Pull Up: The Ultimate Body Designer.

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An amazing thing about the pull up is that it could be done anywhere an even bar can be found; at home, work, the gym or playground. What's more amazing is that it is the ultimate body designer. Yes, "It would design your body” , according to a fellow gym enthusiast.
Some have called it “my secret”. I do believe it is my secret. It would get the entire back muscles,biceps and triceps in shape depending on how you choose to pull. A lady looking to burn underarm fat can turn to the pull up too. 


Unfortunately, you don't find most people (including those who have attained a good level of fitness) pulling up. It's a challenging exercise for beginners and pros get exhausted in no time. By doing this exercise, you are essentially lifting your entire body off the ground against the gravitational pull. Some even go as far as adding disc weights to increase the total weight lifted. The pull up is one of the basic trainings required in strength development for calisthenics. Chris Heria  'the superhuman' has suggested pulling up to 100 sets for people looking to develop as he puts “superhuman strength” for Calisthenics. 
On this post I would only highlight the basic pull up as an introduction to the exercise and subsequently revisit this subject with all the other moves you can make. You will need a pull up bar or any even bar that can carry your weight. Be sure that the bar is even (eye judgement is sufficient), you don't want to develop a bad form while doing this. You can wear hand gloves as gripping the bar can be burning overtime but it's best to do this without gloves so your palms get tough. 

Follow these steps:
  1. Grip Bar with palms facing forward and your feets placed firmly on the floor. If bar is high up, stay in a steady position without swinging forward or backward. Your grip should be slightly wider than your shoulder length. 
  2. Have your legs folded and crossed behind you while hanging on bar. 
  3. Pull yourself up till your head is above the bar and release back to starting position. Ensure your hands are fully stretched out as you release. Repeat.

Notes:
  1. The above move would work on the entire back and triceps. To build your biceps, grip bar with both palms faced towards you. 
  2. Gripping the bar will cause a burning pain over time. You may want to practise gripping by hanging on bar for as long as you can without swinging. Do this with one arm and with both arms. You can also attach weights to your waist to get quicker results aimed at toughening your palms. 
  3. You should practise the pull up as often as possible. The chances are that you may not be able to pull your head over the bar at first but you will eventually. Focus on getting the move right rather than counting wrongly done reps. A single rep done right should be valued over several wrong reps. (rep=repetitions)
  4. When you are up to the task, grow your reps and try to maintain the form on each rep. Ensure to be consistent with your reps in each set. Go as high as three sets or more. 
  5. If you are looking to start a calisthenic journey then the target should be a minimum of twenty pull ups per set. Chris would say you should do one hundred reps in one super set. 

If you have travailed on this and failed although I don't encourage giving up. So I'd say, if you are still travailing, the crossover is an alternative to the pull up done with a barbell, dumbbell or cable which should build your Lats or burn under arm fat in the way the pull up would. But unfortunately, it doesn't simultaneously build other muscle groups like the pull up would. 

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