How to do the Wide Grip Pull Up
BackBack & LatsBodyweightIntermediate
The wide grip pull up is one of the most effective bodyweight movements for building a broad, powerful back that no machine can replicate. Master it and you earn genuine upper body strength that carries over to everything you do.
Add this to my personalized plan →Muscles worked
Primary
LatsMid-back
Secondary
BicepsRear deltsForearms
Step-by-step
- Hang from the bar with hands placed just outside shoulder width, palms facing away, arms fully extended
- Depress and retract your shoulder blades before you pull, locking your shoulders away from your ears
- Drive your elbows down and back toward your hips to initiate the pull, leading with your chest toward the bar
- Lower yourself under full control to a dead hang, resisting the descent for maximum lat engagement
Common mistakes
- Shrugging the shoulders at the start, which shifts the load to the traps and reduces lat activation, fix this by actively packing your shoulder blades down before every rep
- Using momentum and kipping to get the chin over the bar, which bypasses the target muscles, fix this by pausing for one second at the bottom of each rep to eliminate swing
- Flaring the elbows forward rather than driving them down and back, which turns the movement into a bicep pull, fix this by consciously thinking about bending the bar in half as you pull
Pro tip — At the top of each rep, hold for a full second and consciously squeeze your lats by imagining you are trying to touch your elbows to your back pockets, this brief isometric contraction dramatically increases time under tension and accelerates lat development over time.
Sets & reps by goal
Build muscle3–4 sets × 6–10 reps
Get stronger4–5 sets × 3–6 reps
Lose fat / tone3 sets × 10–12 reps
Rest: 2–3 min between sets (60–90s on lighter days).
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