Assisted Chin Up
A chin-up on a counterweight machine: you kneel on a pad that pushes you up while you pull with an underhand grip, training your lats and biceps.
- Primary muscles
- Lats, Biceps
- Secondary
- Upper back, Forearm flexors
- Difficulty
- Beginner
- Logged as
- Assistance × reps
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Why do it
This is the usual starting point if you can't do a bodyweight chin-up yet. The machine takes off a set amount of weight, so you can do full reps with clean form and see exactly how much help you still need. The underhand grip brings your biceps in more than the overhand version on the same machine, which is why many people find it a little easier. Unlike a band, the help is the same at the top and bottom of the rep, so reduce it in small, steady steps.
How to do it
Set the counterweight: the more weight you select, the more the machine helps you. Grab the handles with an underhand grip about shoulder-width apart.
Step up, place your knees on the pad and lower yourself until your arms are straight and your shoulders are pulled down, away from your ears.
Pull yourself up until your chin is above your hands, keeping your elbows in front of your body.
Lower yourself under control until your arms are straight again. Log the counterweight as your assistance and use less of it as you get stronger, until you can do chin ups without help.
Common mistakes
Using so much help that it's easy
Heavy assistance turns the set into a ride on the pad. Pick a counterweight that makes the last reps hard, and take a little off when you hit your rep target.
Stopping short of straight arms
Starting each rep with bent elbows skips the stretch at the bottom. Lower until your arms are straight and your shoulders are pulled down, then pull again.
Letting the pad carry you down
If you relax on the way down, the counterweight does the lowering for you. Control the descent; it's half of the work.
Letting your elbows flare out
With an underhand grip, your elbows should stay in front of your body. Flaring them wide makes the grip awkward and takes your biceps out of the pull.
Sets, reps and progression
How many sets you do and how close to failure you take them depend on your goal and your week, not on the exercise. These guides cover it:
Alternatives that train the same thing
Same movement, a different angle or piece of equipment.
