Exercise Library / Chin-Up
Chin-Up
The chin-up pulls your body up to a bar with your palms facing you.
What this exercise does
The chin-up pulls your body up to a bar with your palms facing you. It builds the muscles of your back and the front of your arms, and it is one of the best measures of upper-body strength.
At a glance
- Muscles worked
- Lats, Biceps
- Experience
- Intermediate
- Equipment
- Pull-up Bar
- Good for
- Everyday Strength
How to do it
- Stand under a pull-up bar. Grab it with your palms facing you, hands shoulder-width apart.
- Hang with your arms nearly straight and your shoulders pulled down away from your ears.
- Pull your chest toward the bar by driving your elbows down and back.
- Lift until your chin is over the bar, or as high as you can go.
- Lower slowly to a straight-arm hang. Do 1 to 5 reps.
Common mistakes
- Kicking or swinging to get up.
- Jutting the chin forward to cheat the top.
- Dropping fast from the top.
Make it easier or harder
Make it easier
Use a resistance band looped over the bar and under your foot, or stand on a chair and lower yourself slowly.
Make it harder
Add a pause at the top, or add a weight belt.
Keep it safe
Hanging puts load on your shoulders and grip. Skip it if you have shoulder problems and use a lat pulldown or band row instead.
Related exercises
Pull-Up
- Type
- Strength Training
- Body area
- Back
- Experience
- Intermediate
- Equipment
- Pull-up Bar
Inverted Row
- Type
- Strength Training
- Body area
- Back
- Experience
- Intermediate
- Equipment
- TRX / Suspension, Pull-up Bar
Bent-Over Row
- Type
- Strength Training
- Body area
- Back
- Experience
- Intermediate
- Equipment
- Barbell, Dumbbells
Face Pull
- Type
- Strength Training
- Body area
- Back
- Experience
- Intermediate
- Equipment
- Resistance Bands / Cables
Lat Pulldown
- Type
- Strength Training
- Body area
- Back
- Experience
- Intermediate
- Equipment
- Weight Machines, Resistance Bands / Cables
