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Exercises

Pull-up bar exercises for back, arms, grip and abs, with plans for your first rep to your first muscle-up

Published October 19, 2026

The pull-up bar exercises worth doing are the pull-up, chin-up and neutral-grip pull-up for your back and arms, the dead hang for grip, and hanging knee and leg raises for your abs. If you cannot do a pull-up yet, start with band-assisted pull-ups and dead hangs. Once you can do 8 to 10 strict reps, add the wide-grip, archer and commando pull-ups, and work toward skills like the muscle-up and front lever.

  1. Pull-Up Lats
  2. Chin-Up Lats
  3. Neutral-Grip Pull-Up Lats
  4. Band-Assisted Pull-Up Lats
  5. Dead Hang Forearms
  6. Hanging Knee Raise Abs
  7. Hanging Leg Raise Abs
  8. Archer Pull-Up Lats, Upper Back

Pull-up and chin-up variations for back and arms

Your grip decides the job. Overhand is the standard pull-up, underhand turns it into a chin-up with more biceps, parallel handles are easiest on the joints, a wide grip leans on the upper back and a narrow underhand grip loads the biceps most. Build reps on the chin-up or neutral grip first; the others become useful once you have 8 strict reps.

Lats and upper back, overhand

Pull-Up

Lats

The pull-up is the reason to own a bar. It loads your lats through a full stretch and finish with nothing but body weight, and it scales from one rep to sets of 15 before you ever need to add weight.

How to do it

  1. Grab the bar palms facing away, hands a little outside your shoulders.
  2. Hang with straight arms, then pull your shoulders down away from your ears.
  3. Drive your elbows down toward your back pockets until your chin clears the bar.
  4. Lower all the way to straight arms over two seconds before the next rep.

Cues

  • Shoulders down first
  • Elbows to your back pockets
  • Full hang between reps

Common mistakes

  • Half reps that stop with bent arms: the stretch at the bottom is where the lats work hardest. Reach straight arms every rep, even if that means fewer reps.
  • Craning your neck to get your chin over: if your chest is not near the bar, the rep did not finish. End the set there.

Swap for: Chin-Up, Neutral-Grip Pull-Up, Lat Pulldown

Build a session with Pull-Up

Lats and biceps, underhand

Chin-Up

Lats

Turning your palms toward you brings the biceps into the pull, so most people get a few more chin-ups than pull-ups. That makes it the first bar exercise to build reps on, and an arm exercise at the same time.

How to do it

  1. Grab the bar palms facing you, hands about shoulder width.
  2. Hang with straight arms and set your shoulders down.
  3. Pull your chest toward the bar, elbows travelling down in front of your body.
  4. Go until your chin passes the bar, then lower to a full hang.

Cues

  • Chest to the bar
  • Elbows in front
  • Control the way down

Common mistakes

  • Swinging your legs to finish reps: it shifts work from your back to momentum. Cross your ankles and keep your legs still.
  • Wrists bent back on the bar: grip deeper in your palm so your wrists stay straight.

Swap for: Close-Grip Chin-Up, Pull-Up, Neutral-Grip Pull-Up

Build a session with Chin-Up

Lats, palms facing each other

Neutral-Grip Pull-Up

Lats

If your bar has parallel handles, the neutral grip is often the easiest on the elbows and shoulders, and it sits between the pull-up and chin-up in difficulty. It is the grip to default to when your joints complain.

How to do it

  1. Grip the parallel handles, palms facing each other.
  2. Hang long, then draw your shoulders down and slightly back.
  3. Pull until your upper chest meets the level of your hands.
  4. Lower under control to a full hang.

Cues

  • Shoulders away from ears
  • Chest up to the handles
  • Straight arms at the bottom

Common mistakes

  • Pulling with your arms only, shoulders shrugged up: set the shoulders down before every rep so the lats start the pull.
  • Kicking to get past a sticking point: stop the set one rep earlier.

Swap for: Pull-Up, Chin-Up, Commando Pull-Up

Build a session with Neutral-Grip Pull-Up

Lats and upper back, wide overhand

Wide-Grip Pull-Up

Lats

A wider grip shortens the distance you travel and leans the work toward the upper back and the outer lats. It is a variation for people who can already do 8 or more strict pull-ups, not a replacement for them.

