A Pull-Up Looks Like An Arm Exercise

A pull-up looks like an arm exercise. Your back is doing two different jobs at once.

Muscle by muscle, in 3D: the latissimus dorsi and the teres major right beside it both pull your upper arm in toward your ribs — that's what actually lifts you. The trapezius between your shoulder blades never touches your arm at all; it pulls the blade down and holds it there so the arm has something to pull against. The rear delt works with the arm-movers. And a wide, palms-forward grip keeps your biceps out of the drive — turn your hands over and they take over.

Exercises that train these: • Lats — pull-up, lat pulldown, straight-arm pulldown, dumbbell row, seated row • Teres major — pull-up, lat pulldown, row variations • Mid & lower traps — seated row, face pull, reverse fly, prone Y raise • Rear delts — reverse fly, face pull, wide-grip row • Biceps & forearms — chin-up, curl, hammer curl, dead hang