A standard pull-up is a military training exercise, and it is also used in fitness tests as a measure of strength. The biggest difference between the pull-up and other body-weight calisthenic exercises is the intensity. Once you grab the bar, you are suspending the entire weight of your body before you even execute the exercise. This makes pull-up training valuable for building overall strength and muscle endurance.
Execution
The standard pull-up is performed by grasping a pull-up bar with an overhand, shoulder-width grip. Once you are into this position, pull yourself up as high as possible, lower yourself down and repeat. When doing pull-ups, your goal is to at least get your chin to bar height. After doing pull-up training for several months, your goal is to get your chest to bar height.
Convenience
All you need is your body and a pull-up bar to perform them. If you do not have access to a gym that has a pull-up bar, you can perform pull-ups at home with an open beam in your basement or an overhang on your deck. If you do not have either one of these, walk into the woods and use a sturdy tree branch that will hold your weight. You can also visit a local playground and perform pull-ups on the monkey bars. If you do pull-up training any of these ways, protect your hands by wearing gloves.
Muscles Worked
Pull-ups work multiple muscles in the upper body. The latissimus dorsi is the large "V" shaped muscles that start in the lower back and flare out to the sides. The rhomboids, biceps, trapezius and upper pectorals all get worked when you pull yourself up to the bar. The traps and rhomboids are found at the top, middle section of the back, and the pecs are the chest muscles. Every time you do a pull-up, you also have to forcefully engage your abs to generate power and maintain good form, so they get worked by default.
Features
When doing pull-ups, your goal is to maximize your workouts by doing as many reps as possible with each set. If you are new to pull-ups, you will not be able to do an excessive amount your first time hanging from the bar. Start with two to three good reps with each set. As you continue to train, add one to two reps to each set every week. This way you will slowly get stronger and progressively increase your rep range without being overwhelmed.
Pull-ups can be used for a whole workout, or they can be incorporated into a weight-training program. When the latter is the case, an upper-body workout is usually being done, and pull-ups are saved for last because of their intensity. Regardless of where you place pull-ups in a workout, take at least one day off between sessions to fully recover.
Variations
Along with the standard pull-up comes multiple variations that target your muscles differently. For example, by placing your hands in a wider than shoulder-width grip on the bar, you place more emphasis on the upper lats and broaden your back. By doing pull-ups with an underhand grip, you will place more emphasis on your biceps. This variation is called chin-ups. You can lower your legs under the bar and pull yourself up at an angle to place more emphasis on your chest.
Adding Resistance
If you get to the point where conventional pull-ups are no longer challenging, add resistance to your body. You have four different ways to do this. Wear a weighted vest, wear ankle weights, wear a dipping belt or have a spotter place a dumbbell between your lower legs and pinch it their while you do pull-ups. A dipping belt is a leather weight belt that has a chain hanging down. Weight plates get attached to the chain to increase the resistance.
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