How to do it

  1. Grip the bar overhand, about one and a half times shoulder width.
  2. Hang with your arms straight and your chest up.
  3. Pull your elbows down and out until your upper chest nears the bar.
  4. Lower slowly to a full hang.

Cues

  • Chest leads
  • Elbows wide and down
  • No swinging

Common mistakes

  • Grip so wide your shoulders ache at the bottom: bring your hands in until the hang feels comfortable.
  • Shortening the range to get more reps: wide grips already move less, so finish each rep at the bar.

Swap for: Pull-Up, Archer Pull-Up, Lat Pulldown

Build a session with Wide-Grip Pull-Up

Lats and biceps, narrow underhand

Close-Grip Chin-Up

Lats, Biceps

Bringing your hands inside shoulder width while palms face you puts the biceps under more stretch and load than a standard chin-up. On a bar-only setup, it is the closest thing to a heavy curl.

How to do it

  1. Take an underhand grip with your hands a few inches apart.
  2. Hang with straight arms and your elbows pointing forward.
  3. Pull until your chin passes the bar, keeping your elbows close to your ribs.
  4. Lower slowly until your arms are completely straight.

Cues

  • Elbows tight to your ribs
  • Slow lowering
  • Full hang every rep

Common mistakes

  • Elbows flaring out to the sides: the biceps lose the work. Keep them in front of your torso.
  • Skipping the bottom of the rep: the lowest part is what loads the biceps most. Take it every time.

Swap for: Chin-Up, Neutral-Grip Pull-Up, Hammer Curl

Build a session with Close-Grip Chin-Up

Bar exercises for your first pull-up

Before your first rep, train the parts a pull-up needs: hanging long enough, and pulling through the bottom of the rep. The band-assisted pull-up is the rep itself with help at the bottom, and the dead hang builds the grip and shoulders that keep you on the bar.

Lats, assisted

Band-Assisted Pull-Up

Lats

A loop band hooked over the bar takes some of your body weight off at the bottom, where most people fail. You get a real pull-up rep pattern and full sets of 5 to 10 while you are still building toward your first unassisted rep.

How to do it

  1. Wrap a loop band over the bar and feed it through itself so it is anchored.
  2. Grab the bar overhand, then place one foot or knee into the hanging loop.
  3. Hang with straight arms, band stretched under you.
  4. Pull until your chin passes the bar, then lower slowly back to straight arms.
  5. Step out of the band carefully after the last rep.

Cues

  • Band under one foot or knee
  • Same form as a real pull-up
  • Slow on the way down

Common mistakes

  • Bouncing out of the bottom on the band: the stretch shoots you up and your back does little. Pause for a second at the bottom.
  • Staying on the same band for months: move to a thinner band once you hit 10 clean reps.

Swap for: Pull-Up, Chin-Up, Lat Pulldown

Build a session with Band-Assisted Pull-Up

Grip, forearms and shoulders

Dead Hang

Forearms

Just hanging from the bar builds grip endurance and lets your shoulders stretch under your body weight. It is the first exercise to do with a new bar, and a good finisher once pull-ups are in your routine.

How to do it

  1. Grab the bar overhand, hands shoulder width.
  2. Lift your feet so you hang with straight arms.
  3. Let your shoulders rise toward your ears, or pull them down slightly for an active hang.
  4. Hold for the target time, then step down.

Cues

  • Grip hard
  • Breathe slowly
  • Body still

Common mistakes

  • Bending your arms as you tire: once your elbows bend, the grip is gone. End the set.
  • Swinging to get comfortable: still bodies hang longer.

Swap for: Plate Pinch Deadlift, Farmer's Walk, Pull-Up

Build a session with Dead Hang

Harder pull-up variations and bar skills

When bodyweight pull-ups stop being hard, you can add a weight belt or shift your weight. The archer and commando pull-ups load one side more; the muscle-up, front lever raise and back lever are skills that need strength plus practice. Do these first in a session, in low reps, with full rest.

Lats, one side at a time

Archer Pull-Up

Lats, Upper Back

Pulling toward one hand while the other arm stays nearly straight puts most of your weight on one lat. It is the bar-only way to make pull-ups harder without a weight belt, and a step toward one-arm work.

How to do it

  1. Grip the bar overhand, hands about twice shoulder width.
  2. Pull your body up and toward one hand, letting the other arm straighten along the bar.
  3. Get your chin beside the working hand.
  4. Lower back to the middle hang, then pull to the other side on the next rep.

