How to do Pull-ups with Healthy Posture

How to do Pull-ups with Healthy Posture

Esther Gokhale

Our company’s deepest goal is to support people in being more sturdy in the world. Posture is a key ingredient for this, as is fitness. It’s commendable when people take on a fitness regimen of any kind; the companion undertaking needs to be to learn how to do your regimen with good form.

People often sway their backs while doing pull-ups, especially towards the end of a set. This distorts your spine, loads your discs, and leads to a very unhappy back.
 


Monisha is wearing our Gokhale Spinetracker™ wearable device on her spine. The app (above, right) shows a visual representation of what is happening to your discs in real time. There is extra stress on the discs because of where the bending is happening.

 

The healthy way to do pull-ups involves engaging your internal obliques to keep your spinal alignment intact. This makes pull-ups more challenging for your arm and abdominal muscles while preserving your back health.


Here, the discs are happy! The vertebrae are nicely stacked, and you can see that L5-S1 is the only place where there is significant curve in the lumbar spine.

 

Do you do pull-ups as part of your workout regimen? Are you successful in preventing lumbar sway?

 

Comments

Submitted by JohnC on Thu, 06/14/2018 - 03:08

I am succesful in preventing a sway now - it makes all the difference to my low back. When my rib anchor wasn't yet strong enough to prevent a sway I used yoga blocks under my feet so I could keep good form,  as Monisha demonstrates in the 2nd photo, once you are strong enough the blocks can be dispensed with, but only if that sway is truly banished.

Submitted by DanaG on Thu, 06/14/2018 - 05:29

This certainly helps with pull-ups. However, please be wary of exercises in which your arms work above your head. The shoulder joint is poorly designed for this (unlike apes) and rotator cuff injuries are very hard to treat.

Submitted by SuprajaS on Thu, 06/14/2018 - 12:18

Please elaborate on this topic a bit more. I easily injure myself during pull-ups- is it because my obliques are not strong enough? Will it help to willfully bring my legs forward?

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