Tip For Pull-Ups Hang Weight in the Back Search Skip to content Menu Menu follow us Store Articles Community Loyal-T Club Loyal-T Points Rewards Subscribe to Save Search Search The World s Trusted Source & Community for Elite Fitness Training Tip For Pull-Ups Hang Weight in the Back The way most lifters add load to the pull-up leads to poor lifting mechanics and even back pain Here' s the simple fix by Kyle Arsenault March 2, 2016February 23, 2022 Tags Tips, Training Pull-ups and chin-ups are hard to beat when it comes to building a bigger, stronger upper body. The only problem with these vertical pulling staples? Well, you good get at them. You become stronger, more neuromuscularly efficient, or you lose fat. Now you're just working muscular endurance, not strength. So what do you do? Add weight. The most common method is to strap some plates to a weight belt, dangle the weight to front of your body, and go for it. But there's a problem. When you have a weight belt loaded with the resistance hanging between your legs anteriorly (to the front), the gravitational pull on the weights causes a forward and downward force on the pelvis. This tilts your pelvis causing excessive extension of the lumbar spine. Aside from the potential for increased pain or injury, the excessive tilt from the front-loaded belt causes upper body mechanics to be thrown off. To stay out of this position, you could work like crazy to keep the pelvis from being tipped forward. Unfortunately, the extra energy and focus it takes to keep the pelvis out of the anterior tilt will compromise the force you can allocate towards the pull. With the goal of pulling more weight, this would be counterproductive. A better way to load the pull-up or chin-up is to posteriorly load the body with the weight belt. Instead of having the weight hanging to the front, simply spin the belt around so that the weight is hanging to the back. With the weight to the back, your pelvis is passively pulled into a more neutral position. This not only provides better alignment up the chain, but reduces the energy it takes to keep you in that position. Now you can focus on completing the pull rather than keeping yourself out of the unwanted position. Get The T Nation Newsletters Don' t Miss Out Expert Insights To Get Stronger, Gain Muscle Faster, And Take Your Lifting To The Next Level related posts Training Chest Training for Natural Guys Whether you've got a weak chest, mobility issues, technique problems, or are just cursed with droopy pecs, this will show you how to fix it. Bench Press, Bodybuilding, Chest, Training Akash Vaghela November 1 Training Your Best Month Of Training EVER What are you planning to do for the next four weeks in the gym? Follow these 7 steps and you'll have your most successful month ever. Bodybuilding, Training Charles Staley October 19 Training Tip Fix a Weak Core with Specialty Squats Build core stability and a stronger squat with these two challenging moves. Check 'em out. Training Tom Sheppard February 1 Training The Top Seven Ways to F Up in the Gym The aim of this article is to touch upon some of what I consider to be the more common and damaging "mistakes" used in strength training. It Hurts Fix It, Training Ian King April 2