Cues

  • Working arm pulls, other arm guides
  • Chin to the working hand
  • Control the lowering

Common mistakes

  • Bending the guide arm as much as the working arm: then it is just a wide pull-up. Keep the guide arm nearly straight.
  • Trying it before you have 10 strict pull-ups: you will twist and swing. Build the regular pull-up first.

Swap for: Wide-Grip Pull-Up, Pull-Up, Commando Pull-Up

Build a session with Archer Pull-Up

Lats and upper back, side-on

Commando Pull-Up

Lats, Upper Back

Standing side-on to the bar with your hands close together, you pull so your head passes the bar on alternating sides. The off-center pull trains the trunk to resist rotation as well as the back to pull.

How to do it

  1. Stand under the bar side-on and grab it with your hands close together, one in front of the other, palms facing each other.
  2. Hang with straight arms.
  3. Pull up so your head passes the bar on its left, shoulder close to it.
  4. Lower to a full hang, and on the next rep bring your head past the right.

Cues

  • Hands close together
  • Alternate sides each rep
  • Hips stay quiet

Common mistakes

  • Twisting your whole body to reach the bar: brace your stomach so only your arms and back move.
  • Doing all reps to one side: alternate so both sides get the same work.

Swap for: Neutral-Grip Pull-Up, Archer Pull-Up, Pull-Up

Build a session with Commando Pull-Up

Back, chest and triceps, skill

Muscle-Up

Lats, Chest

The muscle-up links a pull to a press-out above the bar in one movement. It is a skill first and a muscle builder second; most people need 10 to 12 strict pull-ups and some chest-to-bar reps before attempting it.

How to do it

  1. Hang from the bar with a grip slightly narrower than a pull-up, thumbs over the bar if you can.
  2. Pull hard and fast toward your lower chest, leaning back slightly.
  3. As the bar reaches your chest, drive your chest over it and turn your elbows up.
  4. Press down into a straight-arm support above the bar.
  5. Lower back through a dip and into a hang under control.

Cues

  • Pull to your hips, not your chin
  • Chest over, elbows up fast
  • Finish in a straight-arm support

Common mistakes

  • Trying it with chin-high pull-ups: if you cannot pull the bar to your lower chest, keep training explosive pull-ups first.
  • One arm going over before the other: the shoulder that goes first takes all the load. Train the transition low and slow on a bar you can stand under.

Swap for: Pull-Up, Kipping Pull-Up, Chest Dip

Build a session with Muscle-Up

Lats and abs, straight-body raise

Front Lever Raise

Lats, Abs

From a hang, you lift a straight body up toward horizontal with locked arms, working the lats and abs together. It builds the strength for the full front lever, and partial reps are hard even for strong lifters.

How to do it

  1. Hang from the bar overhand, arms straight, body straight.
  2. Press the bar down toward your hips with straight arms and tilt backward.
  3. Raise your body as a single unit until it approaches horizontal, or as high as you can keep it straight.
  4. Lower under control back to the hang.

Cues

  • Arms stay locked
  • Body moves as one piece
  • Press the bar toward your hips

Common mistakes

  • Bending your hips to get higher: that turns it into a leg raise. Tuck your knees to your chest instead if the full straight body is too hard.
  • Dropping back to the hang: lower over three seconds; it builds the strength faster than the raise.

Swap for: Hanging Leg Raise, Back Lever, Dead Hang

Build a session with Front Lever Raise

Lats, shoulders and lower back, skill

Back Lever

Lats, Lower Back

The back lever holds your body face-down and horizontal behind the bar, with your arms behind you. It asks a lot of the shoulders in a stretched position, so it is a slow-progressing skill with short holds.

How to do it

  1. Hang from the bar with an overhand grip.
  2. Tuck your knees, lift them through your arms and roll backward until you hang upside down behind the bar.
  3. Lower your body slowly toward horizontal, face down, keeping your arms straight.
  4. Hold for a few seconds, then return the way you came.

Cues

  • Arms straight, not bent
  • Squeeze glutes and legs together
  • Enter and exit slowly

Common mistakes

  • Rushing into the full position: start with a tucked hold, knees to chest, and lengthen your body over weeks.
  • Letting your shoulders sag at the bottom: stop before the stretch becomes pain and come back up.

