The Ultimate Upper Body Exercise

by Stephen E. Alway, Ph.D., FACSM

If you have a busy schedule and want to improve your upper body shape and hardness, it doesn’t make sense to do multiple versions of an exercise to fully activate your upper body when a single movement will fully activate the same muscles. The exercise? Pull-ups.

ANATOMY LESSON

Many muscles are involved in the pull-ups, which makes it a difficult but extremely productive exercise. This includes everything from the intrinsic muscles of the hand to grip the bar, to the forearm and upper arm muscles that help in the pull upwards, to the host of deltoid and upper back muscles that are strongly activated in this exercise.

Back

The latissimus dorsi is a major upper back muscle that is activated by pull-ups.1 This muscle connects the vertebrae in the thorax and lumbar regions and the iliac crest of the hipbone to the humerus bone near the shoulder.2 Together, the muscle fibers of the latissimus dorsi adduct the humerus (bring the arm towards the center of the body), and extend the humerus (pulls the arm backwards). The upper fibers of the latissimus dorsi muscle are most completely activated when the hands begin above shoulder height and they are pulled towards the armpits (axilla), during the pull-up exercise. The teres major muscle begins on the inferior angle of the scapula (shoulder blade), and it attaches to the humerus bone of the upper arm. It assists in arm extension, and adduction of the arm at the shoulder joint when the arms are over the head in pull-ups.2

Biceps

The short head of the biceps brachii muscle begins on the front part of the scapula bone.3 The long head of the biceps brachii muscle attaches on the scapula near the shoulder joint. The long head sits on the lateral part of the arm, and its fibers mesh with the short head on the medial side of the arm to insert into the bicipital tendon, which attaches to the radius bone of the forearm. Both heads of the biceps flex the elbow joint.3 The brachialis muscle begins on the distal half of the humerus and it inserts on the ulna bone of the forearm. It helps to flex the elbow joint during pull-ups.3

Chest

Even the pectoralis major muscle of the chest has a role in pull-ups.1 The sternocostal head of the pectoralis attaches from the manubrium (the top portion of the sternum or “breast bone”), and the upper six ribs and converges near the head of the humerus.3 The pectoralis major muscle adducts the humerus, and when the arms are over the head (as in the start of the pull-ups), the sternocostal head of the pectoralis muscle helps to extend the arms. It is most active at the beginning of the pull-up, and it has less of a role as the bar gets close to the chest.

Traps

The superior (upper) fibers of the large trapezius of the upper back attach to the base of the skull and along the midline of the vertebrae of the neck (cervical vertebrae). These fibers attach to the lateral part of the clavicle (collar bone) and along the spine of the scapula. They pull the clavicle upwards in the pull-up. The middle fibers of this muscle begin on the upper thoracic vertebrae, then run to the spine of the scapula. They pull the scapula towards the vertebrae at the top of the pull-up.4

THE EXERCISE: MEDIUM GRIP PULL-UPS

1. Grip the handles of a pullup bar with a medium, the hands directly below the shoulders in a pronated position (palms facing away from you).
2. Pull yourself up until the handles are at the upper part of the chest (just below the chin). Attempt to arch the upper back and get your body as high as possible, bringing your upper chest to the bar, to ensure a complete contraction of the upper and intermediate back muscles (i.e. trapezius and small scapular muscles).
3. Slowly lower yourself until your upper back is completely stretched at the bottom position. Hold the stretch position, then pull upwards.

SETS & REPS

Perform 3-5 sets of 8-10 reps, at the beginning of your workout.

RX TIP

The pull upward extends the humerus bone and activates the latissimus dorsi, teres major, part of the pectoralis, trapezius and deltoid muscles1.,2 The elbows, however, must flex so the biceps brachii and brachailis muscles are activated.2,3

If you can’t do pullups, start out on the assisted pullup machine. After a couple of weeks, you will be able to reduce the amount of weight on the assisted machine, and in a few months you will be ready to tackle the real deal.

References:

1. Youdas JW, Amundson CL, Cicero KS et al: Surface electromyographic activation patterns and elbow joint motion during a pull-up, chin-up, or perfect-pullup rotational exercise. J Strength Cond Res 2010;24:3404-3414.
2. Tucker WS, Bruenger AJ, Doster CM et al: Scapular muscle activity in overhead and nonoverhead athletes during closed chain exercises. Clin J Sport Med 2011;21:405-410.
3. Moore, K.L. Clinically oriented Anatomy. Third edition. Baltimore, Williams & Williams, 501-553, 1992.
4. Signorile JF, Zink AJ and Szwed SP. A comparative electromyographical investigation of muscle utilization patterns using various hand positions during the lat pull-down. J Strength Cond Res 16: 539-546, 2002.
5. Cunha RM, Jardim PC: Subacute blood pressure behavior in elderly hypertensive women after resistance exercise session. J Sports Med Phys Fitness 2012;52:175-180.