Pull Ups

People often confuse pull up and chin up. The chin up is an underhand or supinated grip, the pull up is a pronated grip (palms down). Depending on grip width, this tends to work higher and wider on the upper back. Because of the location of the lats (under the shoulders) they assist the shoulders especially in the overhead motions making them very important in terms of strength and stability. Start exercise hanging with eyes looking up at bar, chest up, lower back arched and knees bent. As you pull make sure you keep feet back and knees bent to use the entire extensor chain (hamstrings, glutes, lower and upper back). When knees rock forward on a pull up, it rounds the upper back and shoulders making the motion much more harmful to your shoulders and taking the tension away from your lats.