Mixed Grip Chin
Also works: Biceps · Lats
A pull-up done with one palm facing you and one facing away, hands about an inch wider than shoulder width. The asymmetric grip changes what each arm does — the supinated side rows with the elbow tucked, the pronated side pulls with the lat — and it gives most people a few more honest reps than a strict chin or pull-up.
Own the movement
Set up first, then execute. Every cue below is something you can check on your next set.
Before the first rep
- Set your hands about an inch wider than shoulder width — one palm toward you, one away.
- Alternate which hand is supinated between sets, and write down which one you started with.
- Hang from a dead position, then pull your shoulder blades down before your elbows bend at all.
- Squeeze your glutes and brace your abs so your legs do not start swinging on rep three.
Every rep
Breathing & tempo — Inhale at the dead hang, hold the brace, exhale through the top half of the pull. One second at the top, three seconds down.
Sets, reps & load
Where to start, and what to change when it stops being hard.
Bodyweight first. You should own six strict chin-ups before this grip earns a place in a program, because below that the mixed grip is just a way to hide a weak pull. Once you can do ten clean reps, add 5 kg on a dip belt rather than chasing fifteen.
What goes wrong
The errors that show up most often, and the cue that fixes each one.
Swap the grip every single set and log it. Set 1 right-under, set 2 left-under, and so on — the alternation is the entire safeguard against the asymmetry.
Fix your eyes on a point on the bar and keep it centred between your hands. If it slides, stop the set — you have run out of the strength to hold square.
Stop at the last rep where your feet stay still. Add reps with a band or a slow negative rather than with a swing.
Touch a dead hang with elbows straight every rep. Count out loud at the bottom, not the top, so the pause is audible.
Why bother
Supinated and pronated pulls load the biceps and lats in different proportions. Doing one of each at the same time means neither arm is in its weakest position, which is why a mixed grip usually beats your pull-up max by one or two reps without any change in strength.
That asymmetry is also the cost. Your torso will drift and rotate slightly toward the supinated hand, and the two shoulders sit in different amounts of external rotation for the whole set. Alternating which hand is which on every set is not optional housekeeping — it is what keeps the imbalance from accumulating.
Where it fits
Use it as the second vertical pull of a back day, or as a way to add reps when your strict pull-ups have stalled at five or six. It is not a replacement for a symmetric chin-up; run it for a block of four to six weeks, then go back and retest the strict version.
If this one isn't it
No kit, too hard, or too easy — here's where to go instead.
Same job, different kit
Start here instead
When this gets easy
Asked and answered
Why can I do more reps with a mixed grip than with a normal pull-up?
Because neither arm is in its worst position. The underhand side gets a strong biceps contribution and the overhand side gets a strong lat line of pull, so the weak link that ends a symmetric set arrives later. It is a real effect, but it is leverage, not extra back strength — do not treat the higher number as a new pull-up PR.
Does the mixed grip cause imbalances?
It can, if you always put the same hand underhand. The shoulders sit in different rotation and the torso rotates slightly toward the supinated side for every rep. Alternating each set cancels the exposure. Never running more than a six-week block of it is the second safeguard.
Is this the same idea as a mixed-grip deadlift?
Same grip, different reason. On a deadlift the mixed grip stops the bar rolling out of your fingers. Here nothing is trying to roll — the grip changes which muscles do the pulling. If your hands are failing before your back, use straps or hang work instead of switching grips.
Should I use this or a neutral grip?
Neutral, if the bar exists. A neutral-grip pull-up gives you most of the same mid-range strength with none of the asymmetry, and it is kinder to cranky elbows. The mixed grip is the answer when the only bar in the gym is a straight one.