It can become more difficult to perform exercises as we age, not only because we might be out of shape but also because of chemical reactions that take place after puberty. According to the National Children and Youth Fitness Study conducted in 1985, by the time a girl reaches 18, she can do only one pull-up. To get the most benefit from pull-ups, you'll need to focus on the quality of each pull-up rather than just the quantity.
Pull-Ups Vs. Chin-Ups
People often confuse pull-ups and chin-ups, or assume they are the same. You perform pull-ups with your palms facing away from you and chin-ups with your palms facing you, but you use the same basic technique for both. Depending on your strength, you might be able to lift yourself slightly higher doing chin-ups because of the larger muscles used. Chin-ups are easier because they use more of the biceps and pectoral muscles, while pull-ups recruit more triceps and latissimus dorsi muscles. During both pull-ups and chin-ups, you recruit all four muscles but to different extents.
Muscle Contractions
When you do pull-ups, you use three basic muscle contractions: concentric, eccentric and isometric. Concentric muscle contractions occur when you pull yourself up, isometric contractions happen when you hold yourself without moving and eccentric muscle contractions happen as you lower yourself.
The Best Muscle-Building Technique
To perform the best pull-up for building muscle, place your hands on the bar, slightly wider than shoulder width. Raise yourself slowly, keeping your torso straight and your back slightly arched backward. After you have reached the top of your pull, with your chin above the bar, hold the pull-up for one or two seconds. Breathe out either during each uplift or when you lower yourself to prevent a sudden rise in your blood pressure. Depending on how high your pull-up bar is, you can keep your legs straight or bend them backward with your ankles crossed to keep your feet off the ground. How you lower yourself is key to creating the best muscle contraction: Don't let yourself drop with gravity. Slowly lower yourself using your muscle. This creates the most effective contraction for building muscle.
The Best Muscular Endurance Technique
If you are looking to improve muscular endurance, which is your ability to use your muscles over time, or you are using pull-ups as part of a cardio exercise, you can perform the exercise faster and with less muscle use on the way down. Doing pull-ups faster and with less effort on the way down will allow you to use momentum to do more pull-ups. If you want to add core work to your pull-ups, you can do kipping pull-ups, which have you swing your knees forward and up as you raise yourself.
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