The Ultimate Showdown: Neutral Grip Pull-ups Vs. Regular - Steven Fitspot (2024)

FAQs

Is neutral grip pull up better than regular pull-ups? ›

Many tend to find that taking a neutral grip, where your palms face each other on two pull-up handles parallel to each other, is the easiest form of the pull-up, as it essentially allows you to use all of the muscles in your upper body required to do a pull-up—lats, biceps, deltoids, pecs, shoulders—as compared to the ...

The classic for a reason. The relatively wide, pronated (hands facing away) grip gives you a good spread of all of the benefits associated with pull-up movements.

An overhand grip pull-up is the hardest to do, because it places more of the workload on your lats. The wider your grip, the less help your lats get from other muscles, making a rep harder.

I tried all the variations and honestly felt that the neutral grip was more easier than the chin-ups or standard pull-ups. But what I actually found out was that neutral grip is more comfortable rather than easier and can do more reps.

Neutral grip involves using a neutral grip bar, where the palms face towards each other. This position makes it harder to “cheat” by forcing your lats to engage more than they would with pronated or supinated grip.

Neutral/narrows press-ups actually recruit the chest (and triceps) much more than wide press-ups! That's because wide press-up activate the biceps, lats and serratus (the muscles around the ribs) over a short range of motion - which is why they are easier.

Reverse-grip pull-ups (also known as chin-ups) can be demanding at first but yield good results later on. This exercise consists of simply switching your grip on the pull-up bar thus focusing more on your biceps. The general idea is to reverse your handgrip from a regular pull-up (hand palms facing you).

If you are new to pull-ups, you may want to bend your knees slightly to assist with balance and you can try crossing your ankles to reduce swinging, which can break the rhythm of the exercise. Alternatively, climbers with a strong core may wish to keep their legs straight and feet next to each other.

Archer pull-ups

An archer pull-up is a pull-up variation that can be done without any need for additional tools or weights. To perform one, start by getting into a pull-up position. Then, using an over-hand grip, pull hard to one side and extend one arm horizontally over the bar.

Japanese man smashed most consecutive pull ups record with over 650. A fitness fanatic from Japan did over 650 pull ups in a row to set an astonishing world record. Kenta Adachi holds the record for most consecutive pull ups after completing a jaw-dropping 651 in Takamatsu, Kagawa, Japan on 4 March 2022.

Are pull-ups harder than dips? ›

Pull-ups are generally considered to be harder than dips because they require more overall upper body strength. Pull-ups require you to lift your entire body weight, whereas dips only require you to lift a portion of your body weight.

How many reps of Neutral Grip Pull Ups can the average lifter do? The average male lifter can do 15 reps of Neutral Grip Pull Ups. This makes you Intermediate on Strength Level and is a very impressive achievement.

Unlike regular pull-ups, neutral grip pull-ups stimulate both your biceps and lats muscles. Using a neutral grip when doing a pull-up also causes you to use your biceps more when pulling your body up, compared to doing a chin-up. This is because the brachialis is also targeted.

The pronated or the overhand grip is POTENTIALLY the best grip for targeting the back muscles. The difference between the regular pull-up's latissimus dorsi activation is not significant compared to any other grip. HOWEVER, it provides less limitation on other muscle groups for you to perform more reps and sets safely.

After all results were analyzed, it was found that wide grip over-handed lat pull-downs had elicited greater muscular activity of the latissimus dorsi than either wide or narrow under-handed pulls.

The hollow position is a posture from gymnastics designed to maximize your strength: tensed and shortened abs, tensed glutes, a tucked-in pelvis, flared shoulder blades, and a slightly concave body shape. The grip is secondary; the posture is primary. Tactical pull-up in a hollow position.

The important takeaway here is that negative pullups build muscle in the same groups you'll need to do a full pullup. Negatives also give you a chance to increase your grip strength.

Pullups, done with both hands in an overhand (or prone) grip slightly wider than shoulder-width apart, prove to be the most difficult of the pair. The wide grip isolates your lats, taking away much of the emphasis from the biceps. The underhand alternative—chinups—receives high praise as both a bicep- and back-builder.