Scapular Pull-Ups: How To Do, Muscles Worked & Benefits

Scapular pull-ups, or Scapula pull-ups, are among the best exercises for strengthening the upper back muscles and improving shoulder strength and mobility.

Adding a scapular pull-up to your workout routine can help you build muscle and strengthen weak spots in your shoulders and back.

It uses a smaller range of motion than a regular pull-up to activate your shoulders and back muscles.

The main difference between pull-ups and scapular pull-ups is that conventional pull-ups use your arms to pull you up. On the other hand, scap pull-ups work your back and use your arms isometrically and do little range of motion.

When performed correctly, scap pull-ups can lead to increased upper-body strength and improve the range of motion that your shoulders can do.

A scapular pull-up also helps you keep your shoulders in a good position when you do pull-ups or climb a ladder.

Know More: 28 Best Rhomboid Exercises for Strength and Muscle

Benefits Of Scapular Pull-Ups

Regularly performing scapula pull-up exercises are a good choice for training. Benefits include:

1. Keeps Your Shoulders Strong and Healthy

Think of your shoulders like a car’s steering wheel. If it’s wobbly or loose, the car feels unstable, right? Scapular pull-ups help stabilize and strengthen your shoulders by targeting the muscles that keep everything in place.

This is super important, especially if you play sports or do any kind of activity that uses your arms a lot.

2. Strengthening Scapular Depression

This is the primary action of the scapular pull-up. It strengthens the muscles that pull your shoulder blades down and back, primarily the lower trapezius and latissimus dorsi.

This is essential for correct shoulder mechanics and avoiding impingement (when tendons are pinched).

3. Activating the Serratus Anterior

The serratus anterior is like the unsung hero of shoulder stability. It moves forward and up, essential for overhead movements and shoulder function.

Scapular pull-ups directly engage this muscle, improving stability and preventing that winging.

4. Fixes Rounded Shoulders

If you spend a lot of time on your phone or computer, chances are your shoulders might be a bit rounded forward (we all do it, no shame).

Scapular pull-ups help pull your shoulder blades back where they belong. This improves your posture and makes you stand taller and look more confident.

5. No Fancy Equipment Needed

The best part is that you don’t need expensive machines or gadgets. All you need is a pull-up bar or anything you can hang from (even a sturdy tree branch works!).

This makes scapular pull-ups super easy to do anywhere, anytime.

Scapular Pull-Ups Muscles Worked

The muscles involved in Scapula pull-ups are:

• Primarily muscles Worked:  Serratus Anterior, Lower Trapezius
• Secondary and stabilizing muscles worked:  Trapezius (Middle and Lower Fibers), Rhomboids, levator Scapulae, Lats and Core muscles.

How To Do Scapular Retraction Pull Ups

Choose your sets and repetitions based on how many you can do without losing good technique. Or you can begin with 2–3 sets of 6-12 reps.

1. Hold your hands shoulder-width apart when you do the exercise for the first time. Start from a full dead hang. This means your arms are fully extended, and your shoulders are relaxed.
2. This position allows for full scapular protraction (movement forward) and sets the stage for proper retraction and depression during the movement.
3. While hanging from the bar, keep your abs and glutes tight to stay still and not swing back and forth.
4. Take a breath and initiate the scapular pull-up by bringing your shoulders back and down. Keep your arms straight.
5. From a full hang, with just slightly shrugged shoulders.
6. You want to draw the scapula down and together so your body is raised a little, but you don’t want to bend your arms and pull like you would with a regular pull-up. 
7. Hold the retracted position for a second or two, making sure to feel your back muscles working.
8. Then , return to the starting position. The range of motion is only a few inches.
9. Repeat for your desired number of repetitions.

Proper Form And Tips

Proper exercise technique is essential to ensure the safety and effectiveness of an exercise program.

• Keep a controlled motion and avoid jerky movements.
• Keep your back in a straight line without bending your elbows.
• Keep your chest tall and your shoulder blades pulled back throughout the exercise.
• You have to account for the training volume and avoid doing more than a few sets of scapular pull-ups at a time.
• Ensure you maintain some tension in your abs, and don’t allow your lower back to excessive arch.
• Incorporate proper warm-ups, rest, and nutrition into your exercise program to see continual progress and build body strength.
• Ultimately, your results will depend on your ability to recover from your workouts adequately. You should allow at least 36 to 48 hours of rest before training the same muscle groups again, to allow for sufficient recovery.

Progressing With Scapular Pull-Ups

You can make pull-ups for the scapula simpler by doing assisted pull-ups. This beginner version is easy to do because you aren’t lifting a large percentage of your body weight, and it doesn’t require much flexibility.   

As you get stronger, there are a few ways to increase the difficulty of scapula retraction pull-ups.

• Increase the number of reps and sets you perform. Start with 3 sets of 10–12 reps, and gradually increase the number of reps and sets.
• Add weight. You can add weight once you can comfortably do 3 sets of 15–20 reps. You can use a resistance band, a weight belt, or a weighted vest.
• Change your grip. A wider grip will make the exercise more challenging, while a narrower grip will make it easier. You can also try an underhand grip to challenge your biceps and forearms.

1. Assisted Scapular Pull-up

Start with an assisted pull-up if you’re new to the exercise. To do an assisted scapular pull-up, put a resistance band around the pull-up bar and put a foot in the other end of the resistance band. Then, do the exercise.

2. Weighted Scapular Pull Up

Scapular weighted pull-ups are a more advanced variation. Weighted pull-ups are strength-training exercises in which you wear weights while doing a pull-up.

If you’re an advanced climber with strong shoulders and pulling muscles, then the scapular pull-up with weight is for you.

Weighted scapular pull-ups can be performed using dumbbells or a dip belt with barbell plate weight if you don’t have access to a weight belt.

3. Close Grip Scapula Pull-Up

The Close Grip scapular pull-up is a beginning-friendly variation of the standard scapular pull-up exercise. As the name suggests, you hold the pull-up bar tightly, with your hands narrower than your shoulder width.

The close grip emphasizes the lower traps, rhomboids, and serratus anterior.

4. Wide Grip Scapula Pull-Up

A wide-grip scapular pull-up is an advanced variation of the traditional pull-up performed with a wider grip. This places more emphasis on the latissimus dorsi (lats).

Wide-grip scapular pull-ups require more shoulder flexibility than regular scapular pull-ups.

References

1. Tucker WS, Bruenger AJ, Doster CM, Hoffmeyer DR. Scapular muscle activity in overhead and nonoverhead athletes during closed chain exercises. Clinical journal of sport medicine. 2011 Sep 1;21(5):405-10.
2. Kibler, W. B., Ludewig, P. M., McClure, P. W., Michener, L. A., Bak, K., & Sciascia, A. D. (2013). Clinical implications of scapular dyskinesis in shoulder injury. ¹ Clinical biomechanics, 28(7), 700-705.
3. Ludewig, P. M., & Cook, J. (2000). Alterations in shoulder kinematics and associated muscle activity in people with symptoms of shoulder impingement. Journal of orthopaedic & sports physical therapy, 30(4), 186-196

Manish Kumar

Manish is a NASM-certified fitness and nutrition coach with over 10 years of experience in weight lifting and fat loss fitness coaching. He specializes in gym-based training and has a lot of knowledge about exercise, lifting technique, biomechanics, and more.

Through “Fit Life Regime,” he generously shares the insights he’s gained over a decade in the field. His goal is to equip others with the knowledge to start their own fitness journey.