# Talk:Pull-up

gjdm extremist pullups D***, whoever the d00d in these animated gifs is, he is one strong hombre. User:220.253.75.243 01:27, 22 April 2007

ya no kidding. i think we should remove him though cause he makes me feel bad. plus it might give people the idea that they can pack on 200 lbs and start doing pull ups. User:66.235.65.174 06:12, 13 May 2007
yes he is very strong!  he is moving around a little more than he should, probably he has strong biceps movement going on.  —Preceding unsigned comment added by Ykral (talk • contribs) 11:56, 11 June 2009 (UTC) 

Hi! The first animation is a chin-up, not a pull-up! Ddes3 17:12, 3 July 2007 (UTC)

That's not true at all. It is clearly a pull-up, with the hands facing outward. Raoulduke25 (talk) 23:15, 1 January 2008 (UTC)
That is true.  Read the description; the back of the hand faces out / away from you for a pull up. The guy in the animation clearly has the back of his hand facing him (you can see his thumb in the first image).  Someone should either change the description if they think that a pull up has the back of the hand facing toward you or change those animations to reflect the current description.  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 209.244.152.96 (talk) 20:54, 19 May 2009 (UTC)

i think the chinup page should be merged with the pull up page becasue they are both extremly similar work out the same muscles and the only differnce between them is the grip Barry White 19:06, 17 August 2007 (UTC)

What about pull-ups on parallel bars? Jwkuehne (talk) 17:07, 15 May 2009 (UTC)
One would call this a neutral-grip pull up. Halfway between a supine or prone grip with either hand. One can also do this on a single bar although they would need to be spaced slightly "above"/"below" each other, which would vary the stress on the arms and back a bit. Then there would also be the "mixed" grip where one is supine, the other prone, on a single bar.
This is complicated in that, through supinating the prone hand and pronating the supine hand, one can get into that neutral position and continue in that motion to be in opposite grips (doing a body 180) on the other side. The only difference is that when one does that, the forearms are crossing, like the left hand is on the right side and right on the left. The hand that is initially supine and becomes prone will end up closer to the body, the hand that's initially prone and becomes supine will end up further away from the body.
Of course, this could all be done with rotating handles too. Rings could also, though the nylon would eventually get twisted. Dictabeard (talk) 00:37, 6 March 2011 (UTC)
I disagree - different  muscles are used in pul ups and chin up, and it is seen as a separate technique within a training routine.  — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2.216.46.2 (talk) 08:13, 1 March 2012 (UTC) 

The one-arm animation should be removed as it is not truly a one arm. In order for it to be a one arm he should not be thrashing like he is. It should be one smooth movement.  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.171.28.124 (talk) 19:46, 17 July 2009 (UTC) 

Yeah I agree. Shouldn't be promoting bad form. I also question the form of the weighted pull-up as well.  —Preceding unsigned comment added by Angry bee (talk • contribs) 14:49, 18 August 2009 (UTC)
For another excellent one-arm demonstration video look here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wTOVJhXU5Q0  —Preceding unsigned comment added by Ykral (talk • contribs) 11:52, 11 June 2009 (UTC) 

There have been some changes since I last checked on this page which are in error, beginning with this one. This of course relates to the previous discussion about the multiple meanings of the terms anda how they have changed over time. I'm going to address them so we can hopefully reach consensus about it:

"A pull-up differs from a chin-up in that in a pull-up your hands are facing away from you while in a chin-up your hands are facing towards you."
There is no valid source that limits a pull up to a palms-away grip. A palms-toward (supine) grip has also been called a pull up. Palms-away have also been called chin-ups. I have already addressed this in the "etymology" section which explains modern usage by some people to imply supine/prone grips. This is hardly overwhelming. Saying it a second time in the introduction is wasteful.

Muscles used: trapezius, serratus anterior, transversus abdominis (ACE)
Any with knowledge of what these muscles do knows that their involvement would interfere with doing a pull up or chin up. The serratus anterior is a protractor, elevator and upward rotator. It is an antagonist to this movement and would not be trained by it. The lower traps at most would play a role in scapular depression. The transversus abdominis is not needed to stabilize the abdomen because it is not being compressed, it is under traction.
This would also be a good place to discuss ongoing edits as I have noticed a bit of a revert-war going on between ExtremistPullup and OhNoItsJamie. Hopefully others of us can mediate whatever disagreement you are having. Actually, upon review, it seems the majority of it is over whether or not EP can add his site. ONIJ was right to remove it, but for reference purposes I'll include this link here. We can consult it, but I think we should review the link and see if it's appropriate as a site reference here. It does seem like a potential resource for the world record information, which I moved down.
The Gym Jones: Quality link was also removed here as a reference for standard pull-up form. The IP called it spam, which I will tell them is wrong. It is certainly related as it does depict pull up form. It may not be an appropriate reference and could be removed for that reason, but spam is too condemnative. DB (talk) 21:40, 6 May 2011 (UTC)

