Back · Pulldown and pull-up
Chin-Up
The Chin-Up mainly trains your lats and biceps. Also working: upper back and forearms.
Bodyweight
Pull-up bar
Stable
How to do it
- Palms facing you, start from a dead hang
- Shoulder blades down, chest to the bar
- Pull your elbows down in front of your body, chin over the bar
- Lower under control to just short of full extension
Coach’s tip
With an underhand grip your biceps help a lot: for many people this is how the first pull-up happens. Don’t drop abruptly into full extension at the bottom; your elbows won’t like it.
Noticeably loads the elbow. If you tell DCFT that this joint bothers you, the app leaves exercises like this one out and picks a better supported alternative.
Setup
Grip
Pull-up bar, underhand grip, shoulder width
Load
Bodyweight
Stability
A bench, the floor or the frame takes the counterforce, or the cable pulls straight up or down. Good for heavy sets.
Alternatives
Other exercises for the same movement (pulldown and pull-up). In DCFT you can swap with one tap, and the app only offers what your equipment allows.
Questions about this exercise
What muscles does the Chin-Up work?
Mainly the lats and biceps. The upper back and forearms help.
What can I do instead of the Chin-Up?
For the same movement: Pull-Up, Band-Assisted Pull-Up and Kneeling Wide-Grip Lat Pulldown. In DCFT you swap with one tap.
DCFT
The Chin-Up in DCFT
In the app this exercise comes with your weight: the plate to pin, what you lifted last time and a rest timer that starts by itself.
Free on the App Store for iPhone. Pro is a one-time purchase with no subscription.