1Assistant Professor, Symbiosis School of Sports Sciences, Symbiosis International University, Pune, Maharashtra, India
Pull-ups is one of the most popular and traditional exercises that involves one's body weight which acts as a resistance against gravity. The exercise focuses mainly on upper back muscles (Latissimus Dorsi, Rhomboid), Posterior Deltoid and Biceps Brachii.
This study aimed at investigating the effects of different hand positions (grips) on the electromyographic (EMG) activity of Latissimus Dorsi (LD) and Biceps Brachii (BB) muscles during pullups.
To the best of our knowledge none of the studies has analyzed the muscle activation of Latissimus Dorsi (LD) and Biceps Brachii (BB) muscles with the selected exercises.
Ten healthy men performed 1 repetition of six different grip pull-ups. The maximum voluntary contraction (MVC) was recorded with the help of biograph infinity software (EMG). Surface ElectroMyoGraphy (SEMG) was used for measuring muscle electrical activity that occurs during muscle contraction.
The results of the study shows that, in case of muscles activation in Biceps Brachii, all the exercises reveal significant differences with the Supine Narrow Grip pull-ups (SNG). Similarly, Prone Narrow Grip pull-ups showed a significant difference in Latissimus Dorsi with Prone wide Grip pull-ups and Prone Extreme wide Grip pull-ups, suggesting that other pull ups exercises may be similarly effective in activating Latissimus Dorsi.
It will help the professional trainers and coaches to design training schedule for all level of Athletes which may consist of different variations of pull-ups.
Supine Narrow Grip pull-ups is the best exercise to activate the Biceps Brachii as compared to other pull-ups variations. Similarly, Prone Wide Grip pull-ups found to be a more effective exercise for the activation of upper back muscle-Latissimus Dorsi.
Electromyography, Muscle activation, Pull-Ups, Latissimus Dorsi and Biceps Brachii
