A pull-up is when you lift your body up against gravity toward a fixed point, such as your hands grabbing a bar or Olympic rings. All pull-up variations not only work on your back and arms, but also your abdominal muscles, deep spine muscles, shoulders and hips, according to physical therapist Gray Cook, author of "Athletic Body in Balance." These muscles work together to stabilize your body in alignment as you move.
Back
The trapezius and latissimus dorsi are two large muscles that work with your shoulders to pull your shoulder blades together and control the rate of extension when they move apart. The rhomboids, which are located between your shoulder blades, also pull them together from a horizontal position as opposed to an incline angle with the trapezius and latissimus dorsi, according to Professor Daniel Arnheim, author of "Essentials of Athletic Training." Your deep spine muscles, such as the intercostals muscles between the vertebrae and the multifidus, stabilize your spine from moving as you perform pull-ups.
Arms and Shoulders
These two muscle groups function as secondary movers for the pull-ups, which include the biceps, tricpes, forearm muscles, rotator cuffs, deltoids and other arm muscles. When you pull yourself up, your biceps and shoulders contract and your triceps extend. When you lower your body down, your biceps and upper arm muscles extend under tension while your triceps contract passively, according to Arnheim.
Abdominal Muscles
Your abdominal muscles stabilize your entire torso and help generate force to lift you up. They prevent your spine from rounding to compensate strength and injury. These stabilizers include the transversus abdominus, which is like a corset that surrounds your spine and organs, diaphragm, and other deep muscles near the spine. The outer abdominal muscles, including the rectus abdominus and external and internal obliques, function as secondary support for the stabilizing abdominal muscles.
Pelvic Floor
Like the abdominal muscles, the pelvic floor muscles hold your organs up within the body cavity and stabilize your pelvis and legs during pull-ups. Without proper hip stabilization, your legs and pelvis would move around as you pull, causing instability and decreasing your ability to perform a pull-up well.
References
- "Essentials of Athletic Training"; Daniel Arnheim; 2001
- "Athletic Body in Balance"; Gray Cook; 2003
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