), shoulder blade adductors, trapezius, deep muscles of the back, in short, a bit of the whole back. The back is always working, even if you will hear who says that he intervenes more in one and who more in the other. The backbone always works! If we want to be picky then the best gestures should follow the anatomy of the dorsal, then start in supination (maximum elongation) and arrive in pronation (maximum shortening) ... As for the elbow, the supinated position allows greater involvement of the brachial biceps and a better line of force, which is reflected in greater comfort in execution and a better expression of strength. The prone grip exercise is not for everyone, it requires good mobility at the level of the shoulder girdle for a correct execution, otherwise it risks being performed incorrectly by shifting the muscular work to all other muscles.
The correct position for the end of the exercise is to bring the bar to the chest, there are no other positions! The chin, tongue, nose, forehead are all incomplete exercises, which do not lead to the best shortening of the lats, which are done for simplicity and lack of strength! Think of other exercises such as barbell presses on the flat bench, do you stop 10 centimeters from the chest or start the bar to touch it? to the bar!
In the final position the elbows are pushed back and the shoulder blades are adducted! You have to go up as far as possible until your chest meets the bar and push your shoulders back. Only at this point can you begin the descent until your elbow is almost fully extended. It is important to go down, remember that if you make an incomplete descent your muscular work will also be incomplete. There are no other ways, if you want the maximum physiological work for the back with this exercise you can only perform the maximum possible shortening (go up with the chest at the barre) and maximum stretch (arms outstretched).

Let's see the two variants better:

Pull-ups with a reverse or supinated grip

And

It is the simpler version of the two. Thanks to the better line of force and the greater work of the brachial biceps, it allows you to perform more repetitions than those with a prone grip. Even those with a certain stiffness in the shoulders will be able to do it correctly. it must be roughly similar to the width of the shoulders, you often hear that to make your biceps work "harder" you have to use a tight grip with your hands together, but this is absolutely not true, as "a normal step" is visible from the image it allows a complete flexion of the elbow, therefore an optimal shortening of the biceps.

Online lifting bar

A door training set is available on Amazon that allows both beginners and those who want to integrate training in the gym to train virtually (almost) anywhere.
The bar is easily fixed to the door frame with a few quick operations. The frame should ideally be 61 to 81 cm wide and 12-16 cm deep. No fixing holes are required for mounting. The padding of the structure prevents the tool from scratching the door.
The construction can also be mounted on the floor and allows for targeted training, eg. push-ups, sit-ups and triceps exercises. In this way, you can have a versatile tool that quickly allows you to train the upper body at home. The illustrated instruction manual presents all the exercises you can perform, as well as an extensive warm-up program. The tool allows you to optimally train the muscles of the upper body both in the door and floor version with a weight limit of 80 kg.

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Alternatively, you can opt for the lifting bar with wall fixing and single body (i.e. there are no two pipes to join). The wall attachments increase strength and allow to support a maximum load of 350 kg. The product is shipped together with two attachments and a bag with fixing accessories (dowels, bolts, screws and washers). The tool measures 101 cm in length, 49 cm in depth and 20 cm in height (including the plates). The distance between the bar and the wall is about 40 cm, the maximum width of the wide grip is about 1 meter and the distance between the handles for the internal (neutral) grip is about 55 cm. This bar is ideal for intensive use.

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