Pull-ups Workout for a Shredded Back & Arms

Build a solid set of muscles with this back & arm-shredding pull-ups workout

Post includes 5 moves working multiple muscle groups, plus ways to make each move harder if you’re up to it

Sculpt yourself a solid set of back & arm muscles with this monster pull-ups workout which involves probably my greatest gym friend for as long as I can remember – the pull-up bar. So much so that I built my own pull-up bar at home!

Utilising simple calisthenics is a fantastic way to stimulate excellent muscle growth in your pull muscles, and by using really basic alterations such as grip changes & super sets, you can test yourself even further to make serious gains.

Ever since getting some inspiration from vegan bodybuilders & the like when it comes to calisthenics for building muscle, I’ve sworn by using them in most of my workouts, particularly on pull day. And the best bit is that you don’t need to hit the gym to pull heavy machines down all the time – for extra resistance chuck on a weighted vest or a weight belt before cranking out this pull-ups workout.

Here’s the workout in all it’s glory – once you’ve done a warm up, perform each exercise until failure of form for 3 sets, with 60 seconds of rest in between. What could be simpler?

The Workout

Move 1 – Wide-grip pull-up

Grab the bar with a wide grip & your palms facing away from you. Then with your legs straight all the time, pull yourself up until your chest is almost touching the bar. Hold for a second, then lower until your arms are nearly straight, then repeat. Keeping your legs straight throughout the set minimises swinging around, which helps to keep your form true. This makes tracking your progress in each pull-ups workout easier.

Make it harder: Slow down the lowering phase of the move to increase your time under tension.

Move 2 – Narrow-grip pull-up

As above but with a shoulder-width grip, get your chest up to the bar once again, then lower and repeat. Remember to keep your legs straight to minimise your swinging.

Make it harder: Slow the lowering phase down once again.

Move 3 – Chin-ups

Grip the bar with your palms facing towards you, and about 6-8 inches apart from each other. Pull yourself up until your chin is just above the height of the bar, then lower and repeat.

Make it harder: Slow the lowering phase down once again.

Move 4 – Inverted tuck rows

This one’s a bit more complicated – standing under the bar and looking down the length towards one end of it, grab it so your palms are facing each other (either a grip with your fingers interlinked or one hand just in front of the other is fine). Then lift up your legs & hips so that your knees are tucked in between your torso and the bar, and your back is as close to parallel with the bar as you can manage. Then pull yourself up as far as you can, before lowering until your arms are nearly straight, then repeat. This move really gets your abs working as well as your traditional pull muscles!

Make it harder: Slow the lowering phase down once again.

Move 5 – Barbell curls

Just a bit of variation from the pull-up bar to give your biceps a real pump. When performing each curl, make sure you lower the barbell until your arms are straight before pulling it up again, to ensure maximum burnout for your biceps! Also, perform each set with a different grip width. Crank out your first set with a wide grip, then a more typical curls grip width for the next set, before finishing with a narrow grip. This ensures your biceps get a full, all-round pump. No barbell? Just crank out some narrow-grip chin-ups to finish off!

Make it harder: Super-set this with some reverse-grip barbell curls.

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As simple as that. A great workout routine using just a pull-up bar and a barbell (if even that!), to build solid pulling muscles & get stronger fast. Perform as many reps as you can until you can’t maintain good form, then rest before starting another set. To make it easier you could just have a bit more rest time e.g. 90 seconds between sets.

To keep testing yourself with this pull-ups workout as you get stronger each time you do it, try some or all of the ‘make it harder’ suggestions (mostly increasing your lowering phase of the movement in this workout!). Next, try to increase the amount of sets to 4, then maybe 5, but keep an eye on your workout time. A good 45-minute session is plenty of time for muscle building.

For building a strong, functional set of back & arm muscles, give this explosive home workout a try & see how far you can get! See how many reps you can start cranking out as you get stronger. You’ll be up for trying muscle-ups in no time! Got some more workout posts coming soon, but while you wait, check out some of my delicious, nutritious recipes to feed those gains.

Take it easy!