Look straight, engage your upper back muscles: Ways to master the pull-up

Pull-ups require nothing more than a bar, and engagement of a dozen muscles, from the lats down to the glutes.

Experts say that pull-ups improve upper body strength, shoulder mobility and core stability, while helping to hone coordination, too, and that most people fail to master the pull-up not because they are physically incapable, but because they are not training the right way. The trick is to focus on proper technique and approach your training with patience. Here are some tips to master the perfect the pull-up.

FOCUS ON FORM

The first thing to understand is that pull-ups are a full body exercise. “A lot of people think of a pull-up purely as an upper body exercise, and they neglect what is going on from the chest down,” says Meghan Callaway, a strength coach based in British Columbia. Your body should be rigid, not slack. If your torso, hips and lower body are rigid, it makes it a lot easier to lift them than if they’re dead weight.” She adds, “Grab the bar slightly greater than shoulder width, with your palms facing away from you. Your body should be aligned in a relatively straight line with your feet just slightly ahead of your body so you’re in a very slight arc. It’s better for the bar to be just within reach on your tip toes, but if you’re doing them in a doorway, it’s OK to bend your knees with your feet out behind you.