Pull-up Alternatives – Introduction
What are the best pull-up alternative exercises for beginners at home?
Bodyweight pull-ups and their close relative chin-ups are among the best exercises for building upper back strength and muscle mass.
They’re also great biceps builders.
In fact, if you could only do one exercise for your pulling muscles, the humble pull-up would be a great choice.
However, despite these accolades, pull-ups are not suitable for everyone.
For starters, to do pull-ups, you must be strong enough to lift your entire body weight using just your arms.
This is no mean feat, especially for beginners or overweight people.
Then, you also need a suitable pull-up bar.
While there are bars designed specifically for home use, you may not have or want to install one in your house.
Does this mean you can’t train your back at home?
Certainly not!
The good news is that there are several exercises you can do instead of pull-ups.
In this article, we reveal the best at-home pull-up alternatives for beginners!
What Muscles Do Pullups Work?
Before learning the best pull-up alternatives, let’s take a look at what muscles they work.
After all, to be considered a good pullup alternative, your chosen exercise should target the same muscles.
Latissimus dorsi
Known as the lats for short, these are the main muscles trained during pull-ups.
Located on the sides of your upper back, the lats are like wings and are responsible for adducting and extending your shoulders.
Well-developed lats give your upper body an eye-pleasing taper.
Latissimus dorsi muscle
Biceps brachii
Located on the front of your upper arms, the biceps brachii, or biceps for short, flexes your elbow.
Most people feel pull-ups more in their biceps than they do their lats.
That’s not surprising, as the biceps are considerably smaller than those big back muscles.
Biceps brachii muscles
Forearms
You can’t do pullups without gripping an overhead bar.
Supporting your body weight with your hands will challenge your forearms and strengthen your grip.
Forearm muscles
Trapezius
Called the traps for short, this large, diamond-shaped muscle covers much of your upper back.
There are three sets of trapezius fibers: upper, middle, and lower.
The middle and lower fibers are the most active during pull-ups.
Trapezius muscles – Upper, Middle & Lower
Rhomboids
Located between your shoulder blades and underneath your middle traps, the rhomboids help pull your shoulders back and together.
They stabilize your shoulder blades and help prevent unwanted scapular movements.
Rhomboid muscles
Core Muscles
Pullups involve quite a lot of core engagement.
The core is the collective term for the muscles of your midsection, including the:
- rectus abdominis,
- obliques, and
- transverse abdominis.
These muscles work together to generate intra-abdominal pressure and stabilize your lower back.
Pull-up abdominal muscles worked
7 Best Pullup Alternative Exercise List
- Band-assisted pull-ups
- Negative pull-ups
- Inverted rows
- Resistance band lat pulldowns
- Seated resistance band rows
- Single-arm dumbbell rows
- Bent-over barbell rows
Alternatives to Pullups Exercise Descriptions
Whether you are not quite strong enough to do pullups or do not have access to a suitable bar, the following exercises train the same muscles.
Do them in any workout instead of pull-ups.
#1. Band-assisted pullups
Band-assisted pullups make bodyweight pull-ups much easier.
They’re an ideal option for beginners and will help you develop the strength necessary to perform unaided pullups.
However, you will still need access to a pull-up bar for this exercise.
How to do it:
- Hang a strong resistance band over your pullup bar and thread it through itself to form a loop.
- Stand or kneel in the loop and hold your overhead bar with an overhand, shoulder-width grip.
- Hang from the bar with your arms straight, core braced, and shoulders down and back.
- Bend your elbows and pull yourself up, so your chin is just above the bar.
- The band will offset some of your body weight, making it easier to pull yourself up.
- Extend your arms and repeat.
- Gradually reduce the thickness of your band as you get stronger.
- Eventually, you should be able to wean yourself off the band and do unassisted pullups.
#2. Negative pull-ups
You are stronger eccentrically than concentrically.
This means you can lower more weight than you can lift.
Negative pullups make the most of this phenomenon.
With practice, doing negative pull-ups will build your strength so you can do regular pullups.
How to do it:
- Place a box or step beneath your pullup bar.
- Stand on the platform and hold your bar with an overhand, shoulder-width grip.
- Brace your abs and pull your shoulders down and back.
- Lift your feet off your platform and, using just your arms, slowly lower yourself down until your arms are straight.
- Your descent should take 3-5 seconds.
- Step back onto the platform, stand up, and do another rep.
