Pull-ups are a fantastic exercise for building upper body strength, but they're not always easy for everyone. Whether you’re a beginner struggling to lift your body weight or someone looking to perfect your form, understanding the correct techniques and variations can significantly enhance your training. This tutorial will guide you through the essential steps to perform a pull-up effectively, ensuring you can engage the right muscle groups and work towards increasing your strength while enjoying the process.
To start, it’s important to understand the position of your body during a pull-up. Begin in what’s known as a "dead hang" position, where your muscles are relaxed and fully extended. This sets a solid foundation for the proper movement. Next, focus on your grip. An optimal grip involves holding the bar with your palms facing away from you, ensuring that your hands are positioned correctly to facilitate better pulling mechanics. Aim for a full range of motion; when you pull up, do so until your chin is above the bar, and keep your body in a slight forward arch to utilize your core effectively. During this entire movement, maintain a neutral head position by looking forward rather than upward.
As you get more comfortable with the pull-up, remember to engage your entire body. This involves squeezing your grip tightly on the bar to activate more muscle fibers up through your arms. It can help prevent injury and assist in efficient pulling. Lastly, wholeheartedly embrace the different variations of pull-ups, whether you’re using bands for assistance as a beginner or advancing to more difficult versions as you gain strength. This adaptability will ensure that everyone, regardless of experience or ability, can benefit from this effective exercise.
Highlights:
- Start with a "dead hang" position and maintain a proper grip for effective movement.
- Achieve a full range of motion by pulling until your chin is above the bar.
- Engage your entire body by squeezing the bar tight and explore different variations suitable for your level.
0.06welcome to the foundation video we're2.55going to have a look at a few examples4.62of doing the pull-up we're going to try6.899and talk about why we're trying to do it8.76what's the point behind it what are we10.62trying to accomplish we're going to go12.54through step by step the ideas behind15.12the pull-up the things that you want to17.369make sure that you are doing and I'm19.199also going to have a few Q's at the end21.42of little mental checks that you want to23.88try to do when you are doing the pull-up26.13ok so as an example here is the pull-up31.679for a body weight bar hanger pull-up so36.05what are we trying to do we're trying to39.45increase our body strength with our arms42.329in the pulling action so when we pull45.87we're going to be engaging certain47.94muscle groups and what we're trying to49.62do with this training is increase the52.079strength of those muscle groups now not56.039everybody can use the bar and use their58.17entire body weight to pull up so we're61.05going to look at a lot of different62.399variations so everybody can do this65.58exercise but increase the strength of68.7their pulling chain on their arms ok so72.78let's have a look at the steps behind74.52the pull-up now this is going to be76.53applicable to all the steps and all the79.259stages that you're going to see in this81.36series and I really want you to try to83.28focus on making sure that these these86.64things are mentally ticked-off88.38and you do all of them ok so number one92.85is when you are on the bar at the bottom96.39position you want to be in what's called99.18a dead hang so when you're on the bar102.86the muscles are not engaged okay so this107.7is an engaged bottom position okay you112.14want to be in a dead hang position now114.99the reason for this is in parkour we are118.2trying to be as functional as we can and120.689when we are doing other movements or123.39we're trying to land on something you125.61are not automatically going to be in127.95that engaged muscle position okay you131.25are going to be in that position where132.78you're just hanging133.69and you're absolutely at the bottom of136.63the Hang you're in a dead