February 23, 2026, 11:51 am | Read time: 8 minutes

Pull-ups are definitely one of the most popular bodyweight exercises of all. Hardly any other exercise trains the entire upper body like this classic. However, hardly any other movement with your own body weight is as difficult, and beginners often reach their limits. Fortunately, the learning curve is high. If you persist, you’ll soon be able to pull yourself up from a hanging position to at least chin level. This allows you to train your triceps and biceps, back, and latissimus up to a V-shape, as well as your shoulders. Advanced and professional users like to go one step further by adjusting the position of their hands on the pull-up bar depending on the focus of their training. This is an excellent method to vary your routine and introduce new challenges during your workout. But what grip variations are there for pull-ups, and what effect do they have?

This Is What is Meant by a Complete Pull-Up

Despite the different grip variations, the movement is essentially always the same. “A complete pull-up is a maximum pull-up with the chin over the bar, and maximum lockout, i.e., the elbows and shoulders are extended. You should make sure that you really train all angles of the joints evenly,” explains personal trainer Markus Bremen.

Why the Core Is So Important

A stable core is essential and more than just helpful for a correctly executed pull-up. “The supporting muscles are always the upper arms and core muscles,” says the fitness expert. This applies to all types of pull-ups. “If your core isn’t stable and you ‘wobble,’ then it’s much harder to pull yourself over the bar. That’s why pull-ups are also a full-body exercise. You should therefore start to build up your core in advance so that you can control it well in any variation.”

If this is not the case, many people fall heavily into a hollow back in order to pull themselves up. “This is a sign that your core is not well developed. If you look at clean pull-ups, the feet are slightly in front of the body. Your legs, buttocks, and belly button are also very tight,” explains Markus Bremen.

Overhand Grip (Pull-Up)

The most basic and traditional form of pull-up is executed using an overhand grip. In a pull-up, the back of the hand points away from the body or towards the head. Both hands grip the pull-up bar with the thumbs pointing inwards. The elbows are also close to the upper body. Due to the increased grip width, the focus is on the latissimus or broad back muscle. “The trapezius muscle and, indirectly, the biceps also provide support,” says the expert. At the same time, the shoulder is spared somewhat.

Chin-Up

If, on the other hand, the palm of the hand is shoulder-width apart and points towards the face or body, this is known as a chin-up. In a chin-up, the bar is gripped from below with the thumbs pointing outwards. This grip variation of pull-ups is slightly less demanding than the overhand grip because the biceps work more to provide support. This means that the back does not have to lift the entire body weight on its own. “This high level of bicep activation gives you the feeling that it’s easier,” confirms Markus Bremen. And yet the latissimus is trained intensively. The underhand grip is, therefore, the perfect introduction to the world of pull-ups, especially for beginners, and you can usually do more repetitions. This can increase motivation, especially at the beginning.

Neutral Grip or Hammer Grip

Here, the two palms are facing each other. This works best if a parallel grip is attached to the pull-up bar. The hammer grip combines the advantages of the overhand and underhand grip, focusing on the biceps and latissimus, as well as the upper arm muscle (brachialis). As the fingers and forearms are also heavily involved, grip strength is also improved. An added bonus: this form is easy on the wrists and elbows.

Wide Grip

This grip variation of the pull-up works in a similar way to the classic overhand grip, but the grip width is changed. In the wide grip, you position your hands so that they extend beyond your shoulders. It is not possible to say exactly how far. Everyone has to try it out for themselves to find the optimum distance. “You can play with it. As far as you can,” recommends Markus Bremen. “The further, the greater the effect on the outer part of the latissimus for the V-shape. But you have to pay attention to what the shoulder says. With such a wide angle, you have a very large stimulus on the corresponding joints. This is not a beginner’s variation,” he warns. However, one thing is clear: the wider grip puts even more strain on the broad back muscle and takes some of the strain off the biceps. The wide grip requires a lot of strength and control.

Tight Grip

As one might expect, there is also a close grip variation. The underhand grip is more appropriate for this variation. As the name suggests, both hands are close or close together. If you manage it, they can even touch each other. However, this puts your wrists in an awkward position. Experience shows that the closer the position, the harder the pull-up. In this variation, the main focus is clearly on the biceps and the muscles of the middle back.

“You can also vary the upper and lower grip. You can also try using the overhand grip, which gives you even more activity in the rear shoulder area. And if you try the forearm grip, the focus is more on the biceps,” advises Markus Bremen.

Alternating Grip

Of course, the overhand grip and underhand grip can also be performed in parallel. This means that one hand points away from the body and the other towards the body. The position is therefore not symmetrical, and the muscles are loaded unevenly. As a result, we need a stronger grip and additional stability. With the alternating grip, one side trains the back more, while the other works the biceps. You can also prepare for one-arm pull-ups in this way.

More on the topic

Expert Explains Different Grip Variations in Deadlifting and When to Use Them

Exercise on the pull-up bar Why You Should Train Dead Hang and How Long You Should Be Able to Hang for

One-Armed

The absolute supreme discipline of pull-ups, which is one of the most difficult bodyweight exercises of all! “This is a completely different number. There’s hardly any exercise that is so concise or effective in terms of relative body strength,” says Markus Bremen. With just one arm, you pull yourself upwards with an underhand grip. This requires even more body strength, grip strength, and body tension. The latissimus takes on most of the load of pulling up, while the biceps and upper arm muscles are responsible for bending the arm. The shoulder and core muscles serve to stabilize the body during the movement, while the forearm muscles and grip strength are crucial for holding and pulling^.1

Tips for Variation

Of course, there are also different ways to work even more effectively within the pull-up variations. In terms of grip strength, which is trained with every form anyway, thickenings would be a good choice. This refers to devices that enlarge the grip. “This means you have to grip even tighter, which has an even greater effect on strengthening the forearm muscles,” says Bremen. Towels that you simply wrap around the bar are also suitable for this.

To vary the exercise even more, you can also intensify the running phase, for example. “This means you have to create a lot more tension in the muscle,” says the sports scientist. “Or you can hold different static positions. For example, you can pull your chin over the bar and try to hold this position for 30 seconds. Or you go to the next angle setting of 90 degrees over a period of 30 seconds.” Thus, there are several techniques to ultimately apply greater force.