The Pullup

The Pullup is a fantastic upper body exercise working primarily the lats and biceps, but also significantly involving the traps, rhomboids and abdominals.

Place your hands on the bar just outside shoulder width, palms facing away from you. As you initiate the pull, imagine trying to pull through your elbows, while drawing the shoulder blades down and together. Pull until your chin is near the bar, but do not reach your chin up and over. You want to maintain a neutral spine position. Related to this, keep your core braced and avoid over arching the lower back in an attempt to touch the bar to your chest.

As you lower back down, keep the muscles of the back engaged as you lower to an arms extended position.

If you are not yet strong enough to perform a pullup, the lat pulldown and be an excellent alternative as it allows you to move in a similar plane of motion but with a weight that is less than your body weight.