What you need to know about pull-ups?

Psychological nuances

The human central nervous system influences the possible strength potential. Muscles and joints do not determine strength as much as the central nervous system. Beginners focus on bending the arms at the elbow joints in pull-ups. Mental concentration on this element of the technique helps to redirect neuromuscular signals mainly to the muscles of the arms and forearms.

The problem is that no amount of strength or energy resources in your arms will be enough to lift a weight as heavy as you do. Pull-ups are a back exercise , and you need to focus on your back. But how?

Standard recommendations - bring your shoulder blades together and don't think about your arms. They don't help many people, as they don't significantly affect the work of the central nervous system. There is a more effective and simpler technique. Think for a second, what are you thinking about while doing them?

Most people think of their torso reaching toward the bar. Try reverse thinking. Picture pulling the bar toward your chest , as if you were doing a barbell row or a lat pulldown.

This little psychological trick redirects neuromuscular signals to the desired target muscle groups, in particular the latissimus dorsi .

Press and leg muscles

The leg muscles are the main burden. More than half of the body weight is in the legs, which are not involved in pull-ups. Beginners relax them, which automatically leads to a loss of innervation of the abdominal muscles. This negatively affects the overall productivity of the exercise. The domino principle is relevant here too. Following the press, the posterior and anterior serratus muscles are switched off, and they entail a weakening of the posterior deltoids and even biceps.

During pull-ups, tense your abdominal muscles statically. It is advisable to bend your legs at the knees or at least "squeeze" your glutes to provide innervation.

Style Summary

Pull-ups are the best exercise for the back, this is an indisputable fact, but there is a flip side to the "coin". They are difficult for most people to perform due to excess weight. Incorrect pull-ups lead to injuries, and persistent fanatical training takes away all the recovery resources and strength from the central nervous system.

Focusing on learning pull-ups will interfere with the harmonious development of the back, because the load will have to be reduced and attention will have to be paid only to this process.

So, don't put pull-ups on a pedestal. Yes, they are the leader, but there are a number of other strength exercises that are only slightly inferior to pull-ups in productivity. To sum it up, pull-ups are not a movement for everyone, and you shouldn't bother with them too much, especially in the context of fitness goals and improving general physical fitness.