Pull-ups
Chin-ups
- Kit
- Pull-up bar
- Works
- lats · biceps
- Also
- mid-back · rear delts · forearms · core
The chin-up is a vertical pull from a bar with your palms facing you. That underhand grip brings the biceps in strongly alongside the lats, so most people can hold a chin-up longer than a pull-up. It suits anyone building pulling strength at home with nothing but a bar in a doorway or frame.
Form
How to do chin-ups
- 1Grip the bar with palms facing you, hands about shoulder width apart, and hang with arms straight and shoulders pulled down away from your ears.
- 2Squeeze your glutes and brace your middle so your body stays in one line, legs together or ankles crossed behind you.
- 3Pull your elbows down towards your ribs and bring your chin over the bar, exhaling as you rise.
- 4Lower under control until your arms are straight again, breathing in on the way down.
- 5Keep pulling for the length of the effort, and hang or step off the bar the moment your form breaks rather than swinging up.
Watch for
Common mistakes
Kicking and swinging the legs to get over the bar.
Fix: Cross your ankles and squeeze your glutes so the body stays still, and slow the movement down.
Dropping fast from the top and yanking on straight arms at the bottom.
Fix: Control the descent and keep light tension in your shoulders at the bottom instead of collapsing into the hang.
Shrugging so the shoulders ride up by the ears.
Fix: Start each pull by drawing your shoulder blades down, then bend the arms.
Variations
Easier and harder
Sessions