A pull-up is an upper-body strength exercise. The pull-up is a closed-chain movement where the body is suspended by the hands and pulls up. As this happens, the elbows flex and the shoulders adduct and extend to bring the elbows to the torso. The term chin-up, traditionally referring to a pull-up with the chin brought over the top of a bar, was used in the 1980s to refer to a pronated, or overhand, grip, with a supinated, or underhand, grip being called a "reverse-grip" chin-up. In later decades, this usage has inverted, with some using "chin-up" to refer to a pull-up done with a supinated hand position, while "pull-up" refers specifically to the exercise done with a pronated hand position. Pull-ups use many different muscles of the upper body, including the latissimus dorsi and the biceps brachii.
Terminology
In past decades, the term pull-up also referred to open-chain pulling exercises done with a barbell. These exercises are now more popularly known as the bent-over row and upright row. Some have associated a "pull-up" with utilizing an overhand grip. This includes by the Boy Scouts of America, Guinness World Records "makes a difference between" pull-ups and chin-ups according to grip. Organizations such as the United States Marine Corps and the World Pull-Up Organization however, see pull-ups including both the overhand and underhand grips. Variations of pull-ups, beyond being named for their grip, can also be named based on how high the body rises, by naming it after the body part that either comes into contact with or passes over the top of the bar. A "chest-up" or "sternum-up" for example, indicates that the chest or sternum meets the bar, requiring extra scapular adduction and depression.
As a physical test
Pull-ups are a common way to measure the upper body strength of the "pulling muscles". They are used by the United States Marine Corps as a part of the Physical Fitness Test, although marines may also choose to substitute push-ups. Pull-ups were also used as part of military test in Singapore, where the IPPT for National-Service men is used. It is also used in the NAPFA test for male students above the age of 14. It was then removed in 2014 with the announcement of a new IPPT format.
Grips
Pull-ups can be done with a supinated, neutral, or pronated grip. Grips may match each other or be different. Grips may also rotate throughout the movement, such as by doing them on rings, rotating handles or pull up handles. The range of motion used by trainers can vary. The fullest possible range is with straight arms overhead, to pulling when the arms are at the sides. People sometimes only train portions, such as avoiding locking out the arms at the bottom, or stopping when the head/chin/neck touch the bar. Positions within the range are also trained isometrically, as in flexed-arm and straight-arm hangs for time. The width of the grip may also differ. When grabbing and holding the bar during the pull-up, the hands can be apart at shoulder-width, or wider, or narrower enough to touch each other. This may make the pull-up more difficult and may limit the range of motion compared to the shoulder-width grip.
Most Clap Pull-ups in one minute: 30 by Blake Augustine Dec 2015. Video
Most one arm pull ups in one minute : 17 by George Gaydardzhiev 2012.
Most consecutive pinky pull ups: 23 by Tazio Gavioli 2018.
Most consecutive muscle ups: 25 by Jarryd Rubinstein 2010.
Most Consecutive One-Armed pull-up is 22 by Rob Chisnall was briefly noted, without comment regarding dynamic or static style, in the Guinness Book of World Records.
Weighted:
Most added weight: 230.49lbs by David Marchante in 2016.
