Chin Up

Description

The chin-up is a vertical pulling exercise performed by hanging from an overhead bar with an underhand (supinated) grip and pulling your body up until your chin clears the bar. The underhand grip places the biceps in a stronger position, making the chin-up easier than the pull-up for most lifters and one of the best biceps-and-lats combination exercises.

Muscle Group

Back, Biceps, Latissimus Dorsi

Equipment Required

Bodyweight

Chin Up Instructions

Reach up and grip a sturdy pull-up bar with an underhand grip (palms facing you), hands roughly shoulder-width apart.
Wrap your thumbs around the bar and hang with arms fully extended, feet off the floor. Cross your ankles behind you for stability.
Pull your shoulder blades down and back, away from your ears, to set the start position. Brace your core.
Pull your body up by driving your elbows down toward your ribs. Focus on bringing your chest to the bar, not just your chin.
Continue pulling until your chin is clearly above the bar. Pause briefly at the top with your shoulder blades pinned together.
Lower yourself under control to a full hang with arms completely straight. Do not drop down; the eccentric builds strength.
Avoid kipping or swinging. Quality strict reps are far more valuable than partial sloppy reps.
Repeat for the desired number of reps. Add weight via a dip belt or weighted vest as you get stronger.

Chin Up Form & Visual

Chin Up Benefits

Builds the lats and biceps more heavily than the pull-up
Easier to progress to your first rep than the pull-up due to biceps mechanical advantage
Builds grip strength and shoulder stability
Highly portable — needs only a pull-up bar
Strong predictor of relative upper-body strength
Can be progressed indefinitely by adding weight