What Muscles Do Pull Ups Work On?

Everyone wants an enviable body with those flashy six pack abs. Besides this, many people want to achieve a good level of fitness wherein their stamina is high. However, as the saying goes, no pain, no gain. So, to reach that level of fitness, you need to do a variety of exercises that will strengthen different muscles of the body. Different kinds of exercises target different parts and muscles of the body. Although weight training will help to add bulk to your muscles, some exercises help to tone the muscles. One such exercise is pull ups. Pull ups are exercises where the person's body is suspended by his extended arms that are tightly holding onto a fixed bar. Then, the person is supposed to pull himself until the elbows are bent and the head is higher than the hands and repeat this exercise. A favorite among fitness freaks, pull ups work on multiple muscles at the same time. So, what muscles do pull ups work on? The answer is given below.

Latissimus Dorsi
The main muscle that pull ups work on is the latissimus dorsi. This is one of the broadest muscles of the back and is a large, flat muscle. This muscle is partly covered by the trapezius along the medial region. Many types of exercises that exist aim at strengthening this muscle, like deadlifts, chin ups, pull ups, dumbbell rows, etc. However, when exerting strain on this muscle, one must not overdo it, as it could lead to severe problems like back pain in the long run. Also, a tight latissimus dorsi is one of leading causes of shoulder and back pain.

Biceps Brachii
The exercise is incomplete without including the muscle biceps brachii exercises in it. The biceps brachii, more commonly known as simple biceps, are the main muscles that are located in the upper arm and are used to rotate the forearm and flex the elbow. Although there are various bicep exercises that specifically target these muscles, when doing pull ups, as the biceps help to raise the entire body till the height of the chin supersedes the bar, this is also a very good workout for the biceps.

Other Muscles
The other muscles that also aid in pull ups are basically muscles that are responsible for acting on or near the elbow. These muscles act by bringing about flexion at the elbow joint. As there are many muscles that are inserted at or near the elbow, they all act synergistically to bring about movement. One such muscle is the brachialis. It is a muscle that is deep seated compared to the biceps brachii and it acts synergistically to assist the biceps brachii when there is flexion of the elbow while doing pull ups exercise. One of the other muscles that is brought into action during a pull up is the brachioradialis. The brachioradialis is a muscle that is synergistic in its action with the brachialis and biceps brachii, although it is a muscle that cannot generate as much force as these two muscles. The brachioradialis aids in flexing the forearm at the elbow whenever a weight is lifted during slow flexion action of the forearm.

Exercising by doing pull ups is really a great way of toning multiple muscles present in the upper torso at the same time. So, now, you can hit the gym with a vengeance and tone up all the muscles worked by pull ups mentioned here. However remember, do not overdo it lest you land up with sore muscles and back pain!