Swap for: Front Lever Raise, Dead Hang, Pull-Up

Build a session with Back Lever

Hanging ab exercises on a pull-up bar

Hanging takes the floor away, so your abs work against your legs' full weight while your grip holds you still. Start with the knee raise, move to straight legs when 15 knee raises are easy, and use the oblique crunch for the sides. Pause at the bottom of every rep so the swing never takes over.

Lower abs, beginner hanging

Hanging Knee Raise

Abs

Raising your knees from a hang tilts your pelvis and works the lower abs while your grip and shoulders hold you still. It is where hanging core work starts before straight legs.

How to do it

  1. Hang from the bar with straight arms and your legs together, feet clear of the ground.
  2. Draw your knees up toward your chest.
  3. Roll your pelvis up at the top so your lower back rounds slightly.
  4. Lower your legs slowly until you are straight again.

Cues

  • Curl the pelvis up
  • Slow down
  • No swinging

Common mistakes

  • Swinging the knees up with momentum: pause at the bottom of every rep so you start each one still.
  • Lifting the knees only to hip height: the abs work most when the pelvis rolls up at the top.

Swap for: Hanging Leg Raise, Reverse Crunch, Alternating Leg Raise

Build a session with Hanging Knee Raise

Abs, straight-leg hanging

Hanging Leg Raise

Abs

Straightening the legs lengthens the lever, so the same movement is much harder than a knee raise. It is the hanging core exercise to aim for once 15 knee raises feel easy.

How to do it

  1. Hang with straight arms and legs together, feet clear of the ground.
  2. Keeping your legs straight, lift them in front of you.
  3. Raise them to at least hip height, higher if you can keep them straight.
  4. Lower slowly to a still hang before the next rep.

Cues

  • Legs straight and together
  • Lift past hip height
  • Lower slower than you lift

Common mistakes

  • Bending your knees as you tire: finish the set with knee raises instead of bent-leg leg raises.
  • Arching the lower back at the bottom: brace before each rep.

Swap for: Hanging Knee Raise, Front Lever Raise, Alternating Leg Raise

Build a session with Hanging Leg Raise

Obliques, hanging

Hanging Oblique Crunch

Abs

Bringing your knees up to one side, then the other, adds a rotation and side bend to the hanging raise and loads the obliques with your body weight.

How to do it

  1. Hang from the bar with straight arms.
  2. Draw your knees up and across toward one hip.
  3. Crunch the side of your waist so your hip moves toward your ribs.
  4. Lower under control and repeat to the other side.

Cues

  • Knees to one armpit
  • Crunch the side
  • Alternate sides

Common mistakes

  • Swinging side to side: stop at the bottom of every rep.
  • Twisting your shoulders instead of your hips: the bar holds your shoulders; your hips do the moving.

Swap for: Hanging Knee Raise, Dumbbell Side Bend, Russian Twist

Build a session with Hanging Oblique Crunch

Put them together: example sessions

Each session below picks from the exercises above for one situation, with the sets, reps, rest and RIR filled in. Open one in the session builder to change a pick, price it from a recent set, and add it to RIRLift.

Session 1

You cannot do a pull-up yet

Open in the session builder
  • Workouts3× a week
  • Working sets33 a week
  • Per workout~30 min
  • EquipmentPull-Up Bar, Resistance Bands

You have a doorway or wall-mounted bar, a loop band, and zero to two strict pull-ups.

The band-assisted pull-up gives you full sets of the real movement, and the chin-up is there as slow lowering only, where you are strongest. Assisted sets stay at 2 reps in reserve so your form stays clean; the dead hang and knee raises go close to the end of your grip, at 1 RIR, because grip is what most often ends a first pull-up attempt.

Bar Basics
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Band-Assisted Pull-Up1 warm-up set firstThinnest band that allows 5. 3 × 5–10 2 2 min
Chin-UpLowering only. 3-5 seconds down. 3 × 3–5 1 2 min
Dead HangReps are seconds. 3 × 20–45 1 90 s
Hanging Knee RaisePause at the bottom. 2 × 8–12 2 1 min
How to run it
Train three days a week with a day between. For the chin-up block, jump or step up to the top position and take three to five seconds to lower; each lowering is one rep. Once a week, after warming up, test a single strict pull-up.
How to progress
When the assisted pull-up hits 10 reps at 2 RIR, use a thinner band. When the thinnest band is easy for 8, replace the assisted block with chin-ups, one strict rep at a time.
Open in the session builder

Session 2

A bar at home and 5 to 10 strict pull-ups

Open in the session builder
  • Workouts3× a week
  • Working sets30 a week
  • Per workout~30 min
  • EquipmentPull-Up Bar

You can do several clean pull-ups and want your bar to be the backbone of your upper-body pulling and your ab work.

