Pullups work every major back muscle, including your trapezius, lats and rhomboids, plus the major pulling muscles in your arms and shoulders. Even if you can't do full pullups yet, you can employ a variety of adaptive techniques and equipment to make the exercise easier. As you get stronger, you can do progressively more difficult types of pullups, until you're ready to do full pullups on your own.
Assisted Pullup Machine
Assisted pullup machines counterbalance a portion of your body weight. The amount of weight you select is effectively removed from your body weight, so the lower the weight you select, the more difficult the exercise. You then grasp the pullup bar and stand or kneel on a fold-down lever. The counterweight applies upward force to the lever, helping you complete each pullup repetition.
Spotter
If you have a strong friend who's willing to spot you, she can perform much the same function as an assisted pullup machine. Grasp the pullup bar, bend your knees and have your friend push up on your knees as you lift. Your friend should use proper lifting technique -- that is, squatting and lifting with her legs instead of her back or arms -- to avoid injury and give you the most help possible.
Self-assisted Pullup
If you don't have a spotter or assisted pullup machine, you can spot yourself. Use a Smith machine bar safely hooked on its safety pegs, dip bars or the arms/dip handles on a Roman chair. Grasp the handles and lower yourself until your arms are straight. As you pull up, press with your legs as much as necessary to complete the repetition. As you get stronger you can extend both legs straight in front of you so they hold a portion of your weight, but don't actively assist with the lift.
Step Stool
If you don't have access to dip bars or other equipment suitable for doing self-assisted pullups, you can manage a similar effect by placing a sturdy stepstool beneath a pullup bar. Make sure the bar is secure and the stool is stable. Pull yourself up to the bar, pushing with your legs on the stool only as much as necessary to complete each repetition.
Lat Pulldowns
Doing lat pulldowns strengthens the same muscles that you use for pullups -- especially if you use the same grip for lat pulldowns as you want to use for pullups. Once you can do your target number of lat pulldowns, slowly increase the resistance by 5 percent to 10 percent until you are strong enough to perform your chosen pullup variation.
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