Leg-Assisted Pull-Up Hold
What Is the Leg-Assisted Pull-Up Hold?
Leg-Assisted Pull-Up Hold is a compound exercise that primarily targets the back and also engages the biceps, forearms and rear shoulders. It is a beginner-level movement in which you pull yourself up from a seated position under a low bar to the top of a pull-up and hold there for time, with your heels staying on the floor and carrying part of your body weight.
The top of the pull-up is where many beginners stall: the chin never quite clears the bar, or the shoulders roll forward and shrug as the arms finish bending. This hold lets you practice that finish position, chin at the bar, chest up and shoulders pulled down, at a fraction of your body weight and for longer than a single rep would last. Holds build strength mostly at and near the angle you hold, so this one works best as practice for the finish of the pull rather than as your only pulling exercise.
It usually sits early in a pull-up progression, next to Leg-Assisted Pull-Up reps, and is logged as time rather than reps. Once it feels easy, the next steps are the Feet-Elevated Pull-Up and then the Pull-Up Hold, which holds the middle of the pull with your whole body weight on the bar. Holding the chin above the bar with the feet off the floor is the flexed-arm hang long used in school and military fitness tests, and the Chin-Up Hold trains that position with an underhand grip.
The lats and the teres major do most of the holding, keeping the upper arms pinned down toward your sides, while the lower trapezius and rhomboids hold the shoulder blades down and back. The overhand grip shares the elbow work between the biceps, brachialis and brachioradialis; an underhand hold such as the Chin-Up Hold leans more on the biceps and many people find it easier. Thinking about driving your elbows down toward your back pockets, rather than pulling with your hands, helps keep the work in your back.
The hold suits beginners, people returning to pulling after time off and anyone who cannot yet support their full body weight at the top of a pull-up. If you cannot reach the top position even with your heels down, build up first with the Barbell Inverted Row and the Dead Hang, or bend your knees and plant your feet so your legs can help.
Muscles Worked
- Latissimus Dorsi
- Primary
- Biceps Brachii
- High
- Brachialis
- High
- Teres Major
- High
- Brachioradialis
- Medium
- Deltoid
- Medium
- Flexor Carpi Ulnaris
- Medium
- Lower Trapezius
- Medium
- Rhomboid Major
- Medium
Instructions
- Set a bar in a power rack, or use a low fixed bar, at a height you can just reach with straight arms while sitting on the floor beneath it.
- Sit under the bar with your legs straight out in front of you, heels on the floor and chest roughly under the bar.
- Grip the bar overhand, palms facing away from you, with your hands about shoulder-width apart.
- Brace your core and squeeze your glutes so your body will stay in one straight line from shoulders to heels.
- Pull your elbows down toward your sides and lift your chest to the bar until your chin is level with or just above it, letting your hips rise off the floor so only your heels stay down.
- Hold this position with your shoulders pulled down away from your ears, your chest up, your neck long and your legs straight and relaxed.
- Breathe in short, steady breaths and hold for the target time.
- Lower yourself under control until your arms are straight and you are seated, then let go of the bar.
Common Mistakes
Shrugging toward the ears
Letting the shoulders ride up hands the hold to the upper traps and the front of the shoulder instead of the lats.
Reaching with the chin
Craning the neck to get the chin over the bar strains the neck and hides a chest that has dropped away from the bar.
Pushing through the feet
Quietly driving through the heels or bending the knees mid-hold shifts the work to the legs, so keep the legs straight and relaxed unless you set up with bent knees on purpose.
Sagging hips
Letting the hips drop toward the floor breaks the straight line from shoulders to heels and turns the hold into a half-seated hang.
Holding the breath
Holding your breath for the whole set ends it early, so keep the core braced and take short, steady breaths.
Holding past the position
Staying on the bar after the chin has dropped and the elbows have opened trains a lower position than the one you meant to hold.
Injuries
Leg-Assisted Pull-Up Hold is a low risk exercise when performed with proper technique. Your heels carry part of your body weight and you can sit back down at any moment, so the load stays well below that of a full pull-up. The places that complain are the elbows, where the tendons of the elbow flexors and forearm muscles hold a sharply bent arm for the whole set, and the front of the shoulder, which takes over when the shoulders shrug or roll forward. Craning the chin over the bar can also strain the neck.
Warm up with a few easy rows or short hangs first. During the hold, keep the shoulders pulled down away from your ears, the chest up toward the bar and the neck long. Use holds of 10 to 30 seconds, end each one as soon as your chin drops below the bar, and lower yourself to the floor under control rather than letting go at the top.
To make it easier, bend your knees and plant your feet flat so your legs can take more of the load. To progress, move on to the Feet-Elevated Pull-Up, then the Pull-Up Hold and finally the Pull-Up. Stop if you feel sharp pain in the front of the shoulder or on the inside or outside of the elbow, or numbness or tingling in the hands, and cut back if elbow soreness lingers into the next day.
- Primary Focus
- Back
- Equipment
- Pull-up bar and body weight
- Modality
- Strength
- Difficulty
- Beginner
Alternative Exercises
Frequently Asked Questions
- Q: How long should I hold it?
Start with 3 to 4 holds of 10 to 30 seconds with full rest between them, and end each hold when your chin drops below the bar. Once 30 seconds feels steady, move to a harder setup rather than simply holding longer.
- Q: Is the hold enough on its own to get my first pull-up?
Not on its own. It strengthens the finish of the pull, but a systematic review of isometric training found that holding at longer muscle lengths built more muscle and carried over better to dynamic movement than holding at shorter lengths, and the top of a pull-up is the short end of the range. Pair it with full-range work such as Leg-Assisted Pull-Up or Negative Pull-Up.
- Q: How is this different from a Pull-Up Hold?
Here your heels stay on the floor and carry part of your body weight, so you can hold the top position long before you can support all of it. The Pull-Up Hold takes your feet off the floor and is held lower, with the elbows at about a right angle.
- Q: How do I make it easier or harder?
Bend your knees and plant your feet flat to let your legs help. To make it harder, rest your heels on a bench as in the Feet-Elevated Pull-Up, then move to the full Pull-Up Hold.
- Q: What kind of bar do I need?
Any sturdy bar you can reach with straight arms while sitting on the floor works, such as a bar set in a power rack or a low fixed bar. Make sure it is locked in place and cannot roll or lift out of its supports before you put weight on it.