Chin Up Vs Pull Up: Which is Better for You

6 Best Quad Exercises at Home Reading Chin Up Vs Pull Up: Which is Better for You ? 12 minutes Next 3 EZ Bar Upright Row Variations

Jun 2, 20230 comments

Chin Up-Technique,Muscles Worked and Alternatives

How to Do a Chin Up

Usually, the back is trained with a narrow grip with the palms of the hands facing you. The point is that the movement stroke must be sufficient.

Grip the barbell with hands shoulder-width apart, and pull the sternum toward the bar. It is best to let the chest touch the bar and pull it as high as possible.
The lowering should be fully extended until the arms are straightened and the latissimus dorsi are fully stretched.
Increased engagement of the biceps, not just the lats.
The reverse grip position allows you to perform more movements or carry weight.
It is very similar to the grip pull-up.

Action process: grasp the horizontal bar with the backhand, the distance between the hands is shoulder-width apart, the body is suspended in the air, and the calves and legs are crossed; inhale, lift the body up, and when the jaw reaches the height of the horizontal bar, the chest is raised; exhale at the end of the movement.

The chin up requires high strength, and it is relatively easier for beginners to practice with high-position pull-ups. Some people can't even complete a standard pull-up. Pull-ups are not as simple as alternating hammer curls.

Of course, because the arm muscles share part of the load, the effect of chin ups on the back stimulation is not as strong as that of pull-ups.

Chin Up Muscles Worked

Chin-ups work for the same muscle groups as pull-ups, but in chin-ups we activate the pecs and biceps more, while the trapezius works more than chin-ups more obvious.

4 Chin Up Alternatives

If you're finding it difficult to find chin up bars at the gym, several good options may be useful for your workout at your home gym or even a variety of other locations. These include Bent Over Row, Dumbbell Pullover, V-Bar LAT pulldown and so on.

1.Bent Over Row

Step 1: Stand with dumbbells in both hands, arms straight, and dumbbells on both sides of the body.

Step 2:Then bend your knees and legs and bend down. Tuck your stomach and chest in and straighten your back.

Step 3:Start lifting the dumbbells until your upper arms are level with your shoulders, then lower them back down and repeat the movement.

Note: You need to ensure that your back is straight, the angle of dip is usually 30 degrees, the lower the angle the greater the stimulation of the upper back, the higher the angle the more force on the obliques. The weight used should not be too large, otherwise, it will lead to arching the back and bending the waist phenomenon.

2.Dumbbell Pullover

Step 1: Lie on your back on the bench, with your head slightly out of the weight bench, your legs bent, your feet slightly wider than your shoulders, the soles of your feet on the ground, your lower back relaxed, your hips down, your chest up and your abdomen in. Arms bent, hands crossed at the top of the head to hold the inside of one end of the dumbbell, palms up, and the dumbbell drooping.

Step 2: Hold the bell with both hands and slowly bend the elbows to the top of the head, then gradually bend the elbows until the upper arms are in a horizontal position, and the angle between the big and small arms is about 100-120 degrees. At this time, the pectoralis major muscle should be fully expanded, the thorax should be expanded, the abdomen should be tightened and the waist should be relaxed, and the buttocks should sink. When the dumbbell is lowered to the lowest position, use the strength of the pectoralis major and latissimus dorsi to lift the dumbbell along the original path until the arms are straight in front of the chest

3.V-Bar LAT pulldown

Step 1: Grab the V-bar and lift your arms up and over your head. Push your chest up and pull your shoulders back.

Step 2: Pull the V-bar to chin level (90 degrees) as you press your chest up against the barbell. Squeeze your shoulder blades together and keep your shoulders down. Take two to three seconds to return the V-bar to the extended position.

4.T-Bar Row

Step 1:Load the weight on one side of the barbell and secure the other end to the corner of the gym. Straddle a barbell and hold it at the weighted end.

Step 2:Pull the barbell toward your chest, keeping your elbows close to your body, and squeeze your shoulder blades together at the top. Lower to starting position and repeat.

Pull Up-Technique, Muscles Worked and Alternatives

How to Do a Pull Up

Hold the bar with your hands wider than shoulder width and pull your clavicle up towards the bar without swaying your body.
The wider the grip, the greater the stimulation of the back, especially the latissimus dorsi, whereas with a narrower grip than the shoulders, the brachialis and arm muscles will be heavily involved.
During the movement, try to keep the arms and elbows at the sides of the body, rather than leaning forward on the sides, to maximize the stimulation of the back muscles and minimize the involvement of the arms.

Action process: hold the fixed bar with a wide grip on the forehand, and hang the body in the air; inhale, pull the body upwards from the chest to the bar; stay at the top for a while, and then descend to the starting position.

