Chin Up
A pull up with your palms facing you. More biceps, and usually a few more reps.
- Lats
- Bodyweight
- Reps
What it works
Lats and upper back, with noticeably more biceps involvement than an overhand pull up. That extra help from the arms is why most people can do more chin ups than pull ups, and why it is often the better place to start.
Setup
- Take an underhand grip at roughly shoulder width. Narrower than a pull up grip.
- Hang with your arms straight and your shoulders active rather than fully relaxed.
- Squeeze your glutes and brace so your body forms a straight line, ankles crossed behind you if that helps.
The movement
- Pull your shoulder blades down and back to start.
- Drive your elbows down towards your ribs, keeping them fairly close to your body.
- Pull until your chin is clearly above the bar, with your chest travelling towards it.
- Lower all the way to straight arms under control.
- Stay still between reps rather than swinging into the next one.
Common mistakes
- Short range at the bottom: straight arms every rep. This is where chin up counts quietly inflate.
- Elbows drifting forward: keep them tracking down past your ribs rather than out in front of you.
- Wrist discomfort: if a straight bar bothers your wrists, use rings or a neutral grip handle instead. There is nothing special about the straight bar.
- Swinging into reps: if momentum is doing the work, the set is over.
- Never adding load: once you can do ten clean reps, add weight rather than chasing twenty.
Variations and alternatives
The pull up uses an overhand grip and puts more of the load on the back. The lat pulldown lets you set the weight exactly, which is far more useful for programming. A neutral grip, palms facing each other, splits the difference and is usually the most shoulder friendly option.
If a movement causes pain rather than ordinary training effort, stop and speak to a qualified professional. Programming context for this lift is in how training programs are built.