Calisthenics is a great way to get started on working out with minimal equipment and build a strong physique.

Pull exercises are great for developing both the back and biceps muscles. It can also be used in combination with other calisthenics exercises.

Pull Ups

1. Begin by jumping up and grabbing the bar with an overhand grip at shoulder width
2. Hollow your body
3. Pull yourself up slowly and feel your scapula pulling your head up toward the bar
4. Once your head goes over the bar
5. Pause for a second
6. Slowly let yourself down to a dead hang
7. Rinse and Repeat

Pointers

• To avoid swinging brace your core throughout the whole movement
• If you’re having trouble with the movement, pull from your elbows

Pull-ups are calisthenic bread and butter and you’ll see people from all skill levels cranking these bad boys out. 

They work so well because they use all of your pulling muscles in sync, lats, biceps, shoulders, and forearms. 

And what way to get stronger than by pulling all of your body weight at once. 

Not everyone can do these right off the bat so, if these are too hard for you there is an easier variation you can opt for. 

Some gyms do have assistance machines for pull-ups to make it easier but if you don’t have access to one there are at-home exercises that you can do to build strength to get there.

Eccentric Pull Ups

1. Jump up and grab the bar with your head already over the bar
2. Hold the position for a second or two
3. Slowly let yourself down as slow as you can
4. Rinse and repeat

Pointers

• Try to make the down motion longer than a second
• Really squeeze the muscles when you jump into position

These are great for people who can’t pull themselves up from a dead hang pull-up. 

What these do is build the necessary strength to be able to eventually do a single pull-up, we’re strengthening the muscle under lengthening. 

In addition to strengthening, these have another benefit of increasing muscle mass.

These can be also used to de-load at the end of a workout if you can no longer do any pull-ups and want to damage your muscles further.

Related: How Long Should Calisthenic Workouts Be?

Inverted Row

1. Grab the bar with an overhand grip with both hands.
2. Take your feet and place them in front of you with heels touching the ground
3. Brace your core
4. Pull yourself up
5. Once you get to the top pause for a second
6. Let yourself down slowly

Pointers

• When pulling yourself up retract your scapula for better muscle engagement
• Adjust the width of your grip to make it more comfortable

This exercise has a myriad of benefits, it’s easy to do and is great for building the necessary strength for pull-ups. 

If you’re in a gym, you’ll have the benefit of adjusting the height of the bar to make it more difficult or easier.

Everyone does this exercise because it hits certain areas of your back more than pull-ups but there is less weight involved so, it’s best to do this towards the end of your workout.

Wall Pull Ups

1. Stand a few inches away from a door frame or pillar
2. Grab the pillar with both hands
3. Stand straight and move your feet close to the pillar with your arms extended leaning back
4. Pull yourself towards the pillar so your back muscles are engaged. 
5. Pause for a second
6. Slowly go back to starting position

Pointers

• If you feel one arm working more than the other change the top and bottom positions of your hands and alternate
• The closer your feet are to the wall the harder it’ll be
• Keep your body straight throughout the whole movement.

This is great for beginners who don’t have a bar to use for the inverted row or who don’t have the necessary strength to do inverted rows. 

Grabbing a doorframe or pillar makes it to that you can adjust the difficulty to your level. 

It is great to use at the end of your workouts when you’ve done enough inverted rows to fatigue.

Chin-ups

1. Grab the bar above you with an underhand grip meaning, with your palms facing towards you
2. Start from a dead hand with your feet crossed behind you or if you want more of a challenge, extend your feet slightly out in front of you.
3. Pull yourself up slowly until your head is over the bar
4. Hold for a second
5. Let yourself down slowly to a dead hang
6. Rinse and Repeat

Pointers

• When pulling yourself up make sure to focus on the biceps
• In the middle of the movement when your head is over the bar your arms should be bent towards you as much as possible
• To maximize benefits restart from a dead hang
• Brace your core

This exercise is similar to the standard pull up but your hands are in a different position. 

This version works your biceps a lot more than the other. It’s great if you want to target your biceps more and if you’re tired of doing standard pull-ups. Some people find this version of the pull-up easier than the standard version.

Ring Row

1. Start by sitting on your butt
2. Grab the rings above you
3. Extend your legs so they’re out in front of you with your heels touching the ground
4. Make yourself rigid
5. Make sure your grip is neutral
6. Pull yourself up slowly while focusing on your back muscles
7. Pause at the top
8. Slowly let yourself down

Pointers

• While pulling make sure your elbows are behind you at the top
• During the descent keep your body rigid and at the bottom
• Retract your back muscles while pulling to get a better mind-muscle connection

As you’ve noticed this exercise is just like the normal inverted row but with rings. 

Rings are more adjustable than a bar because you have access to the neutral grip and to hit all muscles equally this grip is the best. 

There are two other grips you can use and they have their benefits as well. It mainly depends on what muscles you want to target more. 

And another added benefit that rings provide is the ability to change leverage, the lower you go the harder the exercise is. This makes them better than a bar inverted row.

Hammer Pull-ups

1. Grab the bar with both hands facing each other
2. Start from a dead hand with your feet crossed behind you or if you want more of a challenge, extend your feet slightly out in front of you.
3. Pull yourself up slowly until your head is over the bar
4. Hold for a second
5. Let yourself down slowly to a dead hang
6. Rinse and Repeat

Pointers

• Brace your core through the whole movement
• In the middle of the movement when your head is over the bar your arms should be parallel towards you as much as possible
• To maximize benefits restart from a dead hang

This exercise is the middle ground it provides. It’s in-between overhand and underhand grip and has its own set of benefits. 

It hits the upper back muscle and more of your shoulders, and it doesn’t primarily focus on the back or the biceps but both at the same time.

Recommended Sets & Reps

Exercise	Sets	Reps
Pull-ups	3-4	4-7
Ring Row	3-4	6-10
Wall Pull	3-4	8-12
Eccentric Pull Ups	3-4	3-6

Muscles Worked from Pull Workouts

Calisthenics exercises are mainly compound exercises, meaning they work several muscles at the same time. The main muscles, the back, biceps, shoulders, and core will be used during this workout.

Related: 11 Calisthenics Isolation Exercises for Beginners

Back

The back is one of the largest muscles in your upper body and runs from your neck all the way down to your lower back. 

There are many layers and parts to your back muscles. 

The main ones are the Latissimus dorsi, the largest one, the trapezius located from the neck to the shoulders, thoracic erector spinae, the three muscles that run along your spine, and the infraspinatus which is located on the shoulder blade.

Biceps

The biceps are located on the front of your arm. 

There are two parts of it that work as a whole, the long head and the short one. The majority of calisthenics pulling exercises will use the biceps to some degree.

Shoulders

The shoulders consist of three parts. 

The front is called the anterior delts, the middle is called lateral and the back is called posterior.

Calisthenics pull exercises work mainly the back and middle, but there are pull exercises that do work all three at the same time.

Core

The core is located in the middle of your body, it connects your upper body to your lower. 

The muscles that make up the core are transversus abdominis, rectus abdominis, and external and internal obliques. 

Most calisthenics exercises use the core to keep yourself stabilized when moving through space.

Related: Calisthenics Push Workouts for Beginners