The United States Navy SEALs are a special forces unit of the military. The SEALs are highly skilled in swimming, demolitions, navigation and weapons. Becoming a Navy SEAL requires a high level of athleticism to endure the physical challenges of...
Pull-ups require you to pull your entire body weight up, raising your chin over a pull-up bar. Perform assisted pull-ups by using a spotter, a pull-up machine or the barbell on a squat rack. Change your hand position to complete several variations...
The pull-up is a powerful compound upper body movement. The prime mover is the latissimus dorsi muscle, and secondary movers include the biceps and forearm muscles, and stabilizers include the shoulder complex and core. Whether you are trying to...
A compound exercise involving several major muscle groups, pull-ups work your lats, deltoids, teres major and biceps muscles. This makes pull-ups an efficient choice to include in your eight to 10 strength-training exercises that you perform at...
The pull-up is one of the most difficult exercises to perform. It takes large amounts of upper body and core strength, and good form is essential for performing the pull-up safely and effectively. But you don't need to do endless repetitions of...
Pull-ups are not easy, but you have to do them to get better at them. Pull-ups are a body weight exercise that work primarily the latissimus dorsi, or lats, the largest muscles in your back. To perform them you grip a bar slightly wider than...
Pull-ups work every major muscle in your back, along with your rear deltoids and all of the pulling muscles in your arms. Altering your grip affects which muscles do most of the work. A wide grip pull-up focuses on the inner and upper fibers of...
Body exercises like push-ups, pull-ups, sit-ups and single leg squats use the body's weight for resistance. The major muscle groups in these exercises are the prime movers, and depending on the exercise angle, they use anywhere from 65 percent to...
A pull bar is the same thing as a pull-up or chin-up bar. It can be used for multiple exercises, which involve using your body weight and gravity as the resistance to work your muscles. The power- and strength-building exercises described target...
Pull-ups are a measure of relative strength, which is an indicator of how strong you are in relation to your body size. According to Jason Hartman, U.S. Olympic Committee Strength and Conditioning Coordinator, there is no better exercise to...
If exercising at home fits into your busy schedule, but you are missing the results from your gym's pull-up machine, you may want to purchase a pull-up bar. Pull-up bars for use at home are available in removable or permanent styles. Most bars fit...
Back exercises help strengthen the back while also helping maintain flexibility. Because you engage your spine whenever you move, keeping a strong and flexible back will help reduce the likelihood of pain or injury. Add back strengthening...
The appeal of being strong enough to lift your own body weight if you happen to find yourself hanging off the side of a building like the hero in an action movie is understandable, but many people simply cannot perform a full pull-up. There are...
Pull-ups and chin-ups are both efficient back exercises, working your lats, traps, rhomboids and teres major at once. Both exercises also work the pulling muscles in your shoulders and arms, although how you place your hands affects which muscles...
Every fitness test includes pull-ups as one of the exercises, but most people have difficulty even performing one repetition. Don't be discouraged if you fall in this category. With a couple of strength exercises to help maximize your potential,...
It's tempting to chalk up all your pulling and pushing power to your arms, because you can easily see your biceps and triceps flexing when you try to move something. But the truth is that the most powerful pulling muscles in your body are located...
Your upper back holds your latissimus dorsi--the largest muscle in the back--as well as your trapezius, which have a triangular shape. The erector spinae is a group of muscles that run along your spine and support it. The longissimus, the spinalis...
Gyms typically are full of equipment and amenities to appeal to as many people as possible. The pure amount of options to an individual may be overwhelming. Treadmills, steppers, dumbbells, barbells, weight machines in various sizes and...
A healthy spine and back begins with strengthening the muscles surrounding the vertebrae. Beginning a back-exercise program should be done as part of an overall fitness routine and should include exercises which strengthen the core and chest...
The pull-up is one of the more well-known strength exercises, and it's also among the most effective. The basic pull-up is performed by hanging from a sturdy bar and pulling yourself up to it. Pull-ups strengthen the muscles of your arms, back and...
Stress takes its toll on the body in so many different ways that its effects are often ignored. It is so ubiquitous that tension is sometimes seen as a symptom of mental fatigue or outside influences. If you want to add strengthening exercises to...
Pull-ups are an efficient way to exercise your upper body without using weights. Some people may find they're unable to do a pull-up on their own and don't have access to an assisted pull-up machine. If that's the case, a resistance band can be...
You might know the "hip flexor machine" as the captain's chair or a Roman chair. Although this piece of equipment does work your hip flexors, a 2001 study commissioned by the American Council on Exercise also named it as one of the most effective...
Leg raises are an exercise used to strengthen the hips and abdominal muscles. The main muscles affected during leg raises are the lower abdominals, but the upper abdominals and intercostal muscles -- the muscles that are between the ribs and form...
Pull-up exercises uses only a bar and your bodyweight to challenge and train the muscles of your upper body. They have a high degree of difficulty because they require you to lift your own bodyweight from a hanging position using only your arms...
In a 2006 address to the American College of Sports Medicine, Michael Bracko, Ed.D., said stress, poor back strength and endurance, long periods of sitting, lack of physical activity and excessive weight are factors that contribute to back pain....
Pull-ups are one of the best resistance exercises you can do. Few exercises draw as much attention as someone either doing lots of pull-ups or doing some variations of the basic pull-up. They require great upper body and core strength to complete....
Your back muscles work together with the core (muscles in the trunk and hips) and shoulders to provide postural support and dynamic movements, such as bending and twisting. When training your back, integrate them with core and legs to get...
The biceps and back muscles are both responsible for pulling motions. The back is the second largest muscle group in the body, and the biceps are one of the smallest muscle groups. Because of this, the back requires more volume, or sets, than the...
