Chin Up
A bodyweight pull on a bar with an underhand, shoulder-width grip: you pull until your chin clears the bar, working your lats and biceps together.
- Primary muscles
- Lats, Biceps
- Secondary
- Upper back, Forearm flexors
- Difficulty
- Intermediate
- Logged as
- Reps
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Why do it
The chin-up trains your back and biceps at once with nothing but a bar. Turning your palms toward you lets your biceps help more than in an overhand pull-up, so most people get a few more reps, and it's often the first bodyweight pull they manage. It suits anyone who wants a bigger back and stronger arms from one exercise. Once you can do clean sets of high reps, add weight or slow down the lowering.
How to do it
Grip the bar underhand at about shoulder width and hang with your arms fully extended.
Pull yourself up until your chin clears the bar, keeping your elbows close to your body.
Lower yourself under control until your arms are straight.
The underhand grip brings the biceps in more than a pull-up does, so most people manage a few more reps here.
Common mistakes
Starting from bent arms
Half reps let you do more, but they skip the bottom where your lats stretch. Lower until your arms are straight before every pull.
Kipping or swinging
Swinging your legs adds momentum and takes work off your back and arms. Keep your core tight and your legs still, and pull straight up.
Reaching with your chin
Craning your neck forward to get over the bar fakes the top of the rep. Keep your head neutral and pull until your chin clears the bar.
Letting your elbows flare
Keep your elbows close to your body. Flaring them wide makes the underhand grip awkward and takes away the biceps' help.
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.
