Scapula Pull-Up
You hang from the bar with your hands a little wider than shoulder width and your arms straight. From there you draw your shoulder blades down and together so your body rises a little. Hold briefly at the top and lower slowly back into the hang.
In the scapula pull-up you hang from the bar with your hands a little wider than shoulder width and your arms straight. From the full hang you draw your shoulder blades down and together, and your body rises a little. Hold briefly at the top and lower slowly.
The work is done by the muscles that steer the shoulder blade: lower and middle trapezius, the rhomboids and the lats. In a pull-up the movement starts right here, before the arms take over.
So the scapula pull-up is the first part of a pull-up, practised on its own, with straight arms and through a small, easily controlled range.
Starting position
Take an overhand grip with your hands a little wider than shoulder width. If the bar allows it you hang with your feet off the floor; otherwise keep your feet down and let your arms take as much of your weight as you like.
Start in a full hang: your shoulders rise towards your ears and your arms are straight.
Now draw your shoulder blades down and together. Your chest lifts and your body rises a little. Your arms stay straight the whole time.
Hold briefly at the top, then lower yourself slowly back into the full hang.
The three cues
- You just hang with your hands slightly wider than shoulder width
- You let yourself sink into a full hang
- You just pull from your shoulder blades — your arms stay straight
- Hold the position, go down slowly
Common faults
| Fault | How to fix it |
|---|---|
| Your elbows bend and it turns into half a pull-up | Keep your arms straight and the range small, and let the shoulder blades lead. |
| Your shoulders stay up by your ears | Go into the full hang on purpose first, then draw the shoulder blades down. |
| Your body swings back and forth | Brace your trunk, keep your legs quiet and work slowly. |
| You drop out of the top straight away | Hold briefly at the top, then lower slowly back into the hang. |
| You take a very wide grip | Set your hands just a touch wider than shoulder width, so your shoulder blades can travel freely. |
Variations
| Variation | When to use it |
|---|---|
| Feet on the floor | Bar at hip to chest height with your feet on the floor taking part of your weight. Move on once your arms stay straight on every rep. |
| Free hang | Full hang, shoulder blades drawing down and together, brief hold at the top. |
| Longer hold | Once the movement feels clean, stay in the top position longer before you lower. |
Reps and load
Work slowly, hold briefly at the top and lower back into the hang under control. The range stays small and your arms stay straight.
The exercise belongs at the start of a pull session, to prepare for the Pull-Up and the Lat Pulldown.
Which muscles do the work
| Muscle | Role | What it does here |
|---|---|---|
| Lower trapezius M. trapezius, pars ascendens | Prime mover | Draws the shoulder blade down |
| Middle trapezius M. trapezius, pars transversa | Prime mover | Draws the shoulder blade towards the spine |
| Lats M. latissimus dorsi | Prime mover | Pull the upper arm and shoulder girdle down |
| Rhomboids Mm. rhomboidei | Synergist | Guide the shoulder blade along the ribs towards the spine |
| Pectoralis minor M. pectoralis minor | Antagonist | Tilts the shoulder blade forward, and here it gives way |
| Serratus anterior M. serratus anterior | Stabiliser | Holds the shoulder blade against the ribs |
| Forearms Mm. antebrachii | Stabiliser | Hold the grip on the bar |
| Core M. rectus abdominis, M. erector spinae | Stabiliser | Keeps the body quiet in the hang |
Lower and middle trapezius, lats and rhomboids draw the shoulder blade down and towards the spine, while the pectoralis minor lengthens. Serratus, forearms and core hold your shoulder blade, your grip and your body steady.
Seeing it done right is not the same as doing it right
Video, cues and variations take you a long way. What they cannot give you is an outside eye at the moment the movement isn't quite there yet. That is what training with me is for — in the studio or in a workshop.
See the workshopsNew exercise pages are added all the time — the newsletter keeps you posted.
Sources
Youdas JW, Amundson CL, Cicero KS, Hahn JJ, Harezlak DT, Hollman JH. (2010). Surface electromyographic activation patterns and elbow joint motion during a pull-up, chin-up, or perfect-pullup rotational exercise. J Strength Cond Res 24(12):3404–3414. DOI: 10.1519/JSC.0b013e3181f1598c — Measures activation during pull-ups, chin-ups and a rotating-handle variation in 25 people able to do pull-ups (men aged 24.9 ± 2.4, women 23.5 ± 1). The lats reached 117 to 130 percent of maximum voluntary contraction and the lower trapezius 45 to 56 percent. What matters for this page is the order: the movement is initiated by the lower trapezius and completed by the biceps and lats. The basis for describing the scapula pull-up as the first part of a pull-up. The full pull-up was measured rather than this exercise; a young sample already able to do pull-ups, with no measurement for the Academy's target group of 40 to 60 year olds training two to four hours a week. (Evidence type: EMG)
Prinold JAI, Bull AMJ. (2016). Scapula kinematics of pull-up techniques: avoiding impingement risk with training changes. J Sci Med Sport 19(8):629–635. DOI: 10.1016/j.jsams.2015.08.002 — Tracks shoulder-blade movement across pull-up grip techniques in 11 regular pull-up performers (aged 26.8 ± 2.4). A wide grip narrowed the shoulder blade's range between protraction and retraction, and the reverse grip produced especially large rotation at the shoulder joint. The basis for the page's instruction to set the hands just a touch wider than shoulder width so the shoulder blade runs freely. A small sample of young experienced lifters, measured on the full pull-up. (Evidence type: Biomechanics)
Kibler WB, Sciascia AD, Uhl TL, Tambay N, Cunningham T. (2008). Electromyographic analysis of specific exercises for scapular control in early phases of shoulder rehabilitation. Am J Sports Med 36(9):1789–1798. DOI: 10.1177/0363546508316281 — Measures activation of the scapular muscles across four small-range exercises in 39 people, among them the low row and the inferior glide, both patterns of drawing the shoulder blade down and together. Serratus anterior and lower trapezius sat at 15 to 30 percent of maximum contraction, with the serratus firing first in the low row. The basis for the roles in the muscle table and for describing the small range as a feature of the exercise. None of the exercises tested is a hang, and the abstract gives no ages. (Evidence type: EMG)
Berckmans KR, Castelein B, Borms D, Parlevliet T, Cools A. (2021). Rehabilitation exercises for dysfunction of the scapula: exploration of muscle activity using fine-wire EMG. Am J Sports Med 49(10):2729–2736. DOI: 10.1177/03635465211025002 — Uses fine-wire electrodes in 26 healthy people to measure the deeper scapular muscles. Levator scapulae and rhomboid major sat at 25 to 45 percent of maximum contraction and pectoralis minor at 13 to 18 percent. The basis for listing the rhomboids and pectoralis minor as actors of their own in the table. Rehabilitation exercises were measured rather than a hang, in a small sample of healthy people. (Evidence type: EMG)
A note on context: EMG studies show which muscles an exercise recruits — that is a good reason to pick it, but it does not replace adjusting things to the person in front of you. See a doctor for persistent or severe pain.