Pull Ups Introduction Research Corner - Pull Ups

Research Corner - Pull Ups
Pull Ups
Introduction
The Pull Up is a closed-chain bodyweight movement where the body is suspended by the arms, with a chosen
grip, and pulled up with muscular effort. As this happens, the wrists remain in neutral (straight, neither flexed
nor extended) position, the elbows flex and the shoulder adducts and/or extends to bring the elbows to or
sometimes behind the torso. Pull ups are thought to be one of the best ways that you can measure your upper
body strength. The Pull Up recruits multiple muscles from the upper body. Muscles such as the Latissimus
Dorsi extend from your vertebrae to your humerus, covering your middle and lower back. It pulls your
humerus down and back during the pull up. The Trapezius is a “large, flat, triangular sheet of muscle. It lays
over your middle back, upper back and neck. Infraspinatus is the first of the rotator cuff muscles. This muscle
is primarily responsible for external arm rotation. Pectoralis Major is the two large muscles of the chest. Biceps
Brachii, commonly referred to as your biceps. The bicep is the primary muscle that allows your elbow to bend.
The Erector spinae is a muscle group of the back in humans and animals, which extends the vertebral column
(bending the spine such that the head moves posteriorly while the chest protrudes anteriorly). Highlighted
below are the muscles used during the Pull Up (see Figure 1).
A
B
C
D
E
F
Figure 1:
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Muscles involved in the Pull Up. A: Latissimus Dorsi, B: Trapezius, B: Infraspinatus,
D: Erector spinae, E: Pectoralis Major and F: Biceps Brachii (retrieved Wikipedia).
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Research Corner - Pull Ups
A
Figure 2:
B
C
Hand orientation and width variations A: supinated, B: neutral and C: pronated
The different Pull Up variations can be observed in Figure 2. As illustrated the variations can include different
hand positions or different shoulder widths.
Hand Position
Youdas et al. (2010) reported the electromyographic (EMG) activation of different muscles during the Pull Up
when different hand positions were used (See Table 1). As can be observed from Table 1 certain hand positions
resulted in greater activation of certain muscle groups. The main findings of this study were that the supinated
position resulted in greater muscle activation of the erector spinae, pectoralis major (13.6%) and biceps brachii
(17.9%). The pronated position resulted in greater EMG in the infraspinatus and the lower trapezius (10.8%).
Hand Orientation
Increased Muscle Activity
Pronated Grip
Lower trapezius
Infraspinatus
Supinated Grip
Pectoralis major
Biceps brachii
Erector spinae
Neutral Grip
Latissimus dorsi
Table 1.
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Greatest muscle activation (EMG) during variations of Pull-Ups with different hand orientations.
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Research Corner - Pull Ups
References
Antinori, F., Felici, F., Figura, F., Marchetti, M., Ricci, B. (1988). Joint moments and work in pull-ups. Journal
Sports Medicine Physical Fitness 28: 132–37.
Crates, T. (1996) .Analysis of the lat pull down. Journal Strength Conditioning Research19: 26–9.
Lusk, S., Hale, B., Russell, D. (2010). Grip Width and Forearm orientation Effects on Muscle Activity During the
Lat Pull-Down. Journal Strength Conditioning Research 24:1895–1900.
Gouvali, M.K., Boudolos, K. Dynamic and electromyographical analysis in variants of push-up exercise. Journal
Strength Conditioning Research 19: 146–151, 2005.
Leslie, K.L.M., Comfort, P. The Effect of Grip Width and Hand Orientation on Muscle Activity During Pull-ups
and the Lat Pull-down. Journal Strength conditioning research 2013, 35, 1.
Youdas,J.W., Amundson ,C.L., Cicero,K.S., Hahn,J.J., Harezlak,D.T., Hollman,J.H. Surface electromyographic
activation patterns and elbow joint motion during a pull-up, chin-up, or perfect-pullup rotational exercise.
Journal Strength Conditioning Research 24: 3404–3414, 2010.
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