Here's what you need to know about pull-ups, including how they're done and which muscles they work. You'll also find everything you need to know about variations to use if you can’t yet do one.

You can do pull-ups daily, but only if your technique is rock-solid and your volume is smartly programmed. The answer will largely come down to your body's ability to recover in 24 hours. Think of ...

Pull-up muscles worked “Pull-ups mainly target your back muscles, with the latissimus dorsi 10 (aka “lats”) doing most of the heavy lifting,” Orsborn says.

A wide variety of grips can make your pull-up workouts more enjoyable and diversify the strain on wrists, elbows, shoulders, joints and muscles. Let's look at a few and discuss why they could work ...

Strengthen Your Chest Muscles (And Nail Your Pull-Up) With These Exercises Create total-body tension and generate more power at the bar. By Talene Appleton, NASM-CPT Published: Apr 14, 2025 7:00 ...

Here’s how to do the pull-up hold step-by-step, the benefits, and a few tips and exercises you can try to help you build to your first pull-up. How to do the flexed arm hang (pull-up hold) ...

As we mentioned, compound exercises work multiple muscle groups. Pull-ups, lunges and squats are all good examples of a compound exercise and sit under the “functional exercise” umbrella, ...

Getting technical, to build muscle, you don’t need weight — you need resistance; more accurately, you need tension. Tension ...

“If you can’t do a pull-up, say, you can still work on your pull-up muscles by practicing just the lowering down part, which is easier,” said Katy Bowman, a biomechanist and author of ...

Here's why you should add this full-body move to your next workout. Plus, alternatives to try if you're not quite there yet.