Is the Feet-Elevated Pull-Up the same as a feet-elevated inverted row?

No. In a feet-elevated inverted row your body hangs nearly horizontal under the bar and you pull your chest to it, while here you start close to upright and pull until your chin clears the bar, the same path as a pull-up. If a row is what you are after, see the Barbell Inverted Row.

Is it harder than the Leg-Assisted Pull-Up?

For most people, yes. With straight legs resting on a bench your legs have far less room to help than with your heels on the floor, so your arms and back do more of the lifting. Master the Leg-Assisted Pull-Up first if you cannot reach the top here.

Should I use an overhand or an underhand grip?

The overhand grip shown here matches the pull-up, while an underhand grip turns it into a chin-up variation such as the Leg-Assisted Chin-Up. In a study of 25 young adults doing full pull-ups and chin-ups from a hang, the chin-up drew more activity from the biceps and chest, while the overhand pull-up drew more from the lower trapezius. Pick the grip that matches the pull you are working toward.

When should I move on to full pull-ups?

A good sign is about 3 sets of 8 to 12 smooth reps with your chin over the bar and very little push from your heels. At that point start adding a few Negative Pull-Ups and attempts at the full Pull-Up, and keep this variation for extra volume.

Feet-Elevated Pull-Up

What Is the Feet-Elevated Pull-Up?

Feet-Elevated Pull-Up is a compound exercise that primarily targets the back, especially the latissimus dorsi, and also engages the biceps, brachialis, forearms and the muscles between the shoulder blades. It is a beginner-level movement and a stepping stone toward the full Pull-Up: you hang from a low bar with your legs straight and your heels resting on a bench, so the bench supports part of your body weight while your arms and back lift the rest.

The pull itself is the same one you will use on a full pull-up. You take an overhand grip, start from straight arms and finish with your chin over the bar, which builds strength through the whole range rather than only the easy top half. Because your legs stay straight with only your heels on the bench, they can do little more than support you, which takes away most of the leg drive people sneak in from the floor. That is why most coaches treat it as the next step after the Leg-Assisted Pull-Up, where the heels stay on the floor.

The low bar and the bench can make it look like a row, but it is a different movement. In a Barbell Inverted Row your body hangs nearly horizontal under the bar and you pull your chest straight up to it. Here you start close to upright with your hips low and bent, drive your elbows down toward your ribs as in a pull-up, and rise up and slightly back until your chin clears the bar and your body forms a straight line from heels to head. The work stays centered on the lats rather than shifting toward the mid-back.

It suits beginners, lifters returning after a layoff and anyone working toward a first pull-up, and it is also a useful way to add pulling volume after your strict pull-ups are done. If you cannot yet reach the top, build up with the Leg-Assisted Pull-Up, the Scapular Pull-Up and the Dead Hang first. Once it feels easy, press less through your heels, pause with your chin over the bar or lower more slowly, then move on to the Negative Pull-Up and full pull-ups.

Muscles Worked

MuscleActivation

Latissimus Dorsi: Primary
Biceps Brachii: High
Brachialis: High
Teres Major: High
Brachioradialis: Medium
Infraspinatus: Medium
Lower Trapezius: Medium
Rhomboid Major: Medium
Deltoid: Low
Gluteus Maximus: Low

Instructions

Set a bar in a power rack at a height where you can sit under it and grip it with straight arms while your hips hang just above the floor.
Place a flat bench in front of the rack so that, with your legs straight, your heels rest on it.
Sit under the bar, rest your heels on the bench and grip the bar overhand, palms facing away, slightly wider than shoulder-width.
Hang with straight arms, your torso nearly upright and your hips low and bent, with your legs straight out to the bench.
Pull your shoulders down away from your ears, then drive your elbows down toward your ribs to pull yourself up.
Let your hips rise as you pull and squeeze your glutes, so your body finishes in a straight line from heels to head.
Keep pulling until your chin clears the bar.
Pause briefly, then lower yourself under control until your arms are straight and your hips settle back down.
Keep your legs straight and your heels on the bench for every rep.

Common Mistakes

Shrugging at the top
Letting the shoulders creep up toward the ears shifts the work off the lats and onto the upper traps and the front of the shoulder.
Cutting the range short
Stopping before the arms are straight at the bottom or before the chin clears the bar skips the parts of the rep that carry over to a full pull-up.
Pushing with the legs
Bending the knees or driving hard through the heels to bounce the hips up turns the rep into a leg-powered heave instead of a pull.
Leaving the hips folded
Keeping the hips bent at the top means the body never rises as one piece, so squeeze the glutes to finish in a straight line from heels to head.
Dropping into the hang
Falling quickly back to straight arms jolts the shoulders and elbows and wastes the lowering half of the rep.
Setting the bench too far away
A bench placed too far from the bar stretches the body toward a near-horizontal row, so set it where your legs are straight with your heels on the bench at the bottom.

Injuries

Feet-Elevated Pull-Up is a low risk exercise when performed with proper technique. The bench takes part of your body weight and you are never far from the floor, but the shoulders and elbows still do most of the work. The front of the shoulder can get irritated when you shrug at the top or let your shoulders roll forward at the bottom, and the tendons around the elbow can flare up when pulling volume jumps suddenly, especially if you drop quickly into each hang.

Set up before you load it. Lock the bar into the rack so it cannot roll out of its hooks, and use a flat bench that sits solidly on the floor so it cannot slide away from your heels. Start every rep by pulling your shoulders down away from your ears, lower yourself under control instead of dropping, and add sets and reps gradually over the weeks rather than all at once, since tendons adapt more slowly than muscles.

If it is too hard to reach the top with good form, go back to the Leg-Assisted Pull-Up or the Band-Assisted Pull-Up. When you can do every rep cleanly, progress to the Negative Pull-Up and then the full Pull-Up.

Stop the set if you feel sharp pain in the front or top of the shoulder, pain on the inside or outside of the elbow, or numbness or tingling in your hands. Pain that is still there the next day is a sign to cut the volume and get it checked before you train it again.

Overview

Primary Focus: Back
Equipment: Pull-up bar, bench, and body weight
Modality: Strength
Difficulty: Beginner

Alternative Exercises

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Is the Feet-Elevated Pull-Up the same as a feet-elevated inverted row?: No. In a feet-elevated inverted row your body hangs nearly horizontal under the bar and you pull your chest to it, while here you start close to upright and pull until your chin clears the bar, the same path as a pull-up. If a row is what you are after, see the Barbell Inverted Row.
Q: Is it harder than the Leg-Assisted Pull-Up?: For most people, yes. With straight legs resting on a bench your legs have far less room to help than with your heels on the floor, so your arms and back do more of the lifting. Master the Leg-Assisted Pull-Up first if you cannot reach the top here.
Q: Should I use an overhand or an underhand grip?: The overhand grip shown here matches the pull-up, while an underhand grip turns it into a chin-up variation such as the Leg-Assisted Chin-Up. In a study of 25 young adults doing full pull-ups and chin-ups from a hang, the chin-up drew more activity from the biceps and chest, while the overhand pull-up drew more from the lower trapezius. Pick the grip that matches the pull you are working toward.
Q: When should I move on to full pull-ups?: A good sign is about 3 sets of 8 to 12 smooth reps with your chin over the bar and very little push from your heels. At that point start adding a few Negative Pull-Ups and attempts at the full Pull-Up, and keep this variation for extra volume.