Two days alternate overhand and underhand grips, so your back works twice a week from two angles and your biceps get the chin-up and close-grip work. Pull-ups stay at 1 to 2 reps in reserve because sloppy last reps turn into kips. Hanging leg raises replace the knee raise because you have the grip for them now.

Day A
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Pull-Up1 warm-up set firstFull hang each rep. 4 × 5–10 2 2:30 min
Neutral-Grip Pull-UpParallel handles. 3 × 6–10 1 2 min
Hanging Leg RaiseLegs straight. 3 × 8–12 1 1 min

Open Day A in the session builder

Day B
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Chin-Up1 warm-up set firstChest to bar. 4 × 6–12 2 2:30 min
Close-Grip Chin-UpElbows tight. 3 × 6–10 1 2 min
Hanging Oblique CrunchPer side. 3 × 8–12 1 1 min

Open Day B in the session builder

How to run it
Alternate A and B with at least a day between, two to four times a week. Rest fully between pull-up sets: two to three minutes is normal for bodyweight sets this hard.
How to progress
Add a rep per set until each set hits the top of its range, then wear a backpack with books or a weight belt with a 5 pound plate and start again at the bottom of the range.
Open in the session builder

Session 3

Strong on the bar, chasing skills

Open in the session builder
  • Workouts2× a week
  • Working sets30 a week
  • Per workout~50 min
  • EquipmentPull-Up Bar

You can do 12 or more strict pull-ups and want harder bar work, including your first muscle-up or front lever.

Skills come first while you are fresh: muscle-ups in low reps at 2 RIR, because a bad rep under fatigue teaches a bad transition. Archer and commando pull-ups load one side more, so they build strength without a belt. Front lever raises are your hanging core work now, and the wide-grip pull-up finishes with higher reps.

Skills and Strength
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Muscle-Up1 warm-up set firstPull to the lower chest. 4 × 1–5 2 3 min
Archer Pull-UpPer side. 3 × 3–6 1 2:30 min
Commando Pull-UpAlternate sides. 3 × 6–10 1 2 min
Front Lever RaiseTuck if needed. 3 × 5–8 1 90 s
Wide-Grip Pull-Up 2 × 8–12 1 2 min
How to run it
Two sessions a week, with a regular pull-up day between if you want more volume. Rest three minutes between muscle-up sets. If you cannot do a muscle-up yet, replace each one with 3 explosive pull-ups to the lower chest.
How to progress
Muscle-ups: add a rep to one set at a time. Archer pull-ups: hold the guide arm straighter. Front lever raises: move from tucked knees to one leg straight, then both.
Open in the session builder

Make it fit you

Questions

What exercises can you do on a pull-up bar?

Pull-ups, chin-ups and their grip variations for your back and arms, band-assisted pull-ups and dead hangs to build up to them, hanging knee and leg raises for your abs, and skills like the muscle-up, front lever and back lever once you are strong.

How should I hold the bar for pull-ups?

Overhand, hands a little outside your shoulders, the bar in the base of your fingers with your thumb wrapped around it. For chin-ups, flip to underhand at shoulder width. Squeeze the bar hard; a tighter grip makes the rest of your upper body brace.

What happens if I do 100 pull-ups a day?

If you can, your back and arms will grow and your reps will rise for a while, but the elbows often complain before the muscles stop adapting. You will usually do better with 3 to 4 hard sets near failure a few days a week than with a daily quota you grind through.

What can I do instead of chin-ups?

A neutral-grip pull-up if your bar has handles, or a regular pull-up. If you cannot do either yet, use band-assisted pull-ups or slow lowering from the top of the bar.

Can you build muscle with only a pull-up bar?

Your back, biceps, forearms and abs, yes. Chest, triceps and legs need something else: push-ups, dips and squats are enough to start.

How many times a week should I train on a pull-up bar?

Two to three times, with a day between. The home bar plan alternates two days so your back gets two sessions, each from a different grip.

How do I do my first pull-up?

Practice the movement with a band, practice the lowering on its own, and build grip with dead hangs. The first-pull-up plan above runs all three, three times a week.