Pull-ups are a super exercise, and they're also misunderstood.
Pull-ups are a super exercise because they comprehensively strengthen the top half of the posterior torso mechanical chain. This chain of muscles holds the human body upright.
The human body is designed to 'pull' - we're natural climbers - and pull-ups are highly specific for this.
You should have pull-ups in your strength conditioning routine.
Should have, but many people don't.
The concept of the 'pull-up' is synonymous with the concept of the 'chin-up', whereby the object of the exercise is to hang and then pull until the chin reaches over the bar. It shouldn't be because this is the big misconception.
To get the effect you don't need to get your chin over the bar, or anywhere close to it for that matter. It's also not a necessary pre-requisite for progress in the movement.
There are three basic grips: underhanded or supinated, overhanded or pronated, and a neutral grip (palms face inwards toward each other), provided the apparatus provides this position.
The basic differences between them is that the neutral grip is the strongest arrangement of the available muscles, followed by the underhanded grip. The pronated or classic pull-up grip is the weakest of the three grip positions.
There is no best grip. Each provides a different arrangement of arm, shoulder, and back muscles. Cycle them to your hearts content.
What does matter is effort. Whether you can pull yourself most of the way, part of the way, or barely at all, pull with everything you've got. Effort creates stress in the soft tissues (muscles and connective tissues), and this is needed for strengthening, and it also gives feedback to the nervous system. It sends the message: I'd like to get better at these.
If you've read anything else I have written you might have seen this before. The brain is clever. All brains are extraordinarily clever. They are a self-taught, self-organising improvement machine. All they require is information in the form of sensory and mechanical feedback from the body and an idea (a program to enhance). A one-inch pull-up spontaneously becomes a two inch pull-up with persistence.
Jump stretch bands can be used to easily assist range of motion, and then scaled back as you get stronger.
Main points:
- Pull-ups comprehensively strengthen the torso regardless of how far you pull provided you work hard.
- Regular hardwork creates feedback for the nervous system to grow the movement.
- It is not necessary to get your chin over the bar. Just work hard for whatever you can do.
- Jump stretch bands can be used to easily assist range of motion, and then scaled back as you get stronger.
