Double Pause Pull Up Overview
The double pause pull up builds your lats. Those are the big wing muscles on the sides of your back. It also works your biceps and your middle back. You hang from a bar with your palms facing away. You pull halfway up and pause. Then you pull to the top and pause again before you lower. The two pauses make this move very hard. They stop your swing and force your muscles to work at each stop. The double pause pull up is an advanced move. It suits people who can already do clean pull ups. It fits well early on a back day. Use it to build strong lats and better control. Keep your reps low and clean as you learn it.
What Is The Point of the Double Pause Pull Up?
The double pause pull up builds crazy lat strength and muscle control. You pause twice during each rep, which makes your muscles work harder and grow faster.
How To Do The Double Pause Pull Up
- Grip a pull-up bar with your palms facing away and your hands slightly wider than shoulder-width. Hang from a full extension with your shoulders active and your core braced.
- Set your shoulder blades down and back to start, thinking about pulling your elbows down toward the floor. Keep your body from swinging by staying tight.
- Pull yourself up to the halfway point, where your elbows are bent to about ninety degrees, and hold there for two to three seconds. This first pause loads the hardest part of the pull.
- From the halfway hold, continue pulling until your chin clears the bar. Keep your shoulders down and your chest driving toward the bar.
- Hold the top position for another two to three seconds, squeezing your lats and upper back hard. Fight any swing and keep your core tight.
- Begin lowering under control and stop again at the halfway point for a two to three second pause on the way down. This descent pause is brutal and builds serious control.
- Continue lowering slowly to a full dead hang with your arms straight, staying in control the whole way. Do not drop off the tension at the bottom.
- Reset and repeat for reps. With three long pauses per rep, this is very demanding, so aim for 3 to 6 strict reps per set.
Double Pause Pull Up Form Tips
- Grip the bar firm with your palms facing away. Set hands wider than shoulders.
- Pull your shoulders down before you start. Then pull up.
- Drive your elbows down toward your ribs. This turns on your lats.
- Hold each pause dead still. No swinging or kicking.
- Squeeze your back at the top pause. Feel your lats work.
- Lower slowly and with control. Fight gravity all the way.
- Breathe out as you pull up. Breathe in as you lower.
- Keep your belly braced the whole set. This steadies you.
- Straighten your arms fully at the bottom. Use the full range.
Common Mistakes to Avoid for the Double Pause Pull Up
- Skipping or shortening the pauses. The three holds are the entire point, so cutting them turns this into an ordinary pull-up. Count a full two to three seconds at each pause on the way up and down.
- Kipping to power through. A hip swing generates momentum that steals work from the lats and ruins the pauses. Stay strict and let your back do all the pulling.
- Not reaching the halfway pause cleanly. Stopping at a vague height misses the ninety-degree sticking point this move is built to train. Find a true halfway hold with your elbows bent to about ninety degrees.
- Falling into the descent pause. Dropping fast and then trying to stop crashes the joints and misses the eccentric benefit. Lower under control and arrive at the pause smoothly.
- Failing to clear the bar at the top. Stopping short cheats the top pause and the peak contraction. Pull until your chin is clearly over the bar before you hold there.
- Shrugging the shoulders up. Letting the shoulders ride up to the ears disengages the lats and strains the neck. Keep your shoulder blades pulled down through every phase.
- Cutting the bottom hang short. Not reaching straight arms skips the loaded stretch at the bottom. Lower all the way to a full hang each and every rep.
- Flaring the elbows too wide. A grip and elbow path that is too wide stresses the shoulders and reduces range. Keep a natural width and drive your elbows down.
- Holding your breath the whole rep. With three pauses, breath-holding leaves you gassed and weak. Breathe at the hang and brace through the pulls and holds.
- Adding load too early. Weighting these before you own strict bodyweight pauses wrecks your form. Master the bodyweight version first, then add weight slowly.
- Letting the pauses shrink as you tire. As the set gets hard, the holds tend to vanish. Keep each pause honest, and stop the set when you cannot hold them.
Double Pause Pull Up Workout Tips
- Count a full two to three seconds at every pause. Honest holds through the up and down phases are what build the control this move is famous for.
- Nail a true halfway pause at ninety degrees. Holding right at the sticking point builds strength exactly where most people stall on their pull-ups.
- Drive your elbows down toward the floor. That cue keeps the lats leading the pull and takes the strain off your arms working alone.
- Keep your shoulder blades pulled down throughout. A depressed, stable shoulder protects the joint and keeps the back fully engaged during every pause.
- Respect the descent pause. Holding at halfway on the way down is brutal and builds the kind of eccentric strength most lifters completely lack.
- Pull your chin clearly over the bar at the top. A full top position ensures a real peak contraction of the lats before the hold.
- Keep the reps low and strict. Three to six clean, honest reps are plenty given the three long pauses packed into every rep.
- Use these to break through pull-up plateaus. The paused holds attack your weak points and carry over directly to strict and weighted pull-ups.
- Brace your core to kill the swing. A tight trunk keeps you strict and keeps the work on your lats.
- Program these early on a pull day. The focus and strength they demand call for fresh muscles and a clear head.
- Lower to a full hang each rep. Reaching straight arms trains the stretched bottom position and a bigger range of strength.
- Film a set to keep your pauses honest. Video quickly shows if your holds and range are real.
- Progress by lengthening the pauses before adding weight. Longer holds raise difficulty without loading your joints more.
- Pair pull-ups with rows for a complete back. Vertical pulls build width and rows build thickness.
- Rest fully between sets. These are taxing, so give yourself real recovery to keep every rep strict.
- Stay patient and consistent. Strict paused pulling is a skill that builds serious back and grip strength over time.
Questions & Comments
Be the first to ask a question about this exercise.