Keeping the elbows close to the body during training can strengthen and contract the muscle fibers of the lateral part of the latissimus dorsi and increase the width of the back; the action of pushing the elbows back, raising the chest up, and making the mandible reach the level of the crossbar mainly contracts the upper part of the latissimus dorsi Medial and teres major.

Pull Up Muscles Worked

Pull-ups require a lot of strength, and can exercise the latissimus dorsi and teres major well. When the body is pulled upward to the highest point, the shoulder blades on both sides are close to each other, which can exercise the middle of the rhomboid and trapezius muscles. The lower part, of course, can also exercise the biceps, brachialis and brachioradialis

3 Pull Up Alternatives

Pull-ups aren't the only way to strengthen and tone your back muscles. The following alternatives can be very effective, especially if you can't get to the gym or prefer to work out at home.

1.Inverted Row

Step 1: Stand in front of a deep squat rack or Smith machine.

Step 2: Set the bar to the desired setting. Start at waist height. This will allow you to fully extend your arms while getting your body off the floor and burrowing under the bar to lie down

Step 3: Reach for the bar. Your arms should be fully extended so that you can hold the barbell with your front hand. Your body will be suspended or just off the floor, with your heels being the only thing in contact with the floor.

Step 4: Contract your core muscles and glutes to support your lower back and keep your body in a straight line from your torso to your feet.

Step 5: Pull yourself up and use your chest to lead. At the highest point of the movement, the barbell or rings should be at the same height as your chest. Throughout the movement, your body should remain straight with your hips and core tightened. The barbell does not need to touch your chest. Get as close to it as possible.

Step 6: Pause for a second to make sure your shoulder blades are retracted (imagine squeezing a small ball between your shoulder blades), then slowly lower to the starting position with your arms fully stretched.

2.Overhead Dumbbell Press

Step 1: Choose a suitable hex dumbbell or adjustable dumbbell. Stand with feet shoulder-width apart, toes pointing forward.

Step 2: Raise the dumbbells overhead, then return to the starting position. The lumbar and cervical spine should be neutral, the shoulders should be level, and the arms should be aligned with the ears.

3.Kettlebell Swings

Step 1: Swing the kettlebell back and forth from the crotch to the front of the body, repeat ten times on each side, keep the back in a neutral position, and when the kettlebell swings to the lowest point, extend the neck slightly and maintain a neutral position.

Step 2: Heels, soles and toes grasp the ground, knees face toward toes, and shoulders are locked, during the back swing of the kettlebell, the handle of the kettlebell should be higher than the knee joint, and when reaching the lowest point, the arms are straight. When the kettlebell is swinging upwards, the knee joint cannot move forward, and when the kettlebell is swinging to the highest point, the whole body is in a straight line.

Step 3: The hips and knees are fully extended, the spine is in a neutral position when the kettlebell is at its highest point, the arms are straightened, and the elbow joint is allowed to flex slightly.

Learn More: 25 Best kettlebell Workouts

Chin Up Vs Pull Up-Differences,Which is better

Differences Between Chin Ups and Pull Ups

1.Action Pose

The two movements begin with a different grip on the bar, with the pull up having the palm facing outwards and the chin up having the palm facing inwards. In performing the grip on the bar, the pull up is selected with a wide grip to complete the back muscle stimulation, while the chin up is selected with a narrow grip for the back training.

2.Stimulate Muscles

Chin up-Biceps

When the trainer uses the backhand narrow grip to exert upward force, the muscle groups generally rely on the arm muscles and back muscles, such as: biceps brachii and brachialis; the back muscles are involved in the teres major, latissimus dorsi Muscles, etc., because of the narrow distance and the backhand grip, the stimulation of the biceps of the arm is increased. To put it more clearly, when the body is pulled upwards, the biceps of the arm plays a decisive role.

Pull up-Back muscles

On the contrary, when we use the forehand to move upwards, although the biceps, brachialis and brachioradialis of the arm are also involved, it is the teres major, latissimus dorsi, rhomboids and muscles of the back that play a decisive role. For the trapezius muscle, it can be seen that doing pull-ups with a wide forehand distance will stimulate the back more strongly, but the skill requirements will be higher.

Which is better?

To sum up the two grips, the core of the chin up will be tightened better. When doing it, pay attention to keeping the elbow close to the body. The muscles stimulated are the lower trapezius, brachialis, biceps, quadriceps, pecs, lats, and abs. For the pull up, you should pay attention to the arched back. The best grip is shoulder-width or slightly wider than the shoulder. Its main muscle groups are the middle and lower trapezius, brachialis, brachioradialis, latissimus dorsi, rhomboids, and erector spinae.

Based on the above, we can easily find that chin ups are less difficult than pull-ups. The two grips stimulate different muscles, but the pull-up has a greater range of motion and is more difficult. So we can start with chin ups, and then slowly advance to pull-ups.