I do fall into the category of "any with knowledge of what these muscles do" having been formally taught them in a class, complete with a human cadaver to actually pull on their muscles and see what they do, and personal knowledge from my own sports background, and do not agree with that assessment.
The source I provided from the American Council on Exercise lists the Transverse Abdominals and the Serratus Anterior as stabilizers for this exercise, so I will go ahead and explain them.
The transverse abdominals are needed to stabilize your whole body when you do pull ups. Just like how you cross your legs during pull ups to prevent swinging around or bouncing up and down, you need to also engage your transverse abdominus to maintain your stability all the way through out pull ups. Your transverse abdominals are always engaged during any exercise that requires stabilization. When you walk, they are what keep you balanced, and when you do gymnastics, to when you do push-ups they are primarily responsible for maintaining your bodies overall stability, important to preventing swinging around when doing pull ups, and to do them correctly. AerobicFox (talk) 03:37, 7 May 2011 (UTC)
I believe I understand your explanation, but I do not agree with it. The TA is not a significant enough muscle to mention for this exercise, the stabilization is not enough. A pull up done with proper form should not contain swinging, if it occurs it is because of bad form. This would be the same as calling the quadricep a muscle used during the pull up because I might flex my knee and the quadricep might help stabilize my knee to avoid swinging. Yeah it happens and there are minor fluctuations in all of the body's muscles during this movement, but they are not significant. They are neither a prime mover, a syngergist, nor a prime stabilizer. The significance of stabilizers is that they counter a force that would otherwise accumulate and degrade form. Swinging is not an example of this, because it happens as a result of one's own efforts, and it is self-correcting because the source of resistance for the exercise (gravity) actually opposes and reduces these forces. The TA is significant during walking because if the spine goes out of alignment, you fall over sideways/forward/backward. The TA opposes gravity in that instance. In the case of pull-ups, it is actually assisting gravity to pull the spine into a relatively straight line. So no, it isn't a stabilizer, because it's not opposing deviations created by the resistance. The TA is not required to prevent swinging, it can correct it, yes, but so can just remaining still and letting the momentum ride out, or avoiding it in the first place. DB (talk) 16:37, 12 May 2011 (UTC)
In laymens turns your serratus anterior is responsible for pointing your arm upwards, such as trying to reach something up above. In between pulling yourself up during a pull-up you need to lower yourself. Allowing gravity to let you fall down in between pull-up puts stress on the shoulders. The muscles which are antagonists to pulling yourself up(the serratus anterior is) are responsible for lowering yourself safely. So while they are antagonists to the motion of pulling yourself up, they are used inbetween each rep as you lower yourself, this is why they are listed as stabilizers for pull-ups. AerobicFox (talk) 03:37, 7 May 2011 (UTC)
I don't agree with this. A freefall is dangerous, yes, but that has nothing to do with the issue, gravity is always what is lowering you and people do a controlled eccentric to remain safe. Saying the serratus anterior is a muscle used in pull ups is like saying the tricep is a muscle used during a barbell elbow curl. It is insignificant, a minor pulse with no training effect that only serves to tell the contracted muscle to relax and lower the weight, something that doesn't even happen when someone is fatigued. The contradiction is this: the greater/faster/harder the SA contracts, the faster you fall. If someone is using this muscle significantly, they are either fighting themselves on the way up, or accelerating themselves down, both of which are counterproductive to performing the movement efficiently/safely. So I will be removing these again. DB (talk) 16:37, 12 May 2011 (UTC)
Dicta, your concern for the article is fine, but do you have anything that would back up your statements? This was published by the American Council on Exercise, a reliable source, and states that pull-ups use the serratus anterior and transverse abdominal for stabilization. If you want you can email them, but currently your arguments are not backed up by a reliable source or my understanding of how the body works, so please find a source which contradicts this, contact the ACE or give me some reason why I should find you to be a credible source yourself to speak on this.
The serratus rotates and points the glenoid cavity upward to be specific. The shoulder–which is one of only two ball-and-socket joints within the body–is also the most unstable joint of the body and prone to injury. The glenoid cavity is the socket that the ball(humerus) fits into. You need to actively contract your serratus to point the glenoid cavity upward as you lower yourself in order to stabilize the scapula. I don't mean any insult, so I apologize if I may sound a little offensive, it is not intended. I am considering your argument, and I hope I can address any problems you have, or find a reliable source that canAerobicFox (talk) 21:01, 19 May 2011 (UTC)
Sounds like this is an agonist/antagonist thing, like how triceps help to straighten the elbow when you lower self. Would tricep work hard during pull ups too? AweCo (talk) 14:20, 6 July 2011 (UTC)
No, the elbow and shoulder joints function completely differently. The elbow just hinges in one direction, the shoulder needs to actively rotate whenever it straightens out or else the scapula starts pulling away or winging out. The serratus anterior pulls forward on the scapula to rotate it downwards to prevent the scapula from winging out whenever your shoulders are under stress and in an upward position. Exercises such as slowly lowering yourself down from a pull-up bar are good ways to strengthen your serratus anterior. If it wasn't active during pull-ups, then your shoulder would look like this: winged scapula. AerobicFox (talk) 18:39, 13 September 2011 (UTC)


