How is this different from a standard ring pull-up?

In the standard Ring Pull-Up the rings hang about shoulder width apart and the arms pull down from in front of the body. With the rings set wide, the arms pull down from the side, the elbows bend less and the range of motion is slightly shorter, which puts more of the shoulder in the work and less of the biceps.

How is this different from the ring archer pull-up?

Both arms pull evenly here, and the body rises straight up between the rings. In the Ring Archer Pull-Up one arm straightens out to the side while the other does most of the pulling, which makes it a step toward single-arm work and a harder exercise.

Does a wide grip build a wider back?

Not on its own. A 2026 review of EMG studies found latissimus dorsi activity during bar pull-ups broadly similar across grip widths and hand positions, so a wider grip is not a proven way to work the lats harder. Back size comes mainly from hard sets and total weekly volume, whichever grip you use.

How far apart should the rings be?

Hang the straps so the rings sit clearly outside your shoulders, around one and a half times shoulder width for most people. Go only as wide as you can pull through the full range of motion without shoulder pain.

Should the rings turn during the rep?

A small inward turn near the top is fine and often feels more comfortable on the elbows. Keep the palms mostly facing forward, though, because turning fully to a neutral grip usually pulls the rings in and turns the rep into a standard ring pull-up.

Ring Pull-Up (Wide Grip)

What Is the Ring Pull-Up (Wide Grip)?

Ring Pull-Up (Wide Grip) is a compound exercise that primarily targets the back and also engages the biceps, rear shoulders and forearms. It is an intermediate-level movement in which you hang from two gymnastic rings set well wider than your shoulders, palms facing forward, and pull your body up until your chin reaches the level of the rings.

The wide spacing is what separates it from the standard Ring Pull-Up. With the hands outside the shoulders, the upper arms travel down and in from the side rather than down from in front, so the pull becomes more of a shoulder adduction than a shoulder extension. The elbows bend less at the top, the range of motion is a little shorter, and the biceps and brachialis contribute less than they do with the hands closer together. The rings also move independently, so the shoulders and grip have to keep each ring tracking straight down instead of drifting in or out.

It should not be confused with the Ring Archer Pull-Up. In the archer version one arm pulls while the other straightens out to the side, shifting most of the load onto one side. Here both arms pull evenly throughout the rep and the body rises straight up between the rings, so the load stays shared and the challenge comes from the wide shoulder position and ring stability rather than from single-arm strength.

The exercise suits lifters who can already do several strict bar or ring pull-ups and want to vary the angle of their vertical pulling. If you cannot yet manage clean reps, build up with the standard ring pull-up, the Leg-Assisted Ring Pull-Up or the Feet Elevated Ring Row, and practice the Scapular Pull-Up to learn how to set the shoulder blades before the elbows bend. Wider is not automatically better, so pick a ring width your shoulders tolerate through the full range of motion.

Muscles Worked

MuscleActivation

Latissimus Dorsi: Primary
Lower Trapezius: High
Teres Major: High
Biceps Brachii: Medium
Brachialis: Medium
Brachioradialis: Medium
Deltoid: Medium
Flexor Carpi Ulnaris: Medium
Rhomboid Major: Medium
Infraspinatus: Low

Instructions

Hang the rings on separate straps so they sit about one and a half times shoulder width apart, high enough that you can hang with straight arms without your feet touching the floor.
Grip the rings over the top with your palms facing forward, hands clearly outside your shoulders.
Hang with your arms straight, bend your knees and keep your feet together behind you, and brace your midsection so your body stays still.
Pull your shoulder blades down and slightly together before your elbows bend.
Drive your elbows down and out to the sides, pulling your body straight up between the rings.
Keep the rings tracking straight down beside you, and do not let them drift inward or forward.
Pull until your chin reaches the level of the rings, with your hands beside your head.
Lower yourself under control until your arms are fully straight, keeping tension in your shoulders at the bottom.
Repeat for the desired number of reps.

Common Mistakes

Setting the rings too wide
Spacing the rings far beyond what your shoulders tolerate shortens the pull, strains the shoulder and usually ends in half reps.
Pulling with the arms first
Bending the elbows before drawing the shoulder blades down leaves the shoulders shrugged toward the ears and takes work away from the back.
Letting the rings drift
Allowing the rings to swing inward or forward as you pull turns the rep into a narrower, looser pull and reduces control at the shoulder.
Kipping or swinging
Using hip drive or leg swing to get up hides weak ranges and makes the unstable rings harder to control.
Cutting the range short
Stopping before the chin reaches ring level or before the arms straighten at the bottom skips the hardest parts of the rep.
Dropping into the hang
Falling from the top instead of lowering under control jerks the shoulders and elbows at full stretch.

Injuries

Ring Pull-Up (Wide Grip) is a medium risk exercise when performed with proper technique. The shoulders take most of the stress, because the arms work far out to the side under your full body weight. A motion-capture study of 11 experienced men doing bar pull-ups found that the wide grip reduced shoulder-blade movement and put the arm in positions linked with a narrower space under the acromion, a pattern associated with impingement risk. The elbows and forearms also work hard, since the grip has to steady two moving rings.

Set the rings only as wide as your shoulders tolerate, start each rep by pulling the shoulder blades down before bending the elbows, and lower under control to a full hang rather than dropping into it. Warm up with a Dead Hang and a few scapular pull-ups, and add volume gradually, since ring work loads the elbow tendons in a way a fixed bar does not.

If the wide setup is too demanding, bring the rings in to shoulder width for the standard Ring Pull-Up, or take load off with the Leg-Assisted Ring Pull-Up or an Assisted Pull-Up. Once clean sets of 8 or more feel solid, progress to the Ring Archer Pull-Up or add a small amount of weight.

Stop the set if you feel a sharp or pinching pain at the front or top of the shoulder, pain on the inside or outside of the elbow, or any numbness or tingling running down the arm. Narrow the rings or switch to a regression until you can pull without pain.

Overview

Primary Focus: Back
Equipment: Rings and body weight
Modality: Strength
Difficulty: Intermediate

Alternative Exercises

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: How is this different from a standard ring pull-up?: In the standard Ring Pull-Up the rings hang about shoulder width apart and the arms pull down from in front of the body. With the rings set wide, the arms pull down from the side, the elbows bend less and the range of motion is slightly shorter, which puts more of the shoulder in the work and less of the biceps.
Q: How is this different from the ring archer pull-up?: Both arms pull evenly here, and the body rises straight up between the rings. In the Ring Archer Pull-Up one arm straightens out to the side while the other does most of the pulling, which makes it a step toward single-arm work and a harder exercise.
Q: Does a wide grip build a wider back?: Not on its own. A 2026 review of EMG studies found latissimus dorsi activity during bar pull-ups broadly similar across grip widths and hand positions, so a wider grip is not a proven way to work the lats harder. Back size comes mainly from hard sets and total weekly volume, whichever grip you use.
Q: How far apart should the rings be?: Hang the straps so the rings sit clearly outside your shoulders, around one and a half times shoulder width for most people. Go only as wide as you can pull through the full range of motion without shoulder pain.
Q: Should the rings turn during the rep?: A small inward turn near the top is fine and often feels more comfortable on the elbows. Keep the palms mostly facing forward, though, because turning fully to a neutral grip usually pulls the rings in and turns the rep into a standard ring pull-up.