Chin-Up

With your palms facing you the biceps help more: you usually get an extra rep or two compared with a pronated grip, and it stimulates lats and biceps at once. A great first pull-up.

• Compound
• Bodyweight
• Intermediate

How to do it

• Underhand grip at shoulder width
• Start by depressing your shoulder blades
• Chin over the bar without kipping
• Lower until you hang with your elbows almost extended

Sets, reps and tempo

Ranges: 5–12 reps · 1–2 RIR

Tempo: Pull for 1 s with an underhand grip, lower for 2–3 s in control

Common mistakes

• Swinging to get up
• Not extending fully at the bottom
• Letting your elbows drift forward instead of keeping them tucked

Muscles worked

Primary

• Lats

Secondary

• Biceps
• Back

Alternatives

• Pull-ups
• Lat Pulldown