Ring Pull Ups Versus Bar Pull Ups – The Ultimate Showdown
The ring and bar pull-up are both a staple in many athletes’ workouts.
But because they seem so similar, many beginners wonder what’s the benefit of doing one type over the other, and others are concerned they’re wasting their time doing the wrong one.
The subtle variations between the two have a considerable impact on your joint health, muscle development, and strength improvements. So, they aren’t interchangeable – instead, you must find the one that best suits your training program.
In our opinion, we prefer the straight bar pull-up over the ring pull-up since it’s more of an explosive movement. We go into why in more detail below, but first let’s establish the key differences between the two.
The (Less Obvious) Differences Between Both
Anyone can tell you “The difference between them is one uses rings, whereas the other uses a bar.” This isn’t new. What’s important, is how they differently affect your muscles, health, and progression. Let’s take a look…
Unique Handgrips
The main difference occurs at the very start of the pull-up: where your hands go. A bar pull-up uses a pronated grip; whereas a ring pull-up uses a neutral grip. Take a look at our illustration below:
The neutral grip is way friendlier on your joints because your wrists rotate in a much more natural position. Because of this, you don’t put them under as much stress or tension as opposed to a pronated grip.
This makes the ring pull-up more comfortable to perform and helps avoid wear and tear injuries, such as arthritis – especially in the deltoids and wrists. It also means anyone with an existing injury can train without causing further damage or irritation. A win-win!
Muscle Activation
Something else to consider when doing a ring pull-up over a bar pull-up is your muscle engagement. Surprisingly, they aren’t the same. Let’s explain…
- Core Engagement
During a ring pull-up, your core is significantly more engaged than a bar pull-up. This is because you aren’t held in a fixed position; so, your core contracts to maintain balance and stop you from shaking or falling. - Forearm Engagement
The same logic applies. During a ring pull-up, you want to stay stable; so, you squeeze harder and grip the rings more firmly than opposed to a bar pull-up. This makes the exercise a lot more intense on your forearms. - Bicep Engagement
We mentioned the different grips above. But did you know they activate different muscles too? A pronated grip engages the bicep considerably more than a pronated grip due to the biomechanics of the arm position. - Upper Back Engagement
What the bar pull-up lacks in the other three it certainly makes up for in the upper back muscles – especially your lats (latissimus dorsi). Due to the pronated grip, you’ll gain wider and much more defined upper back muscles than if you did a ring pull-up.
What does this mean for you?
Well, the ring pull-up is ideal for anyone wanting a full upper body workout, as it engages more muscle groups with a single movement.
However, if you want to isolate your lats, the bar pull-up is better suited.
Ultimately, you shouldn’t choose between them – but practice them together. This way you get the best of both worlds!
Stability
Bar pull-ups are secured to the ground – which makes the movement very linear.
You don’t have this luxury with ring pull-ups. Throughout the exercise, you must control the swing, rotation, and turning of each ring. This is as demanding on your muscles as it is on your brain!
So, apart from core activation, why is this such a big deal?
It means you can’t cheat form with a ring pull-up. Otherwise, you’ll be off balance and will be thrown back where you started.
This is a huge plus for professional athletes, that need to be strict. But, can also be demotivating for beginners who aren’t as confident in their technique.
Because of this, there is an awesome saying in the calisthenics community “Use the bar pull-up to understand the technique, but use the ring pull-up to master it.”
Which Is Better – A Ring Or Bar Pull-Up
Moving away from the differences, let’s answer the question of which is best.
Ring pull-ups are far better for muscle growth; whereas, bar pull-ups are better at increasing power/explosiveness. Because of this, you can’t say one consistently dominates the other, rather the best pull-up to practice depends on your personal fitness goals.
If you aren’t sure why this is, we outline it all below:
Ring Pull-ups Are Better For Muscle Growth
What most people are concerned about is muscle growth. And, to answer short and briefly – use ring pull-ups if this is your goal.
But, if you wanna know why – here’s everything you need to know.
Due to the instability of the rings, you must lift yourself much slower and with more control during a pull-up. As a result, it takes you longer to complete a single rep.