### Remove
supine/australian row- I can't see a reason why this would be listed under pull-ups (exercises). Yes it is a bodyweight workout. When you change the pull angle from Vertical to horizontal it becomes a row. User:Extremistpullup 14:45, 11 May 2011

The reason to include it is that it also involves pulling the body up. The change in pull angle is not a valid reason to remove it, people arch their backs during so-called vertical pull ups to touch their chest to the bar (sternum-up) yet they remain pull ups. Nor would the feet being in contact with the ground as people do this for assisted pull ups. DB (talk) 16:42, 12 May 2011 (UTC)
I can see it being being a "pull-up" variation if you waist is bent and you are using your legs to take some of th weight off. As long as it's vertical or mostly vertical.
Can you make a gif of the supine row? Another variation could be, tuck your feet to your chest rotate your body horizontally and pull yourself up to the bar. But I would consider this a bodyweight row. There are so many variation. Extremistpullup (talk) 19:29, 12 May 2011 (UTC)

Honestly I'm pretty confused at where to draw the line between rowing and pull ups. Usually the term row gets used for open-chained free weight movements (oars, barbells), the use of a bodyweight row almost seems like an analogy. I mean, if we can call bodyweight movements a 'row' because of the motion I'm almost tempted to call rows (even upright rows) some kind of pull up because of the direction of the bar. I guess that's why it seems good to call this a form of pull up, since we tend to reserve the term pull-up for bodyweight movements. Presenting both row/pull names is probably good since it's referred to as so many different things. I mean, come to think of it, if I doubled your idea (rather than rotate 90 to get a supine full-weight pull up-row thingy) and rotated 180 to hang upside down and then pulled up (this would actually be a similar angle to doing an upright barbell row I'm guessing) even that would be a kind of pull up... Would it be simpler to call things 'pull up' when the body moves through space, 'row' when the body is fixed and we move another object, and 'pull-down' when using pulley devices? I can't really decide rules because it's basically language and the rules are so subtle with no clear authority behind them, hm. As for making a GIF, I have a perfect pull-up which I can do the supine row australian pull up thingy (although I hate the design, the arm swings into and bashes teh door frame a lot...) and make a movie file, but I don't know how to change movies into animated .gifs. I'm wondering if you remember how to convert it like that? DB (talk) 13:02, 27 May 2011 (UTC)


### Jones
Gym Jones: Quality gymjones.com is Spam. Adding a link to website because it has a 29 word discription for a pull-up is redundent with the current link from http://www.exrx.net. It is an opinion piece promoting the site. I believe the reason it was added was to promote the site and it's advertisment for seminars, certifications, and memberships fees. User:Extremistpullup 15:12, 11 May 2011

A valid enough objection, the only thing is if we remove a link it's good to mention it here as well as why in the edit summary. DB (talk) 16:42, 12 May 2011 (UTC)


### Add
extremepullups was removed for spam, This website has interviews of current world record holders. Articles to improve pull-ups. It also is a social site which will allow you to participate in Pull-up contest for prizes FOR FREE. User:Extremistpullup 14:45, 11 May 2011

No. If you add it again, you will be blocked for a longer period of time than your first block. OhNoitsJamie Talk 15:39, 11 May 2011 (UTC)
I am not adding it again, I created a discussion on it. User:70.168.227.135 16:42, 11 May 2011
And there is nothing to discuss. OhNoitsJamie Talk 16:44, 11 May 2011 (UTC)


### Update
Update The GIF's, my form is questionable on some of them. Extremistpullup (talk) 19:45, 12 May 2011 (UTC)

I'm not sure what this means, are you reporting that you have updated some of them (which ones?), that you plan to, or that you want someone to replace your animations with some other kind of illustration? DB (talk) 12:57, 27 May 2011 (UTC)


