Is it true that … it’s harder for women to do pull-ups?

The differences in body types does mean that, on average, women find the exercise more difficult – but that’s not the whole story Pull-ups are a bodyweight exercise where you hang from an overhead bar, usually with an overhand grip, and pull yourself up until your chin clears the bar. “They’re a great upper-body exercise,” says Prof Leigh Breen, a specialist in muscle physiology at the University of Leicester. “They primarily work the muscles in the back, but also recruit the arms and the cor...

By Kate Lloyd