Wide-Grip Pull-Up
Challenge your upper body! Wide-Grip Pull-Ups target your back and arms for serious strength gains.
The Wide-Grip Pull-Up is a compound exercise that mainly works the back and biceps, with help from the traps. You'll need: pull up bar.
Required Equipment
Wide-Grip Pull-Up Muscles Worked
Primary
Lats (latissimus dorsi); Biceps (biceps brachii)
Secondary
Rhomboids (Shoulder Blade) (rhomboids, major & minor); Mid Traps (trapezius, middle fibers)
Wide-Grip Pull-Up Variations and Alternatives
How to do the Wide-Grip Pull-Up
Stand beneath a pull-up bar. Reach up and grab the bar with an overhand grip, hands placed wider than shoulder-width apart.
Hang from the bar with arms fully extended, feet off the ground, and ankles crossed behind you for stability.
Brace your core and pull your body up towards the bar by bending your elbows and driving them to your sides.
Continue pulling yourself up until your chin is level with the bar or higher. The focus should be on squeezing the shoulder blades together and downwards.
Pause at the top of the movement where the muscles are fully contracted.
Slowly lower yourself back down to the starting position with arms fully extended and your body hanging straight.
Repeat the movement for the desired number of repetitions.
Ensure to maintain control throughout the exercise, avoiding swinging or using momentum to rise. The movement should be executed through the strength of the upper body muscles.
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Wide-Grip Pull-Up FAQs
What muscles does the Wide-Grip Pull-Up work?
The Wide-Grip Pull-Up mainly works the back and biceps, with help from the traps. The main muscles are the latissimus dorsi and biceps brachii.
What equipment do you need for the Wide-Grip Pull-Up?
Pull up bar.
Is the Wide-Grip Pull-Up a compound exercise?
Yes. It's a compound movement, meaning it trains several muscle groups at once rather than isolating one.
What workout day should the Wide-Grip Pull-Up go on?
It belongs on pull day in a push/pull/legs routine.
What are some Wide-Grip Pull-Up variations and alternatives?
Similar exercises include the Archer Pull-Up, Bench Pull-Up, Muscle Bar Up and Bodyweight Standing Single-Arm Close-Grip Row.
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