### Weighted Pull-up
Specific Guidelines on how to perform a weighted pull-up for a world record. ie. Pull-ups require a pronated grip. Extremistpullup (talk) 00:10, 14 May 2011 (UTC)

When I clicked your link it says it doesn't exist, was it removed? Furthermore: world record according to whom? It's perfectly fine to cite specific organizations (perhaps Guiness?) who use the term to refer to a supine grip. But we must provide the context. This helps to establish the notability of the new usage (which I agree with, it is notable enough to mention, just not enough to deserve its own article IMO, better for a subsection). Regardless of specific groups (ACE, Guiness) adopting this usage though, there are still plenty of people using the traditional broader meanings. Already mentioned are USMC, ExRx, and I'll throw out another example of a book I happen to be reading at the moment: Frederic Delavier (former editor in chief of PowerMag, journalist for Le Monde du Muscle, contributor to Men's Health Germany. In 3rd edition of Strength Training Anatomy pages 86-8. He illustrates the "chin up" with an overhand (prone) grip, and the supine/underhand grip is called a "reverse" chin-up. This is merely to establish that the controversy exists, I personally don't in particular agree with the use of "reverse" terminology in any sense (be it curls, push-downs, etc.) due to there being no objective basis I can see for labelling one grip as normal and the other abnormal. Even the upside-down "reverse squat" might be better termed a leg pull-up (for now due to its rarity I think implying the use of arms sans limb specification is still fine). DB (talk) 12:56, 27 May 2011 (UTC)
It was a PDF file from Guinness World Records. It was a Specific guidelines pack for performing a weighted pull-up for a world record. It was removed because wiki told me it was copyright material.  “GUIDELINES FOR ‘HEAVIEST WEIGHTED PULL UP’
1.An overhand grip (pronated grip) must be used.”
It also had very usefull information on how to perform a pull-up for GWR.
Extremistpullup (talk)  —Preceding undated comment added 15:35, 8 June 2011 (UTC). 

It sounds relevant if the criteria can be posted without violating copyright, so long as it's clarified 'guiness record' rather than 'a world record' which is kind of vague. They're the most well known collectors of world records but not any kind of authority on what we should name an exercise. They help to show both sides of the story though, yeah. AweCo (talk) 14:17, 6 July 2011 (UTC)


### Links and section on grip width added
I added two links on here. The first shows people how to do pull-ups when they don't have a bar, which was not explained in the article. The second discusses form and what to look out for. I think they add some valuable information to the article. The first link was already deleted. I don't understand why? What was wrong with it? I also put in a bit of information on possible widths of the grip. It's short and maybe I can expand it a bit more in the next days 92.228.119.51 (talk)  —Preceding undated comment added 19:18, 1 June 2011 (UTC). 

To help understand, I think it is okay if you post the links in the talk page, and if you could link to the edit change of whoever reverted your additions, since perhaps they explained why? AweCo (talk) 14:16, 6 July 2011 (UTC)


### vote to remove "2 Grips"
for its redundancy of "1 Etymology" Extremistpullup (talk)  —Preceding undated comment added 18:59, 27 June 2011 (UTC). 

Hm, grips seem like variations in how you do them as opposed to what they're called... could you point out which parts are same in between two? AweCo (talk) 14:14, 6 July 2011 (UTC)
so grips just variations in how you do them isn't it better suited for the section "List of some variations"  — Preceding unsigned comment added by Extremistpullup (talk • contribs) 00:42, 12 July 2011 (UTC)
That's a good point, I guess it would be possible to merge it with that chart. The only thing I'm wondering is, do we have accompanying animations? Though the supine/mixed grip doesn't have them so I guess that's okay. I think in that case, there really isn't an established 'standard' so all forms of doing pull ups would be variations. AweCo (talk) 11:25, 12 July 2011 (UTC)
I made the other Gif's but I'll leave it up to others to make there own. I still have no idea how a body weight row is considered a variation of a pull-up.  — Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.168.227.135 (talk) 16:38, 12 July 2011 (UTC)

Is there any more official source for the World record weighted pullup? I've been searching the Internet and can't find any. 402 pounds just seems ridiculously low considering the fact that most fit men can do a 200 pound pullup (his own body weight). Compare this to the unassisted bench press record of 713 pounds: Almost 4 times what most fit men can do.--71.194.190.179 (talk) 17:14, 13 September 2011 (UTC)
http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/12000/heaviest-weighted-pull-up
http://www.strengthospeedia.org/
http://www.alternativerecords.co.uk/recorddetails.asp?recid=500  — Preceding unsigned comment added by Extremistpullup (talk • contribs) 06:08, 20 September 2011 (UTC) 

