This study analyzed muscle activation patterns using electromyography (EMG) during four variations of the pull-up exercise: traditional pull-up, suspension pull-up, kipping pull-up, and towel pull-up. The results showed that: 1) The kipping pull-up produced significantly lower EMG activity than the other variations for the latissimus dorsi, mid-trapezius, and biceps brachii muscles. 2) No other significant differences in muscle activation were seen between the traditional, suspension, and towel pull-up variations. 3) The kipping pull-up is the easiest variation on the back muscles out of the four exercises tested.