7 Best Exercises You Can Do to Get Better at Pull-Ups

Do exercises to get better at pull-ups. (Image via Unsplash/Lawrence Crayton)
Do exercises to get better at pull-ups. (Image via Unsplash/Lawrence Crayton)

Doing pull-ups can be a bit difficult than the other exercises. While pull-ups tend to do aesthetics wonders to your body, they also have other benefits. Therefore, it is important to prepare yourself to perfectly execute pull-ups.

Thankfully, there are a few exercises that can help you get better in doing pull-ups. Let's have a look at a few of them.


Exercises to Get Better in Pull-Ups

The following seven exercises can help you build strength in your upper body, shoulders and arms, enabling you to get better in pull-ups. These exercises will act as a building block for executing pull-ups along with increasing the endurance of the body. Let's get started:

1) Hanging Hollow Hold

This exercise can help you get better in pull-ups by emphasising the pressure in your arms along with building stronger grip strength. The Hanging Hollow Hold also targets the core and back muscles.

How to do it?

Hang straight from the pull-up bar with an overhand grip. Tuck your collarbone with an engaged core. Hold the position for a couple of moments, and release. Repeat.


2) Bridged Row

Bridged Row is one of the most efficient exercises that helps in engaging your lats and biceps. This bodyweight exercise helps you strengthen your biceps and lats, helping you to perform pull-ups more efficiently.

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How to do it?

Place a block in front of the TRX straps. Position yourself under the handles, and grasp them. Put your feet on the block such that your body is angled horizontally above the floor. With an upright back and arms in front of the chest, try to bring your body towards the ceiling. Power back to the starting position, and repeat.


3) Kettlebell Single Arm Row

This exercise engages the major muscle groups in the body, including the abdominals, biceps, back and traps. Kettlebell Single Arm Row helps in strengthening the muscles of the back and core along with building the mass in the biceps.

How to do it?

Bring your left foot forward into the standing position, and slightly bend your knees. Lean down your upper torso, and clutch the kettlebell with your right hand. With your back upright and left elbow placed on your knees, try to angle your back in a parallel position to the ground.

Bring the kettlebell towards your chest with your right hand by engaging your back and shoulders. Slowly move back to the starting position. Repeat, and swap sides.


4) Lat Pull Down

This exercise can help in engaging your back and shoulders. It will enable you to build strength in your muscles and get better in pull ups. Overall, this exercise can help in building upper body strength.

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How to do it?

Clutch the bar with both hands while keeping your torso rigid. Bring the bar with your hands towards the chest. Try to bring it below your chin height. Power back to the starting position in a controlled manner. Repeat.


5) Negatives

This exercise can help you get better in pull-ups by engaging your upper back and shoulders. Negatives uses all your body weight, enabling you to build endurance.

How to do it?

With the help of the box, hang on the pull-up bar. Start off by being at the top by keeping your chin above the bar. Hold for a moment, and with control, lower your body. Repeat.


6) Bent Over Row

This exercise can help you engage your biceps and lats along with building endurance in the muscles. Bent over row can help you get better in pull-ups by increasing the range of motion of your arms.

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How to do it?

Start by grasping the barbell with an overhand grip. Lean forward with the upper torso while slightly bending your knees. With your back upright and elbows alongside your body, pull the barbell towards the chest. Slowly move back to the starting position.


7) Hammer Curl

Hammer Curls are one of the most effective exercises that can help you get better in pull-ups. Pull-ups tend to require strong biceps, and Hammer Curls can help in strengthening the bicep muscles. This exercise can also help in adding muscles to your arms.

How to do it?

Stand with your legs apart at shoulder distance. Grasp the dumbbells in both arms with the underhand grip. Bring one dumbbell towards the shoulder by bending your elbows. Power back to the starting position. Swap sides, and repeat.


Bottom Line

The aforementioned exercises will enable you to get better in pull-ups along with providing several other benefits. That includes building upper body strength, muscle gain, muscle strengthening, and more.

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Edited by Bhargav