That's 402lbs added weight, not including bodyweight. Very few people can do a proper pullup with their own bodyweight added. If you include bodyweight then it becomes much closer to the bench press, especially considering that the pullup is not a competitive lift (comparatively few people seriously train weighted pullups). Although of course any comparison with the bench press is rather arbitrary, it has very different prime movers and leverages. ··gracefool 💬 23:11, 11 November 2016 (UTC)
No gracefool it's not 402lbs of added weight, it's 402lbs total weight (i.e. including bodyweight). 218.214.175.194 (talk) 02:21, 6 October 2019 (UTC)

Noticed this muscle at Pull-up_(exercise)#Shoulders:

"serratus anterior pulls forward to rotate the scapula downward"
The serratus anterior article says it rotates up to elevate the arm. Can it do both? Different sections are mentioned, so maybe specific parts do 1 or the other? It was mentioned that there is a superior/middle/inferior part.
Rather than discuss it here, since this pertains to anatomical function of a specific muscle, I think this would be appropriate for Talk:serratus anterior muscle although I started a topic for this at Wikipedia_talk:WikiProject_Anatomy#Serratus. There's always more to learn about these muscles, hopefully we can learn if and how it might work during pullups. If so, we shold probably add to chinups and pulldown exercise too since they're pretty similar and if the SA worked in one you'd think it'd work in the others too. Y12J (talk) 22:59, 9 April 2012 (UTC)

I wouldn't advise ignoring this analysis of the muscles used. -Kortoso (talk) 17:41, 21 October 2014 (UTC)

It's more accurate than a lot of the junk muscles listed on here, but Wikipedia has problems with establishing reliable sources, preferring popularity over accuracy. 64.228.90.179 (talk) 18:50, 22 October 2015 (UTC)

The existence of this article is under discussion at Talk:Chin-up -- 70.51.44.60 (talk) 06:11, 23 October 2015 (UTC)

Pull-up_(exercise)#In_armed_forces uses File:USMC-120412-M-UY543-003.jpg however the description of that file clearly says "participate in a team chin-up competition here". There is no reference to the term "pull-up" so the image is not appropriate for that reason. We should use an image whose filename or description uses the term pull-up. This image is more appropriate for use in the chin-up article.
I propose File:US Navy 101116-N-8335D-097 Lance Cpl. Brendon Wald, assigned to the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit (31st MEU), does pull-ups aboard the amphibious.jpg which clearly says "pull-up" instead. Ranze (talk) 23:24, 1 November 2015 (UTC)

flexed arm hang redirects here but there is nothing about it in the article  — Preceding unsigned comment added by 188.193.98.46 (talk) 17:53, 13 June 2016 (UTC) 

It is now mentioned in the article, but there is no description of what it is. —⁠ ⁠BarrelProof (talk) 22:26, 4 February 2025 (UTC)

"L-sit" (aka: "L-hang") pull-up is missing from from the 'Variations' table.  Googling either term will find numerous potential sources. Anybody "up" for adding this?  2606:A000:4C0C:E200:CCFA:802A:8BDD:BA79 (talk) 21:45, 10 December 2017 (UTC)

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As noted in multiple RS these two articles are about the same exercise. Some sources use "pull-up" for overhand and "chin-up" for underhand grip, but as noted in the lead of the chin up article this is not consistent. Overhand, underhand, neutral, mixed, and rotating grips can be discussed in the same article with sections on terminology and differences between grips. There is not enough sourced content to warrant a separate article about underhand grip only. (t · c) buidhe 23:18, 10 August 2022 (UTC)

Since there's no objection I'm going to complete the merge. (t · c) buidhe 17:01, 23 August 2022 (UTC)

I need to get around to recording a better head image before it gets to the main page lol (t · c) buidhe 01:43, 10 November 2022 (UTC)

The German Wikipedia article has a picture of a US soldier with a mixed grip:  one had forward, the other reversed!  136.36.176.51 (talk) 17:59, 22 July 2025 (UTC)

... when almost no readers will know what they mean without looking them up.
I am talking about "supinated" and "pronated" hand positions.
I hope someone knowledgeable about this subject will rewrite this in a way that will be intelligible to more readers. 2601:204:F181:9410:81B0:3763:86DC:C948 (talk) 02:04, 2 August 2025 (UTC)

I've added the wikilinks to supinated and pronated. 162 etc. (talk) 16:21, 2 August 2025 (UTC)