You may recall the classic pull-up as it’s like the chin-up, except the palms face away from the body. Some people know to use the pronated grip or overhand grip when they want to work the lower traps or lats rather than put the focus on the chest and arms. If you have trouble getting into the starting position, trying using a step stool.  Don’t forget to squeeze your abs as you lower your body into a hanging position.

The only difference between the wide grip pull up and the conventional pull up is the wide grip. Because of the difference, it puts more emphasis on the lats, where it should be in this case. While some people use an angled bar, use a straight bar. However, the range of motion will not be as great if you compare it to the conventional pull up and this is only because the arms are not as close.

This is perhaps the only pull up in which it’s okay to lean back in the starting position. You also want to grip the bar with a narrow grip meaning hands should be about eight inches apart. As you pull up, you should feel the intensiveness of the narrow grip in the chest, skeletal muscles, rear deltas, lower lats, upper arms, and forearms. 

The neutral grip pull up is yet another strengthening variation. And because there are variations in the grips, there will be differences in which muscle groups are affected. The neutral grip is not as difficult to do as the chin up, but it requires the right equipment, try using a set of parallel handles or a pair of gymnastic rings.