Commando Pull-Up

Muscles worked by the Commando Pull-Up

Primary

BicepsBiceps BrachiiLatsLatissimus Dorsi

Secondary

BrachialisBrachioradialisForearm FlexorsWrist Flexor MusclesObliquesOblique AbdominalsRhomboidsRhomboid MusclesTrapsTrapezius

Also called: bicep, biceps brachii, biceps muscle, guns, lats, lat.

Equipment

Pull-Up Bar

Also called: chin-up bar, chin up bar, power tower, pull up bar, doorway bar.

How to do the Commando Pull-Up

1. Grip the bar with the hands one in front of the other, palms facing each other, and hang with the arms straight and the body turned sideways.
2. Brace the trunk and pull the shoulder blades down to start the movement.
3. Pull yourself up, driving the elbows down, until your head clears the bar on one side of it.
4. Pause briefly at the top with the chest close to the bar.
5. Lower under control to a full hang.
6. Take the head to the other side of the bar on the next repetition, or swap the hand positions each set.

Form tips

• Keep the legs and trunk still; swinging turns the pull into a kip.
• Alternate the sides evenly so both arms and lats do the same work.
• Start with a few repetitions per set: the staggered grip is harder than a regular pull-up.

At a glance

Commando Pull-Up in German & Spanish

Descriptions, instructions and tips ship in all three languages in the JSON.

Related exercises

• Archer Pull Ups
• Assisted Pull Ups
• Band Assisted Pull Ups
• Behind-the-Neck Pull-Up
• Chin-Ups
• Close Grip Lat Pulldown
• Close-Grip Pull-Ups
• Lat Pulldown

Exercise data (JSON)

The record below is exactly what exercises.json ships for this exercise — names, descriptions, instructions and tips in English, German and Spanish.

{
  "id": "commando-pull-up",
  "name_en": "Commando Pull-Up",
  "name_de": "Commando-Klimmzug",
  "name_es": "Dominada Commando",
  "description_en": "A pull-up variation done with a staggered grip: the hands sit one in front of the other on the bar and the body is turned sideways, so the head passes beside the bar on each repetition. It demands more from the lats, arms and trunk than a standard pull-up.",
  "description_de": "Eine Klimmzugvariante mit versetztem Griff: Die Hände liegen hintereinander an der Stange und der Körper ist seitlich gedreht, sodass der Kopf bei jeder Wiederholung neben der Stange vorbeigeführt wird. Sie fordert Latissimus, Arme und Rumpf stärker als ein normaler Klimmzug.",
  "description_es": "Una variante de la dominada con agarre escalonado: las manos se colocan una delante de la otra en la barra y el cuerpo queda de lado, de modo que la cabeza pasa junto a la barra en cada repetición. Exige más a los dorsales, los brazos y el tronco que una dominada estándar.",
  "category": "strength",
  "force_type": "pull",
  "mechanic": "compound",
  "difficulty": "advanced",
  "equipment": "pull_up_bar",
  "body_part": "back",
  "primary_muscles": [
    "biceps_brachii",
    "latissimus_dorsi"
  ],
  "secondary_muscles": [
    "brachialis",
    "brachioradialis",
    "forearm_flexors",
    "obliques",
    "rhomboids",
    "trapezius"
  ],
  "goals": [
    "strength",
    "hypertrophy"
  ],
  "tags": [
    "pull_day",
    "calisthenics",
    "knee_safe",
    "no_axial_load",
    "lower_back_safe"
  ],
  "variation_group": "pull-up",
  "is_unilateral": false,
  "is_bodyweight": false,
  "instructions_en": [
    "Grip the bar with the hands one in front of the other, palms facing each other, and hang with the arms straight and the body turned sideways.",
    "Brace the trunk and pull the shoulder blades down to start the movement.",
    "Pull yourself up, driving the elbows down, until your head clears the bar on one side of it.",
    "Pause briefly at the top with the chest close to the bar.",
    "Lower under control to a full hang.",
    "Take the head to the other side of the bar on the next repetition, or swap the hand positions each set."
  ],
  "instructions_de": [
    "Greif die Stange mit den Händen hintereinander, die Handflächen zueinander, und hänge mit gestreckten Armen und seitlich gedrehtem Körper.",
    "Spann den Rumpf an und zieh die Schulterblätter nach unten, um die Bewegung einzuleiten.",
    "Zieh dich hoch und führe die Ellbogen nach unten, bis dein Kopf auf einer Seite über die Stange kommt.",
    "Halte oben kurz inne, die Brust nah an der Stange.",
    "Senke dich kontrolliert bis in den vollen Hang ab.",
    "Führe den Kopf bei der nächsten Wiederholung auf die andere Seite der Stange oder tausche in jedem Satz die Handpositionen."
  ],
  "instructions_es": [
    "Agarra la barra con las manos una delante de la otra, con las palmas enfrentadas, y cuélgate con los brazos estirados y el cuerpo girado de lado.",
    "Aprieta el tronco y baja los omóplatos para iniciar el movimiento.",
    "Sube llevando los codos hacia abajo hasta que la cabeza pase la barra por uno de sus lados.",
    "Haz una breve pausa arriba con el pecho cerca de la barra.",
    "Baja de forma controlada hasta colgarte por completo.",
    "En la siguiente repetición pasa la cabeza al otro lado de la barra, o cambia la posición de las manos en cada serie."
  ],
  "tips_en": [
    "Keep the legs and trunk still; swinging turns the pull into a kip.",
    "Alternate the sides evenly so both arms and lats do the same work.",
    "Start with a few repetitions per set: the staggered grip is harder than a regular pull-up."
  ],
  "tips_de": [
    "Halte Beine und Rumpf ruhig; Schwingen macht aus dem Zug einen Kipping-Klimmzug.",
    "Wechsle die Seiten gleichmäßig ab, damit beide Arme und der Latissimus auf beiden Seiten gleich viel arbeiten.",
    "Beginne mit wenigen Wiederholungen pro Satz: Der versetzte Griff ist schwerer als ein normaler Klimmzug."
  ],
  "tips_es": [
    "Mantén quietos las piernas y el tronco; si te balanceas, la dominada se convierte en un kipping.",
    "Alterna los lados por igual para que ambos brazos y dorsales hagan el mismo trabajo.",
    "Empieza con pocas repeticiones por serie: el agarre escalonado es más difícil que una dominada normal."
  ],
  "met": 6.0,
  "images": {
    "flat": {
      "start": "images/flat/commando-pull-up-start.webp",
      "peak": "images/flat/commando-pull-up-peak.webp"
    }
  }
}

Fetch just this exercise

const { exercises } = await fetch(
  "https://exercise-dataset.com/exercises.json"
).then(r => r.json());
const ex = exercises.find(e => e.id === "commando-pull-up");

Free for personal and commercial in-app use with attribution (“Exercise data by RepDB”) — see the license and ready-made attribution snippets. Redistributing the data as a dataset or API is not permitted.