hang position138.46where the muscles are not engaged so we141.01want to make sure that when we do our142.93pull-ups we are going through the144.73absolute bottom position for the pull-up148.59okay so the second thing is with your151.72hands the hand position with this series154.93we are going to be looking at the hands158.08being this way okay so essentially if163.21you put your hands in this direction so166pointing up and if you're doing this168.04this is what we call a supinated grip170.5and essentially you cannot hold walls or174.88other things like this most of the time177.73this and how we hold the bar is called a181.27pronated grip and this is the position184.03that you want to be practicing and186.31training when you do a pull-up this is188.83going to translate over to a lot of190.84other techniques like climbing and192.82vaulting so getting used to having our195.37hands in this position is going to be197.53essential next up is we're going to be200.23looking at the arms and I keep banging202.9on about full range of motion and this205.72is something that you really want to207.4keep in mind when you are doing any209.38movement or any functional type of212.26moving so full range of motion means215.44that you want to be able to do the217.51absolute full range that your body can220.87do so if you're doing pull-ups from here224.89and doing this this is not the full228.34range that you can do pull-up so we're230.86going to have a look at what is a full233.05range of motion pull-up now essentially237.28most pull-ups are done from the bottom240.82and they come up to the neck there okay244.57and down however one of the issues with248.17this is that this is not where the pull251.56finishes generally I can keep pulling254.41keep pulling keep pulling keep pulling255.85until my arm is parallel with the ground259.09this is where it now changes into a261.7pushing action so actually when you do a264.91pull-up what we're trying to267.16to do is get into this position so the270.49bar is here so when you're down you want274.21to try to get much much higher into the277.21pole next up is going to be where are281.74you looking so if we were to look up at285.19the bar so you are constantly looking up288.75essentially what happens if I come side291.31on if you're looking up it gives you293.77this weird spine position okay297.49and we want to try to get rid of that299.32this spinal bend at the top of the neck301.99is actually going to put us into a303.85horrible position so what you want to do306.19is try to keep looking forwards this is308.65going to put the neck and the back and310.48the spine in a neutral position the the313.09place where it should be okay314.92so when you're doing the pull-up try to316.84look forwards not up okay so here are a321.88few bits and pieces that we want to323.77think about in terms of cues so when you327.4are trying to do the pull-up we've329.23talked about full range of motion and331.06trying to get from the absolute bottom332.83to the absolute top however let's have a336.31look at what's going to happen with our338.32body as we do that now generally when342.76you are pulling you want to try to get345.24into a what we call a dish shape so the348.49body is kind of arched forwards a little351.49bit what you don't want is this354.28backwards bend position okay which is356.71what we call a banana position okay so359.169we're trying to get into this not that362.23okay so our body position has to be365.46arching forwards now to do that arch369.73forwards we need to engage some other371.98muscles primarily you're going to look374.71at your obliques so this muscle right377.83here so your abs and your obliques are380.14going to control your torso the bottom382.419it part of your torso and it's going to384.28help curve the bottom part of your body386.919forwards if you don't engage this what's389.8going to happen is you're going to bend391.18back and you're going to start crushing393.22your vertebrae at the back of your spine395.44so let's engage that so when we do the398.979pull-up actually we are400.81then forwards and down okay so what405.49we're not trying to do is back and when408.16we come we're doing this and out okay412you don't want to do that we