Exercise Guide

Towel Pull-up

A pull-up gripping towels over the bar instead of the bar itself. Same pull, brutal grip demand.

AdvancedStrengthPullCompound
Form
Towel Pull-up - Start position
Start
Towel Pull-up - Mid position
Mid
Towel Pull-up - End position
End

Illustrations by Bryl Lim for Workout Guide, after Everkinetic. Used unchanged under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Details

Primary Muscle

Lats

Equipment

Other

Difficulty

Advanced

Category

Strength

Force

Pull

Mechanic

Compound

Secondary Muscles

BicepsForearms
How to Perform
  1. 1

    Hang two towels over a pull-up bar, roughly shoulder-width apart.

  2. 2

    Grip one towel in each hand near the bottom and hang with your arms straight.

  3. 3

    Pull until your hands reach chest height, keeping your shoulders down.

  4. 4

    Lower under control to a full hang.

Tips
  • Grip will fail long before your back does - that is the point, and why reps will be low.
  • Grip lower on the towels for a longer range and a harder hold.
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