Back · Pulldown and pull-up
Negative Chin-Up (Underhand)
The Negative Chin-Up (Underhand) mainly trains your lats and biceps. Also working: upper back and forearms.
Bodyweight
Pull-up bar
Stable
How to do it
- Jump up from a bench or stool, palms facing you, chin over the bar
- Hold briefly at the top, elbows in front of your body
- Lower evenly over 4–5 seconds
- Don’t drop at the bottom, step down, jump up again
Coach’s tip
With an underhand grip your biceps help you brake. That makes it the easiest way into negatives for most people. Once it gets easy, switch to the overhand grip.
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, 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 Negative Chin-Up (Underhand) work?
Mainly the lats and biceps. The upper back and forearms help.
What can I do instead of the Negative Chin-Up (Underhand)?
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 Negative Chin-Up (Underhand) 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.