Seated Pull up

Description

How to do Seated Pull up

1. 01
   Setup

   Sit on the floor or a low bench directly under a sturdy horizontal bar or machine low enough to reach while seated, extending your legs forward.

2. 02
   Setup

   Grasp the bar with an overhand grip, slightly wider than shoulder-width apart, ensuring your arms are fully extended and your body is relaxed.

3. 03

   Engage your lats and pull your chest towards the bar, squeezing your shoulder blades together as you ascend.

4. 04

   Continue pulling until your chin clears the bar or your chest is close to it, maintaining control without using momentum.

5. 05

   Slowly lower your body back to the starting position with controlled movement, fully extending your arms and feeling a stretch in your lats.

6. 06

   Repeat for the desired number of repetitions, maintaining tension in your back muscles throughout the entire range of motion.

Tips

• Focus on initiating the pull with your back muscles, specifically your lats, rather than just your biceps, to maximize muscle engagement.
• Maintain a slight arch in your lower back and keep your chest proud throughout the movement to ensure proper posture and target the upper back effectively.
• Control the eccentric (lowering) phase of the movement by slowly extending your arms, as this helps build strength and muscle growth.
• To increase difficulty, hold a dumbbell between your feet; for assistance, loop a resistance band over the bar and under your hips.

Common mistakes

• Using momentum: Avoid swinging your body to get your chin over the bar; instead, perform each repetition with strict form and controlled muscle contraction.
• Not fully extending arms: Failing to fully extend your arms at the bottom limits the range of motion; ensure a complete stretch in your lats before initiating the next pull.
• Shrugging shoulders: Shrugging your shoulders towards your ears disengages your lats and puts stress on your neck; keep your shoulders depressed and packed down throughout the movement.