Pull-Up Form

Prop up your phone and RepSensei counts your pull-up reps and flags some visible issues, right on your device. Video never leaves your phone.

How to do it

1. Grip the bar with palms facing away, hands slightly wider than your shoulders.
2. Hang with straight arms, legs together and slightly in front of you, and squeeze your glutes to stop swinging.
3. Start each rep by pulling your shoulders down away from your ears, then bend your elbows.
4. Pull your chest towards the bar, driving your elbows down towards your ribs, until your chin clears the bar.
5. Lower yourself under control all the way back to straight arms before the next rep.

Coaching cues

Shoulders down first

Setting the shoulder blades before the elbows bend gets the lats working instead of the arms alone.

Elbows to your back pockets

Thinking about the elbows rather than the hands helps you pull with your back.

Hollow body

Tight abs and glutes keep your body still so you are not using swing to cheat the rep.

Common mistakes and how to fix them

Half reps

Stopping short at the bottom or top skips the hardest parts of the movement. Fix: Start every rep from straight arms and finish with the chin over the bar. Fewer full reps beat more half reps.

Kipping or swinging

Momentum gets you up but takes work away from the muscles you are trying to train. Fix: Pause at the bottom for a second and keep your legs still and slightly in front.

Reaching with the chin

Craning the neck over the bar fakes the top of the rep. Fix: Keep your neck neutral and aim to bring your upper chest towards the bar.

Dropping down fast

Free-falling skips the lowering phase, which builds strength and is gentler on the elbows when controlled. Fix: Take two to three seconds to lower each rep.

Shrugging up into the ears

The shoulders ride up and the upper traps do more than they should. Fix: Keep pulling the shoulders down as you rise.

Muscles worked

Main: Lats, Biceps. Also: Traps, Shoulders, Forearms, Abs.

Who should take care

If you cannot do one yet, build up with band-assisted, slow lowering or inverted rows rather than straining. Elbow or shoulder pain that persists is a reason to see a physiotherapist.

Variations

• Scapular Pull-Up: Easier: learn the shoulder-down start without bending the arms.
• Band Assisted Pull-Up: Easier: a band takes some of your body weight.
• Chin-Up: Slightly easier for most: palms facing you brings in more biceps.
• Wide-Grip Lat Pulldown: Gym option: the same pattern with adjustable weight.
• Weighted Pull Ups: Harder: add load once you can do clean sets of 8 or more.

Filming your pull-up

Prop the phone side-on, two to three metres away and a bit below the bar, so it sees you hang at full length and your chin pass the bar. You can track it with the RepSensei camera, which counts reps and can flag some visible issues from one angle; it cannot see everything. See how to film your form.

Questions

How can I do my first pull-up?

Practise slow lowering from the top, band-assisted reps and inverted rows two or three times a week. Most people get there within a few months of steady practice.

What is the difference between a pull-up and a chin-up?

Pull-ups use palms facing away, chin-ups palms facing you. Chin-ups use more biceps and are usually a little easier.

Is a wider grip better for the lats?

Not really. A very wide grip shortens the range. Slightly wider than shoulder width works well for most people.

See the Pullups exercise guide with a 3D figure.

More form guides

• Barbell Row form
• Biceps Curl form
• Lat Pulldown form

General guidance, not medical advice. Stop if anything hurts. The camera can miss things, so no issue seen doesn't mean perfect form.