Chin-Up
Also works: Biceps · Forearms · Middle Back
A vertical pull from a dead hang with the palms facing you and the hands inside shoulder width. The supinated grip puts the biceps in their strongest line of pull, so most people manage two or three more chin-ups than pull-ups — and the elbow flexors do enough of the work that this doubles as one of the best biceps builders in the gym.
Own the movement
Set up first, then execute. Every cue below is something you can check on your next set.
Before the first rep
- Grip the bar palms towards you, hands roughly 20-30 cm apart — closer than shoulder width.
- Wrap your thumbs around the bar. A thumbless underhand grip puts an unnecessary shear through the wrist.
- Hang with the arms straight, then pull the shoulder blades down and back so you are hanging from a set back, not from loose joints.
- Squeeze your glutes and brace your abs, with the legs either straight or crossed behind you.
- Lift your chest and set a slight arch in the upper back before the first rep.
Every rep
Breathing & tempo — Exhale on the way up, inhale on the way down. One to two seconds up, a beat at the top, three seconds down — the slow lowering is where most of the size comes from.
Before you load it
- If your elbows or the inside of your forearm ache after chin-up sessions, cut the volume and rotate in neutral-grip or overhand pulls. Medial elbow pain from underhand pulling is stubborn and takes months to settle once it takes hold.
Sets, reps & load
Where to start, and what to change when it stops being hard.
Bodyweight for as long as it gives you sets in the 6-10 range. If you cannot do one, work negatives — jump to the top and take five to eight seconds to lower — plus band assistance, three times a week. Once you hit 10 strict reps, hang a dumbbell from a dipping belt and go back to sets of five, adding 2.5 kg at a time.
What goes wrong
The errors that show up most often, and the cue that fixes each one.
Straighten the arms fully at the bottom of every rep and pause for a count. Log the honest number — five full-range chins beat nine partials for building the ones you cannot do yet.
Cross your ankles and squeeze your glutes so the lower body is one rigid unit. If you still swing, switch to negatives or a band until strict reps come back.
Aim to touch the bar with your upper chest instead. Poking the chin forward adds ten centimetres of neck travel and no additional pull.
Earn 10 strict full-range reps before hanging anything from a belt, and add in 2.5 kg steps after that.
Why bother
The biceps flexes the elbow and supinates the forearm. An underhand grip hands it both jobs at once and puts it in a strong position for the whole rep, which is why the chin-up is measurably easier than the overhand pull-up for nearly everyone. Bodyweight moving through the same range for more reps is not cheating; it is a different lift.
The lats still do most of the heavy work, but the narrow grip lets the elbows travel down and in front of the ribs, which brings in the lower lat fibres and the teres major more than a wide overhand grip does. As a biceps exercise it beats any curl on load alone — you are curling your bodyweight with the back helping, rather than 15 kg with the back cheating.
Where it fits
First on a pull day, twice a week, 3-5 sets of 5-10. If you also do heavy curls, put the chin-ups first and cut the curl volume — the elbow flexors have already had a serious session. Alternate weeks between chin-ups and pull-ups if you want both grips without hammering the elbow tendons.
If this one isn't it
No kit, too hard, or too easy — here's where to go instead.
Same job, different kit
Asked and answered
Chin-ups or pull-ups — which should I do?
Both, in different blocks. The chin-up lets you handle more load through the same range and gives the biceps a serious training stimulus, which makes it the better default for a beginner building their first reps and for anyone chasing arm size. The overhand pull-up puts a little more emphasis on the upper lats and is harder to cheat. Run one as your main pull for six to eight weeks, then swap.
Do chin-ups actually build biceps?
Yes, and better than most curls. The elbow flexors are working against your whole bodyweight rather than a dumbbell you can swing, and the load is heaviest in the mid-range where the biceps is strongest. They do not train the very top of the curl range or the brachialis in a shortened position, so a set or two of curls afterwards still has a place — just not four.
Is a neutral grip better than a chin-up?
It is kinder to the elbows and wrists, and for anyone with a history of medial elbow pain it should be the default. What you give up is biceps involvement: with the forearm halfway between pronated and supinated the brachialis does more and the biceps does less, so it is the worse choice if arm size is the point. Most people's rep count on it lands between their chin-up and their pull-up. Rotate all three grips across a block rather than picking a winner.
Should I cross my feet or keep my legs straight?
Whichever you can hold rigid. Crossed ankles with squeezed glutes is easier to keep tight for most people and gives the swing nowhere to start. Straight legs slightly in front — a hollow position — is harder on the abs but keeps you honest about kipping.