Leg-Assisted Pull-Up
What Is the Leg-Assisted Pull-Up?
Leg-Assisted Pull-Up is a compound exercise that primarily targets the back and also engages the biceps, forearms, rear shoulders and core. It is a beginner-level movement: you sit on the floor under a low bar, keep your legs straight with your heels on the ground, and pull your upper body up to the bar with an overhand grip. Because your heels stay planted and carry part of your body weight, you lift only a share of what a full hanging pull-up demands.
The exercise exists to bridge the gap between rowing movements and a strict Pull-Up. Unlike a Barbell Inverted Row, which pulls a nearly horizontal body toward the bar, it starts with your arms overhead and drives the elbows down toward your sides, so it rehearses the same vertical pulling pattern and the full range from straight arms to chin over the bar. It fits the vertical pulling slot of a beginner's upper-body or back session, and it also works as high-rep back work for more experienced lifters.
The lats do most of the work, helped by the teres major, while the biceps, brachialis and brachioradialis bend the elbows. As your body reclines into a straight line near the top, the rhomboids and rear shoulders join in much as they do in a row. Grip changes where the work goes: in a study of hanging pull-ups and chin-ups in healthy young adults, the underhand chin-up drew more biceps and chest activity, while the overhand pull-up drew more from the lower trapezius. The Leg-Assisted Chin-Up gives the arms a bigger share, and the Leg-Assisted Pull-Up (Wide Grip) shortens the pulling range.
It suits beginners, people returning to training, and heavier lifters who cannot yet pull their full body weight. If it is still too hard, build up with the Dead Hang and Scapular Pull-Up for grip and shoulder control, or hold the top position with the Leg-Assisted Pull-Up Hold. Once it feels easy, the Feet-Elevated Pull-Up takes the floor out from under your hips, and the Negative Pull-Up is the usual next step toward a strict pull-up.
Muscles Worked
- Latissimus Dorsi
- Primary
- Biceps Brachii
- High
- Brachialis
- High
- Teres Major
- High
- Brachioradialis
- Medium
- Infraspinatus
- Medium
- Lower Trapezius
- Medium
- Rhomboid Major
- Medium
- Deltoid
- Low
Instructions
- Set a sturdy bar in a power rack at a height you can just reach with straight arms while sitting on the floor.
- Sit under the bar with your shoulders directly below it, your legs straight out in front of you and your heels on the floor.
- Grip the bar overhand, palms facing away from you, with your hands about shoulder-width apart or slightly wider.
- Start with your arms straight and your hips resting on the floor. Brace your core and pull your shoulder blades down and back.
- Drive your elbows down toward your sides and lift your chest toward the bar. Your hips leave the floor as you pivot on your heels.
- Keep your legs straight and your glutes lightly tight so your body stays in a straight line from heels to head. Let your heels support you without pushing off them.
- Pull until your chin clears the bar.
- Pause briefly, then lower yourself under control until your arms are straight and your hips touch down lightly.
- Reset your shoulders and repeat.
Common Mistakes
Pushing off the heels
Driving the rep with a heel press or a hip thrust shifts the work from your back to your legs and turns the pull into a bridge.
Sagging hips
Letting the hips drop or fold as you rise breaks the straight line from heels to head and shortens the pull.
Shrugging into the pull
Starting each rep with your shoulders up by your ears instead of setting the shoulder blades down loads the neck and the front of the shoulder.
Cutting the range short
Stopping with your chin below the bar or never straightening your arms at the bottom skips the hardest parts of the pull.
Dropping back to the floor
Falling onto your hips instead of lowering under control wastes the lowering phase and jars the shoulders.
Setting the bar at the wrong height
A bar you cannot reach with straight arms while seated forces a bent-arm start, and one set too low turns the movement into a row.
Injuries
Leg-Assisted Pull-Up is a low risk exercise when performed with proper technique. Your heels carry part of your body weight and you start sitting on the floor, so the shoulders and elbows handle far less load than in a hanging pull-up, and there is no height to fall from.
The usual strain points are the shoulders, the elbows and, less often, the lower back. Shrugging toward your ears at the bottom or jerking your chin over the bar can irritate the front of the shoulder, high volume can aggravate the tendons on the inside and outside of the elbow, and letting your hips sag while you pull loads the lower back. Make sure the bar is locked securely in the rack before you sit under it, set your shoulder blades down before each rep, keep a straight line from heels to head, and lower yourself under control instead of dropping back onto the floor.
If you cannot complete clean reps, regress to the Leg-Assisted Pull-Up Hold or a Barbell Inverted Row set at a high bar. When the movement is easy, progress to the Feet-Elevated Pull-Up and then the Negative Pull-Up.
Stop if you feel a sharp or pinching pain in the shoulder, elbow pain that lingers after the session, or numbness or tingling in your hands, and have it assessed before you continue.
- Primary Focus
- Back
- Equipment
- Pull-up bar and body weight
- Modality
- Strength
- Difficulty
- Beginner
Alternative Exercises
Other Names for the Leg-Assisted Pull-Up
The Leg-Assisted Pull-Up is also known as:
- Seated Pull-Up
Frequently Asked Questions
- Q: How is the Leg-Assisted Pull-Up different from an inverted row?
You start sitting upright with your arms overhead and pull your elbows down toward your sides, which is a vertical pull like a pull-up. In a Barbell Inverted Row your body hangs nearly horizontal under the bar and you pull it toward your chest, which is a horizontal pull.
- Q: Should my legs help push me up?
No. Your heels stay on the floor and support part of your body weight, but the pull should come from your back and arms. If you cannot finish a rep without pushing off with your legs, build strength with the Leg-Assisted Pull-Up Hold first.
- Q: How do I make it harder?
Slow the lowering phase to about 3 seconds, then move to the Feet-Elevated Pull-Up, where your heels rest on a bench and your hips hang free so your arms lift more of your weight.
- Q: When am I ready to try a full pull-up?
Once you can do 3 sets of 10 to 12 controlled reps with your chin clearing the bar, add harder steps such as the Feet-Elevated Pull-Up, Negative Pull-Up or Band-Assisted Pull-Up. Test a strict Pull-Up every week or two as those get easier.
- Q: Can I do this without a power rack?
Yes, as long as the bar is fixed and strong enough to hold your weight, such as a locked Smith machine bar or a low fixed bar at a park. Avoid improvised setups like a broomstick across two chairs, which can roll or collapse mid-rep.