What is Close Grip Pull Up?

The Close Grip Pull Up is a medium-difficulty pulling exercise performed with a narrow pronated grip to emphasize the latissimus dorsi and biceps while engaging shoulders, traps, and forearms. It builds upper-back thickness, arm strength, and improved pulling mechanics for calisthenics and weighted progressions.

How to Do Close Grip Pull Up

  1. Grip the bar: Grasp the bar with a pronated, shoulder-width (or slightly narrower) grip. Wrap thumbs around the bar and keep wrists neutral for secure control.
  2. Brace your body: Take a deep breath, squeeze glutes, and brace abs. Depress the shoulder blades to engage the lats before you initiate the pull.
  3. Drive elbows down: Pull by driving your elbows straight down toward the floor, initiating movement from the lats rather than the arms to load the back correctly.
  4. Pull to the bar: Continue the pull until your chin reaches the bar or chest meets bar level, keeping shoulders down and chest slightly proud to maximize lat contraction.
  5. Lower with control: Descend slowly to the start position with a controlled eccentric, maintaining scapular depression and core tension to protect the shoulders and build strength.

Muscle Groups

Biceps, Shoulders, Trapezius, Forearm, Latissimus, Back

Description

Using a pronated grip, grasp the pull bar with a shoulder width grip.

Take a deep breath, squeeze your glutes and brace your abs. Depress the shoulder blades and then drive the elbows straight down to the floor while activating the lats.

Pull your chin towards the bar until the lats are fully contracted, then slowly lower yourself back to the start position.

Movement Group

Pull

Required Equipment

Pull-Up Bar

Progressions and Regressions

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the benefits of Close Grip Pull Ups?

Close Grip Pull Ups emphasize lat and biceps development, improving upper-back thickness, pulling strength, and grip endurance. They also train scapular control and posture, and transfer well to weighted pull-ups and rowing variations.

What common mistakes should I avoid?

Avoid kipping or momentum, shrugging the shoulders, and relying only on the arms. Don’t perform partial reps with poor scapular control; focus on full range and intentional lat-driven movement.

How can I progress or regress this exercise?

Regress with band assistance, negatives, or scapular pull-ups; progress by adding weight, increasing eccentric time, or volume. Alternatives include close-grip chin-ups or inverted rows to build toward full weighted reps.