- End your set when you are no longer able to control the speed of your descent.
#3. Inverted rows
Inverted rows, also known as Australian pullups and body rows, work the same muscles as pull-ups.
However, your feet remain on the floor, so your upper body has a lot less work to do.
This is a great preparatory exercise for pullups and chin-ups.
And it’s good for your posture.
How to do it:
- Using gymnastic rings, a suspension trainer, or a bar in a squat rack, adjust your chosen handle(s) to around waist height.
- Grab the handle(s) and sit on the floor with your arms and legs straight.
- Brace your core and pull your shoulders down and back.
- Lift your hips, so your body is straight.
- Bend your arms and pull your chest up to your hands.
- Drive your elbows back and keep your wrists straight throughout.
- Extend your arms and repeat.
- You can make this exercise easier by raising your hands or harder by elevating your feet.
#4. Resistance band lat pulldowns
The biggest advantage of bodyweight exercises is also their greatest drawback – the weight of your body.
For some people, lifting their body weight is impossible.
It’s just too heavy.
Thankfully, you can train all your muscles using a simple resistance band.
In fact, you can replicate most bodyweight and weight training exercises this way.
Resistance lat pulldowns are an excellent alternative exercise to pull-ups.
How to do it:
- Attach the middle of your resistance band to an overhead anchor.
- Hold the handles and kneel down beneath the anchor.
- Lift your chest, pull your shoulders down and back, and brace your abs.
- Bend your arms and pull your hands down to the front of your shoulders.
- Lead with your elbows, and keep your wrists straight.
- Extend your arms and repeat.
#5. Seated resistance band rows
No overhead anchor?
No problem!
You can train all the same muscles without one.
This exercise might not look a lot like pull-ups, but it’s still an effective and convenient alternative.
However, you’ll probably need a pretty strong band to make this exercise sufficiently challenging.
How to do it:
- Sit on the floor with your legs extended in front of you.
- Loop the middle of your resistance band over your feet.
- Sit up straight and pull your shoulders down and back.
- Brace your abs.
- Holding one handle in each hand, bend your arms, and pull your hands into the sides of your abdomen.
- Drive your elbows back and keep your wrists straight.
- Extend your arms and repeat.
- Sit on a low bench, step, or stool if you find sitting on the floor uncomfortable.
#6. Single-arm dumbbell row
Here is another exercise that looks nothing like pull-ups but still manages to train all the same muscles.
All you need for this exercise is a single dumbbell and a platform to lean on.
As an added benefit, this is an excellent way to identify and fix left-to-right strength imbalances.
How to do it:
- Hold a dumbbell in one hand and lean forward, placing your other hand on a knee-high platform for support, e.g., a weight bench or chair.
- Let your arm hang straight down, palm facing inward.
- Pull your shoulders down and back.
- Brace your abs, and make sure that your lower back is slightly arched and not rounded.
- Bend your arm and pull the dumbbell up and into your lower ribs.
- Extend your arm and repeat.
- Do the same number of reps on both sides.
#7. Bent-over barbell rows
While single-arm rows are a great exercise, training each arm independently can add a lot of time to your workouts.
In contrast, bent-over barbell rows work both arms simultaneously and provide your legs and lower back with a beneficial workout.
How to do it:
- Hold a barbell with an overhand, shoulder-width grip.
- Stand with your feet about shoulder distance apart, knees slightly bent.
- Lean forward from your hips until your upper body is just above parallel to the floor.
- Brace your abs, pull your shoulders down and back, and ensure that your lower back is slightly arched and not rounded.
- Bend your arms and pull the bar up and into your abdomen.
- Keep your elbows close to your sides and wrists straight.
- Extend your arms and repeat.
7 Best Pullup Alternatives – Wrapping Up
Pull-ups and chin-ups are amazing exercises, and if you can do them, you probably should.
There are very few exercises that are as effective.
However, that doesn’t mean everyone can do pull-ups safely or conveniently, and there are times when pull-ups may be impractical or impossible.
The good news is that there are several exercises that are every bit as effective as bodyweight pull-ups.
They may even be the key to developing the strength you need to work up to doing pull-ups unaided.
So, the next time you see pull-ups in a workout, do one of these seven alternative exercises instead.
Each one trains the same muscles but should be a little easier or more accessible.
Armed with these exercises, you can develop a strong, toned upper back without doing a single bodyweight pull-up or chin-up.
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