This means time under tension is held longer with a ring pull-up, as opposed to a bar pull-up. This makes it better for muscle development.
You can try it and see it for yourself…
Even though you’re lifting the same weight, you’ll take longer, and feel more fatigue doing 10 ring-pull-ups over 10 bar pull-ups.
Bar Pull-ups Are Better For Power
If your goal is to improve power, bar pull-ups are superior to ring pull-ups.
Power is improved via explosive movements. And fortunately, this is doable on a bar because you’re in a fixed position.
However, when you take it to the rings, you aren’t secure to a single spot.
So, the second you try an explosive pull-up you’re confronted with a load of momentum that takes you off balance. Not only is this ineffective for power, but also dangerous.
Should You Do Ring Or Bar Pull-Ups For Joint Health
“A ring pull-up is more personal than a bar pull-up.“
During a ring pull-up, you have full freedom on the angle, position, and direction you hold your arms, which makes it significantly better for your joints. In contrast, a bar pull-up forces your arms into an unnegotiable grip – which can cause pain or irritation.
Those with shoulder or wrist pain will be extremely grateful, and be able to instantly notice the relief.
It’s almost like you work the pull-up, and don’t let the pull-up work you. This is because you have a lot more freedom on your joints to find a natural hold.
This reduces the likelihood of wear and tear damage, such as rotator cuff tears, which ensures your joints rotate smoothly and without pain.
But wait, there’s more…
During a ring pull-up, you engage your shoulder stabilizer muscles significantly more. These are all the surrounding muscles of the ball and socket shoulder joint. This strengthens the joint and makes you less prone to injury.
So not only will the ring pull-up put less stress on your shoulder joint, but it also strengthens it. Bonus!
Which Is Harder – Ring Or Bar Pull-Ups
For all of the ring pull-up benefits, there’s a price to pay, and that’s its difficulty. You’ll notice you can only do a fraction of the amount of pull-ups on the rings as opposed to the bar. Here’s why:
The ring pull-up has a more complicated technique and is more muscle-demanding. Because of this, it’s more challenging from both the perspective of having to learn the movement and physically perform it.
For some people, the difference in difficulty between the two pull-ups is extremely apparent; but for others, it’s a minor inconvenience. It all depends on your current strength levels.
Regardless of where you fit on this spectrum, it’s always rewarding to know why. Let’s compare both techniques and muscle engagement in more detail…
Rings Have A Harder Technique:
Where a bar pull-up only requires brute strength, a ring pull-up utilizes balance, coordination, and strength. Juggling between these three fitness components takes some getting used to, and often means beginners take longer to learn it.
Rings Have A Harder Execution
Since you aren’t held at a fixed point, your stabilizer muscles, specifically those in your shoulders and core, work harder to keep you from falling. So, you use more energy and strength to complete a single rep than you would with a bar pull-up.Â
To make matters more difficult…
Due to the free movement of the rings, your arms fall into a natural position. And while this is great for your joints, it increases the distance you must pull yourself. Because of this, time under tension is longer; so, it’s more work for your muscles.
Conclusion – Which Is Better
Unfortunately, it’s not as simple as “Which Is Better” because they have completely different use cases. For example, an arthritic person will prefer ring pull-ups, but a bodybuilder will prefer bar pull-ups.
…And while this is true, we don’t think it’s the answer you want to hear.
So, to give you a definitive answer, let’s rephrase the question to, “If we could only pick one, which pull-up would we choose?“
For us, the answer is easy.
Ring pull-ups are kinder on your joints, have more engagement in your core and biceps, plus are better for muscle growth. But, despite these benefits, we pick the bar pull-up! This may come as a surprise to you, but hear us out.
The gains you get from a bar pull-up compared to a ring pull-up are so much more universal. Be bodybuilding, calisthenics, sports, or generic fitness – you’re put at a huge advantage. This makes it the ideal one exercise-fits-all.
The reason for this is all to do with your upper back muscles – bar pull-ups engage them more than ring ones. And correspondingly, your back is one of the most used muscles in any sport or activity. This makes for the perfect match!
Ring pull-ups are beneficial for particular scenarios. But it’s for this very reason why we wouldn’t pick it if we could only choose one.
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