Australian Pull-Ups Guide: Master the Bodyweight Row

Learn how to perform Australian pull-ups with perfect form. Improve your back strength, posture, and core stability with this essential bodyweight exercise.

How to Perform

  1. Position yourself under a waist-high horizontal bar or Smith machine bar and grasp it with an overhand grip wider than shoulder-width.
  2. Walk your feet forward until your body is in a straight line from head to heels and your chest is directly beneath the bar.
  3. Engage your core and glutes to maintain a rigid plank position while keeping your heels firmly planted on the ground.
  4. Pull your chest toward the bar by retracting your shoulder blades and driving your elbows back behind your torso.
  5. Pause briefly when your chest touches or comes close to the bar, ensuring your body remains straight and does not sag.
  6. Lower yourself back to the starting position with control until your arms are fully extended but not locked out.
  7. Perform the desired number of repetitions while maintaining strict form and a steady tempo throughout the set.

Common Mistakes

  • Sapping the hips or arching the lower back during the pull
  • Shortening the range of motion by not touching the chest to the bar
  • Leading the movement with the chin instead of the chest
  • Using momentum or shrugging the shoulders toward the ears

Muscles Worked

Primary movers

  • Back

Stabilizers

  • Biceps
  • Rear Deltoids
  • Core
  • Traps

Related Guides

Back · Shoulders