want to be413.77arched forwards not back so finally the417.58last thing I want to talk about is grip420.28on the bar so again when you have your424.48hands on the bar like this you don't427.54want to be holding in this direction you429.94want to be holding in this direction431.58when you have got your hands on here434.23what you want to do is crush this bar as437.38hard as you can so you're squeezing as441.01much as you possibly can even if it's on443.14a pull-up bar that it's smaller in446.11diameter you really really want to crush448.33it now the reason for that is when you451.12are crushing that bar and you're452.56squeezing as tight and as hard as you454.54can your body is basically telling the457.81muscles that are not being used that it460.63needs to be used so your hands as they463.84start getting tired will start to465.94recruit more muscles further down the468.64chain so their hands if you squeeze hard471.82you can you can do an example of this by474.49squeezing hard with your hand just keep476.68squeezing what will happen is that hand479.2will get tired and your forearm will get481.51involved once that starts getting tired484.09it will then go further up the arm and486.45essentially all stop incorporating the489.43entire pulling chain and this is what491.89you want to do when you're doing the493.03pull-up so when you're on the bar try495.13not to just have this loose grip you've496.99really want to squeeze as hard as you499.63can when you do that pull so that's the503.979end of the foundation episode we've gone506.53through all the little bits and pieces508.06that you want to be thinking about when509.8you are doing a pull up on the bar now512.409we're going to have a look at all the513.7different variations that we can do for516.69absolutely anybody so if you are an519.43absolute beginner don't worry there's521.68going to be stuff that we're going to523.18get to next then it's going to be some525.28intermediate and then advanced and then527.71finally we're going to be looking at529.12coaches and how to coach this stuff so531.55let's get straight into the beginner533.02ones and534.07have a look at how we can use these535.33bands to enable us to an upper-body poll547.23you
1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:04,000 welcome to the foundation video we're 2 00:00:02,000 --> 00:00:06,000 going to have a look at a few examples 3 00:00:04,000 --> 00:00:08,000 of doing the pull-up we're going to try 4 00:00:06,000 --> 00:00:09,000 and talk about why we're trying to do it 5 00:00:08,000 --> 00:00:11,000 what's the point behind it what are we 6 00:00:10,000 --> 00:00:14,000 trying to accomplish we're going to go 7 00:00:12,000 --> 00:00:16,000 through step by step the ideas behind 8 00:00:15,000 --> 00:00:19,000 the pull-up the things that you want to 9 00:00:17,000 --> 00:00:21,000 make sure that you are doing and I'm 10 00:00:19,000 --> 00:00:23,000 also going to have a few Q's at the end 11 00:00:21,000 --> 00:00:25,000 of little mental checks that you want to 12 00:00:23,000 --> 00:00:30,000 try to do when you are doing the pull-up 13 00:00:26,000 --> 00:00:35,000 ok so as an example here is the pull-up 14 00:00:31,000 --> 00:00:38,000 for a body weight bar hanger pull-up so 15 00:00:36,000 --> 00:00:42,000 what are we trying to do we're trying to 16 00:00:39,000 --> 00:00:45,000 increase our body strength with our arms 17 00:00:42,000 --> 00:00:47,000 in the pulling action so when we pull 18 00:00:45,000 --> 00:00:48,000 we're going to be engaging certain 19 00:00:47,000 --> 00:00:51,000 muscle groups and what we're trying to 20 00:00:49,000 --> 00:00:55,000 do with this training is increase the 21 00:00:52,000 --> 00:00:58,000 strength of those muscle groups now not 22 00:00:56,000 --> 00:01:01,000 everybody can use the bar and use their 23 00:00:58,000 --> 00:01:02,000 entire body weight to pull up so we're 24 00:00:61,000 --> 00:01:05,000 going to look at a lot of different 25 00:00:62,000 --> 00:01:08,000 variations so everybody can do this 26 00:00:65,000 --> 00:01:12,000 exercise but increase the strength of 27 00:00:68,000 --> 00:01:13,000 their pulling chain on their arms ok so 28 00:00:72,000 --> 00:01:15,000 let's have a look