The pull-up is the ultimate strength test for your upper body. But what grip width should you use for optimal performance?

The answer: a medium-wide grip, that is, slightly wider than shoulder width. This is the same grip width as with the overhead press. In the hanging position, your arms are more or less vertical.

From this grip you can not only create the greatest range of motion (ROM), you also relieve your shoulders and elbows the most.

ELBOWS

With a medium-wide grip, your elbows stick out slightly in front of your body. That provides more stretch in the lats, allowing you to put more power from that muscle.

You often see the pull-up performed with a wider grip, so that the elbows are next to the body instead of in front of it. This puts unnecessary and undesirable pressure on the shoulders and elbows. In addition, you limit the ROM and thus the effectiveness of the exercise.

AND A NARROWER GRIP?

If you place the hands closer together, the forearms and the brachialis take over part of the work. And those aren’t the target muscles of pull-ups, apart from the fact that they can produce far less force than the lats.