There’s nothing more intense that getting a sick upper body workout from a pull ups workout!  Forget the glossy muscle mags, youtube videos and blog posts about insane gym routines that promise to be “the best workout to build muscle.”  You can accomplish the exact same goals without a gym in sight.  What you need is a bit of advice and maybe a pair of pull up gloves for beginners!

What Muscles Do Pull Ups Work?

Pull ups are a pretty simple exercise in practice, but they’re actually considered a compound exercise.  This means that they incorporate more than one muscle joint to complete the movement.  Pull ups work your entire upper body including your core (ab muscles).  They are also a phenomenal body weight exercise.  Body weight exercises don’t require the use of weights or other equipment.  The resistance that you’re working through and the tension applied to the muscle is simply achieved using the weight of your body and the resistance against gravity.

Pull Up Variations

Knees to Elbows – Also referred to as KTE, this variation is actually less of a traditional pull up and more of an ab exercise (depending who you ask).  It requires that you hang from a pull up bar and while stabilizing yourself and your momentum, you bring your knees up to your elbows.  It’s a similar movement to doing abs in a Roman Chair.

Kipping Pull Ups – While a traditional pull up relies almost exclusively on your upper body strength and hand grip, a Kipping Pull Up actually uses the natural momentum to help you achieve the full range of motion.  You’re literally swinging yourself up to the bar.

Chin Ups – A common assumption is that the chin up is a variation of the pull up.  While you’re using the same “equipment” its a pretty different upper body workout.  Chin ups tend to require more strength from your biceps whereas a pull up engages more larger muscle groups like the lats.

Pull Up Gloves For Beginners

If you’re new to pull ups one of the first things you’ll notice is that the palm of your hands may feel like the skin is going to rip right off of them!  This definitely isn’t a good feeling and in fact it’s one of the main reasons more people don’t stick with their pull ups workouts.  Look for a pair of Pull Ups Gloves like GymPaws® that are Leather and offer a bit of padding to ease hand fatigue and pressure.  You’ll want to avoid spongy rubbery lifting grips as they don’t allow your hands to naturally rotate around the bar.

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