Scapular pull-up

Hanging from the bar with straight arms, you raise your body a couple of inches using only the shoulder blades. It trains the lower traps and the scapular connection that holds up any pull-up, with no weight needed.

• Isolation
• Bodyweight
• Beginner

How to do it

• Hang with straight arms and shoulders “loose” up towards your ears
• Pull the shoulders down away from the ears: the body rises a couple of inches
• The elbows never bend at any point
• Hold for 1 s at the top and return under control to the hanging position

Sets, reps and tempo

Ranges: 8–15 reps · 1–2 RIR

Tempo: Up in 1 s with the shoulder blade only, hold 1 s and lower in 2 s under control

Common mistakes

• Bending the elbows and doing half a pull-up
• Swinging the body to gain range
• Shrugging the shoulders up instead of pulling them down

Muscles worked

Primary

• Traps

Secondary

• Lats
• Back

Alternatives

• Barbell Shrug
• Pull-ups
• Face Pull