Chin-up
A pull-up with your palms facing you. The same movement with more biceps, and usually easier to earn first.
The movement
Narrow underhand hang
01 Narrow underhand hang
Hands shoulder-width, palms facing you, fists hanging under the bar.
02 Elbows drive down
Keep the elbows tucked in front of the ribs as the chest rises to the bar.
03 Chest to the bar
Finish higher than a pull-up, with the elbows squeezed beside the ribs.
How to do it
Setup
- Grip the bar with your palms facing you, hands about shoulder-width apart.
- Hang with straight arms and your shoulders set, thumbs wrapped around the bar.
Execution
- Pull your elbows down and back until your chin clears the bar.
- Keep your chest travelling toward the bar as you rise.
- Lower all the way to straight arms under control.
Form cues
- Pull your chest to the bar rather than your chin over it.
- Return to a full hang before starting the next rep.
Common mistakes
- Stopping short of straight arms at the bottom.
- Swinging your hips forward to start the pull.
Worth knowing
- This grip loads the inner elbow, and a lot of volume can irritate it. Build up gradually and mix in other grips across the week.
General guidance, not medical advice. See how Setkit works.
Notes
Turning your palms toward you changes more than it looks. The biceps can now pull at full strength, which is why most people manage a rep or two more than they can with the overhand grip. It also makes this the best arm builder in the library that is not a curl.
That extra help is why the chin-up is usually the first vertical pull anyone owns. It gives you everything the pull-up gives you, working the lats, upper back, grip and trunk, at a slightly lower entry price. While overhand reps are still out of reach, this is the version to train.
Program the two as siblings rather than rivals. Use chin-ups for volume and arm work, pull-ups for the wider back position, and hold both to the same standard of a full hang at the bottom and a chin clearly over the bar at the top.