at the steps behind 29 00:00:74,000 --> 00:01:18,000 the pull-up now this is going to be 30 00:00:76,000 --> 00:01:20,000 applicable to all the steps and all the 31 00:00:79,000 --> 00:01:23,000 stages that you're going to see in this 32 00:00:81,000 --> 00:01:26,000 series and I really want you to try to 33 00:00:83,000 --> 00:01:28,000 focus on making sure that these these 34 00:00:86,000 --> 00:01:32,000 things are mentally ticked-off 35 00:00:88,000 --> 00:01:36,000 and you do all of them ok so number one 36 00:00:92,000 --> 00:01:38,000 is when you are on the bar at the bottom 37 00:00:96,000 --> 00:01:42,000 position you want to be in what's called 38 00:00:99,000 --> 00:01:47,000 a dead hang so when you're on the bar 39 00:00:102,000 --> 00:01:51,000 the muscles are not engaged okay so this 40 00:00:107,000 --> 00:01:54,000 is an engaged bottom position okay you 41 00:00:112,000 --> 00:01:58,000 want to be in a dead hang position now 42 00:00:114,000 --> 00:01:59,000 the reason for this is in parkour we are 43 00:00:118,000 --> 00:01:63,000 trying to be as functional as we can and 44 00:00:120,000 --> 00:01:64,000 when we are doing other movements or 45 00:00:123,000 --> 00:01:67,000 we're trying to land on something you 46 00:00:125,000 --> 00:01:70,000 are not automatically going to be in 47 00:00:127,000 --> 00:01:71,000 that engaged muscle position okay you 48 00:00:131,000 --> 00:01:73,000 are going to be in that position where 49 00:00:132,000 --> 00:01:75,000 you're just hanging 50 00:00:133,000 --> 00:01:77,000 and you're absolutely at the bottom of 51 00:00:136,000 --> 00:01:80,000 the Hang you're in a dead hang position 52 00:00:138,000 --> 00:01:82,000 where the muscles are not engaged so we 53 00:00:141,000 --> 00:01:84,000 want to make sure that when we do our 54 00:00:142,000 --> 00:01:87,000 pull-ups we are going through the 55 00:00:144,000 --> 00:01:90,000 absolute bottom position for the pull-up 56 00:00:148,000 --> 00:01:94,000 okay so the second thing is with your 57 00:00:151,000 --> 00:01:97,000 hands the hand position with this series 58 00:00:154,000 --> 00:01:102,000 we are going to be looking at the hands 59 00:00:158,000 --> 00:01:105,000 being this way okay so essentially if 60 00:00:163,000 --> 00:01:107,000 you put your hands in this direction so 61 00:00:166,000 --> 00:01:110,000 pointing up and if you're doing this 62 00:00:168,000 --> 00:01:114,000 this is what we call a supinated grip 63 00:00:170,000 --> 00:01:117,000 and essentially you cannot hold walls or 64 00:00:174,000 --> 00:01:120,000 other things like this most of the time 65 00:00:177,000 --> 00:01:123,000 this and how we hold the bar is called a 66 00:00:181,000 --> 00:01:126,000 pronated grip and this is the position 67 00:00:184,000 --> 00:01:128,000 that you want to be practicing and 68 00:00:186,000 --> 00:01:130,000 training when you do a pull-up this is 69 00:00:188,000 --> 00:01:131,000 going to translate over to a lot of 70 00:00:190,000 --> 00:01:134,000 other techniques like climbing and 71 00:00:192,000 --> 00:01:136,000 vaulting so getting used to having our 72 00:00:195,000 --> 00:01:139,000 hands in this position is going to be 73 00:00:197,000 --> 00:01:142,000 essential next up is we're going to be 74 00:00:200,000 --> 00:01:145,000 looking at the arms and I keep banging 75 00:00:202,000 --> 00:01:146,000 on about full range of motion and this 76 00:00:205,000 --> 00:01:148,000 is something that you really want to 77 00:00:207,000 --> 00:01:151,000 keep in mind when you are doing any 78 00:00:209,000 --> 00:01:155,000 movement or any functional type of 79 00:00:212,000 --> 00:01:157,000 moving so full range of motion means 80 00:00:215,000 --> 00:01:160,000 that you want to be able to do the 81 00:00:217,000 --> 00:01:164,000 absolute full range that your body can 82 00:00:220,000 --> 00:01:167,000 do so if you're doing pull-ups from here 83 00:00:224,000 --> 00:01:169,000 and doing this this is not the full 84 00:00:228,000 --> 00:01:172,000 range that you can do pull-up so we're 85 00:00:230,000 --> 00:01:176,000 going to have a look at what is a full 86 00:00:233,000 --> 00:01:180,000 range of motion pull-up now essentially 87 00:00:237,000 --> 00:01:184,000 most pull-ups are done from the bottom 88 00:00:240,000 --> 00:01:187,000 and they come up to the neck there okay 89 00:00:244,000 --> 00:01:190,000 and down however one of the issues with 90 00:00:248,000 --> 00:01:194,000 this is that this is not where the pull 91 00:00:251,000 --> 00:01:195,000 finishes generally I can keep pulling 92 00:00:254,000 --> 00:01:198,000 keep pulling keep pulling keep pulling 93 00:00:255,000 --> 00:01:200,000 until my arm is parallel with the ground 94 00:00:259,000 --> 00:01:204,000 this is where it now changes into a 95 00:00:261,000 --> 00:01:206,000 pushing action so actually when you do a 96 00:00:264,000 --> 00:01:209,000 pull-up what we're trying to 97 00:00:267,000 --> 00:01:214,000 to do is get into this position so the 98 00:00:270,000 --> 00:01:216,000 bar is here so when you're down you want 99 00:00:274,000 --> 00:01:221,000 to try to get much much higher into the 100 00:00:277,000 --> 00:01:224,000 pole next up is going to be where are 101 00:00:281,000 --> 00:01:228,000 you looking so if we were to look up at 102 00:00:285,000 --> 00:01:231,000 the bar so you are constantly looking up 103 00:00:288,000 --> 00:01:233,000 essentially what happens if I come side 104 00:00:291,000 --> 00:01:237,000 on if you're looking up it gives you 105 00:00:293,000 --> 00:01:238,000 this weird spine position okay 106 00:00:297,000 --> 00:01:241,000 and we want to try to get rid of that 107 00:00:299,000 --> 00:01:243,000 this spinal bend at the top of the neck 108 00:00:301,000 --> 00:01:245,000 is actually going to put us into a 109 00:00:303,000 --> 00:01:247,000 horrible position so what you want to do 110 00:00:306,000 --> 00:01:250,000 is try to keep looking forwards this is 111 00:00:308,000 --> 00:01:252,000 going to put the neck and the back and 112 00:00:310,000 --> 00:01:254,000 the spine in a neutral position the the 113 00:00:313,000 --> 00:01:256,000 place where it should be okay 114 00:00:314,000 --> 00:01:260,000 so when you're doing the pull-up try to 115 00:00:316,000 --> 00:01:262,000 look forwards not up okay so here are a 116 00:00:321,000 --> 00:01:266,000 few bits and pieces that we want to 117 00:00:323,000 --> 00:01:268,000 think about in terms of cues so when you 118 00:00:327,000 --> 00:01:270,000 are trying to do the pull-up we've 119 00:00:329,000 --> 00:01:272,000 talked about full range of motion and 120 00:00:331,000 --> 00:01:276,000 trying to get from the absolute bottom 121 00:00:332,000 --> 00:01:277,000 to the absolute top however let's have a 122 00:00:336,000 --> 00:01:282,000 look at what's going to happen with our 123 00:00:338,000 --> 00:01:284,000 body as we do that now generally when 124 00:00:342,000 --> 00:01:287,000 you are pulling you want to try to get 125 00:00:345,000 --> 00:01:291,000 into a what we call a dish shape so the 126 00:00:348,000 --> 00:01:293,000 body is kind of arched forwards a little 127 00:00:351,000 --> 00:01:296,000 bit what you don't want is this 128 00:00:354,000 --> 00:01:298,000 backwards bend position okay which is 129 00:00:356,000 --> 00:01:301,000 what we call a banana position okay so 130 00:00:359,000 --> 00:01:305,000 we're trying to get into this not that 131 00:00:362,000 --> 00:01:309,000 okay so our body position has to be 132 00:00:365,000 --> 00:01:311,000 arching forwards now to do that arch 133 00:00:369,000 --> 00:01:313,000 forwards we need to engage some other 134 00:00:371,000 --> 00:01:316,000 muscles primarily you're going to look 135 00:00:374,000 --> 00:01:319,000 at your obliques so this muscle right 136 00:00:377,000 --> 00:01:321,000 here so your abs and your obliques are 137 00:00:380,000 --> 00:01:324,000 going to control your torso the bottom 138 00:00:382,000 --> 00:01:326,000 it part of your torso and it's going to 139 00:00:384,000 --> 00:01:329,000 help curve the bottom part of your body 140 00:00:386,000 --> 00:01:330,000 forwards if you don't engage this what's 141 00:00:389,000 --> 00:01:332,000 going to happen is you're going to bend 142 00:00:391,000 --> 00:01:335,000 back and you're going to start crushing 143 00:00:393,000 --> 00:01:338,000 your vertebrae at the back of your spine 144 00:00:395,000 --> 00:01:340,000 so let's engage that so when we do the 145 00:00:398,000 --> 00:01:344,000 pull-up actually we are 146 00:00:400,000 --> 00:01:347,000 then forwards and down okay so what 147 00:00:405,000 --> 00:01:351,000 we're not trying to do is back and when 148 00:00:408,000 --> 00:01:353,000 we come we're doing this and out okay 149 00:00:412,000 --> 00:01:357,000 you don't want to do that we want to be 150 00:00:413,000 --> 00:01:359,000 arched forwards not back so finally the 151 00:00:417,000 --> 00:01:363,000 last thing I want to talk about is grip 152 00:00:420,000 --> 00:01:367,000 on the bar so again when you have your 153 00:00:424,000 --> 00:01:369,000 hands on the bar like this you don't 154 00:00:427,000 --> 00:01:371,000 want to be holding in this direction you 155 00:00:429,000 --> 00:01:373,000 want to be holding in this direction 156 00:00:431,000 --> 00:01:376,000 when you have got your hands on here 157 00:00:434,000 --> 00:01:380,000 what you want to do is crush this bar as 158 00:00:437,000 --> 00:01:382,000 hard as you can so you're squeezing as 159 00:00:441,000 --> 00:01:386,000 much as you possibly can even if it's on 160 00:00:443,000 --> 00:01:388,000 a pull-up bar that it's smaller in 161 00:00:446,000 --> 00:01:391,000 diameter you really really want to crush 162 00:00:448,000 --> 00:01:392,000 it now the reason for that is when you 163 00:00:451,000 --> 00:01:394,000 are crushing that bar and you're 164 00:00:452,000 --> 00:01:397,000 squeezing as tight and as hard as you 165 00:00:454,000 --> 00:01:400,000 can your body is basically telling the 166 00:00:457,000 --> 00:01:403,000 muscles that are not being used that it 167 00:00:460,000 --> 00:01:405,000 needs to be used so your hands as they 168 00:00:463,000 --> 00:01:407,000 start getting tired will start to 169 00:00:465,000 --> 00:01:410,000 recruit more muscles further down the 170 00:00:468,000 --> 00:01:413,000 chain so their hands if you squeeze hard 171 00:00:471,000 --> 00:01:415,000 you can you can do an example of this by 172 00:00:474,000 --> 00:01:418,000 squeezing hard with your hand just keep 173 00:00:476,000 --> 00:01:420,000 squeezing what will happen is that hand 174 00:00:479,000 --> 00:01:423,000 will get tired and your forearm will get 175 00:00:481,000 --> 00:01:425,000 involved once that starts getting tired 176 00:00:484,000 --> 00:01:429,000 it will then go further up the arm and 177 00:00:486,000 --> 00:01:431,000 essentially all stop incorporating the 178 00:00:489,000 --> 00:01:432,000 entire pulling chain and this is what 179 00:00:491,000 --> 00:01:434,000 you want to do when you're doing the 180 00:00:493,000 --> 00:01:436,000 pull-up so when you're on the bar try 181 00:00:495,000 --> 00:01:439,000 not to just have this loose grip you've 182 00:00:496,000 --> 00:01:442,000 really want to squeeze as hard as you 183 00:00:499,000 --> 00:01:445,000 can when you do that pull so that's the 184 00:00:503,000 --> 00:01:447,000 end of the foundation episode we've gone 185 00:00:506,000 --> 00:01:449,000 through all the little bits and pieces 186 00:00:508,000 --> 00:01:452,000 that you want to be thinking about when 187 00:00:509,000 --> 00:01:452,000 you are doing a pull up on the bar now 188 00:00:512,000 --> 00:01:456,000 we're going to have a look at all the 189 00:00:513,000 --> 00:01:458,000 different variations that we can do for 190 00:00:516,000 --> 00:01:460,000 absolutely anybody so if you are an 191 00:00:519,000 --> 00:01:462,000 absolute beginner don't worry there's 192 00:00:521,000 --> 00:01:464,000 going to be stuff that we're going to 193 00:00:523,000 --> 00:01:467,000 get to next then it's going to be some 194 00:00:525,000 --> 00:01:468,000 intermediate and then advanced and then 195 00:00:527,000 --> 00:01:470,000 finally we're going to be looking at 196 00:00:529,000 --> 00:01:472,000 coaches and how to coach this stuff so 197 00:00:531,000 --> 00:01:473,000 let's get straight into the beginner 198 00:00:533,000 --> 00:01:475,000 ones and 199 00:00:534,000 --> 00:01:480,000 have a look at how we can use these 200 00:00:535,000 --> 00:01:480,000 bands to enable us to an upper-body poll 201 00:00:547,000 --> 00:01:489,000 you