There is very few bodyweight exercises that are as effective as pull-ups when it comes to develop your upper back muscles and biceps. From professional bodybuilders to any other sportspersons, Pull ups are very popular among every type of fitness enthusiasts and athletes. If you are one of them who love to do pull ups in the back day and if you are already habituated with the standard pull ups then it’s time to try some amazing pull up variations so that you can increase your pull up intensity and strength further for better muscle growth and overall upper body strength. Let’s know about 10 best pull up variations that you should try!
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Wide-Grip Pull-Up
How to:
Grip the pull-up bar with your hands wider than shoulder-width apart. Hang from the bar with your arms fully extended. Pull your body up towards the bar by engaging your back, shoulders, and arms. Aim to bring your chin over the bar. Lower yourself back down with control to complete one repetition.
Targeted Muscles & Benefits:
It primarily focuses on the latissimus dorsi (lats) and teres major muscles. It also engages the posterior deltoids (shoulders) and biceps but not as much as standard pull ups. This is one of the best pull up variations to build your lats for a wide back.
Close-Grip Pull-Up
How to:
Grip the pull-up bar with your hands close together, either at shoulder-width or narrower. Hang from the bar with your arms fully extended. Pull your body up, driving your elbows towards the ground, and aim to bring your chest close to the bar. Lower yourself back down under control to complete one repetition.
Targeted Muscles & Benefits:
Contrary to the wide-grip variation, close-grip pull-up emphasizes the middle back, rhomboids, and biceps primarily. It also engages the lats and rear deltoids but not much. If you want to get a thick back with dense middle back then this is one of the best pull up variations for it.
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Chin-Up
How to:
Use an underhand (supinated) grip on the pull-up bar with your hands shoulder-width apart or slightly wider. Hang from the bar with your arms fully extended. Pull your body up towards the bar while bringing your chin over the bar. Lower yourself back down in a controlled manner to complete one repetition.
Targeted Muscles & Benefits:
Chin-up is one of the pull up variations that primarily focuses the biceps thanks to its supinated grip, but it also engages the lats, middle back, and rear deltoids. So, if you want to focus on having big guns with pull ups then chin-up is the one you should go for.
Commando Pull-Up
How to:
Use a mixed grip on the pull-up bar, with one hand facing forward (overhand grip) and the other facing backward (underhand grip). Hang from the bar with your arms fully extended. Perform the pull-up, leading with one side of your body and then switch to the other side on the next repetition. Lower yourself down slowly and with control for each repetition.
Targeted Muscles & Benefits:
This unique pull up variation is mainly for your shoulders and arms as it engages the biceps, forearms, and shoulders mostly and back muscles are secondary here. So, to get your arms and shoulders strong and muscular, make commando pull-up your best friend.
Towel Pull-Up
How to:
Drape two towels over the pull-up bar and grip each towel instead of the bar itself. Hang from the towels with your arms fully extended. Perform the pull-up, using the towels for grip. Lower yourself down under control to complete one repetition.
Targeted Muscles & Benefits:
Towel pull-ups are not as easy as they look like. This variation challenges grip strength, while also targeting the lats, biceps, and shoulders similar to standard pull-ups. To increase your stability and grip strength, this is one of the best and most effective pull up variations out there!
L-sit Pull-Up
How to:
Start by performing a pull-up with either a standard, wide, or close grip. As you pull yourself up, simultaneously lift your legs straight out in front of you, forming an “L” shape with your body. Lower yourself back down, keeping your legs lifted throughout the movement.
Targeted Muscles & Benefits:
This variation of pull-up engages the core and hip flexors while challenging your body stability. In addition, it also targets the back, shoulders, and arms just like standard pull-ups do. It is one of the toughest pull up variations but one of the best ones because of how beneficial this exercise is! From core to back, from arms to hip flexors, almost half of body’s muscle groups can be engaged with this outstanding exercise!
Archer Pull-Up
How to:
Start with a regular pull-up grip. As you pull yourself up, shift your body to one side so that one arm is relatively straight and the other does the majority of the work. Lower yourself back down while keeping the tension on the working side. Switch to the other side on the next repetition.
Targeted Muscles & Benefits:
This excellent variation increases the workload on one side of the back and arms, and also engages the core for stability. In this way, you can easily gain more strength and muscles than standard pull ups. For this reason, it is a great advanced version that you can do after mastering standard pull ups if you want to get the same benefits but in more amount!
Muscle-Up
How to:
Start with a false grip on the pull-up bar (wrists above the bar). Explosively pull your body up towards the bar. As you reach the top of the pull-up, transition your wrists from a false grip to a regular grip. Push your body up and over the bar, performing a dip to complete the muscle-up. Lower yourself back down in the reverse order: start with the dip, then transition to the false grip, and finally, lower yourself down from the pull-up.
Targeted Muscles & Benefits:
As muscle-up is a combination of both pull-ups and dips, it engages the chest, lats, triceps and shoulders. But to perform it, you need great upper body strength and coordination so it is no doubt that as beneficial as this variation is, it is also one of the toughest pull up variations to perform and master.
Typewriter Pull-Up
How to:
Perform a standard pull-up, bringing your chin over the bar. From the top position, shift your body sideways, moving to one side as far as you can go. Return to the center position and then shift to the other side on the next repetition. Continue “typing” from side to side with each repetition.
Targeted Muscles & Benefits:
Remember that typewriter pull-up is the advanced version of archer pull ups so if you can already perform archer pull ups pretty easily then it’s time for some typewriting. It challenges the back, shoulders, and arms excellently with more time under tension while also improving lateral strength and stability. In my opinion, this is one of the best pull up variations if you want to build brute upper body strength.
Weighted Pull-Up
How to:
Use a weight belt, weighted vest, or hold a dumbbell between your feet to add extra resistance to a standard pull-up. Perform the pull-up with the added weight, ensuring proper form and control. Lower yourself back down under control to complete one repetition.
Targeted Muscles & Benefits:
This is simple yet effective way to add resistance and intensity in your pull ups if you already have mastered the standard one. Same like standard pull ups, weighted pull ups engages the upper back, biceps and shoulders but in a much better way. This can be one of the toughest pull up variations depending on how much weight you’re lifting while doing pull ups. If you want to keep it simple yet effective then look no further and use weights while performing your pull ups.
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Conclusion
Therefore, these are the 10 best pull up variations that you should try depending on what you want to gain most from pull ups. For examples, for biceps, chin ups; for lats, wide-grip pull-ups; for grip strength, towel pull-ups; for the same benefits of pull-ups but with more resistance, weighted pull-ups etc. Choose the variation(s) after deciding what you want to achieve from the pull-ups.
Remember to warm up properly before attempting any of these pull-up variations, and focus on maintaining good form throughout the movements. It’s essential to challenge yourself progressively, but also listen to your body and avoid overexertion to prevent injuries. If you’re new to pull-ups or any of these variations, consider seeking guidance from a fitness professional or trainer to ensure proper technique and safe progression. Take your time and learn the form first before attempting any advanced pull up variations. Hopefully, you have found this article helpful enough. If it is really so then don’t hesitate to express your valuable thoughts in the comment section below. Thanks for visiting and appreciating our work.