One of the most frustrating exercises to make improvements on for many trainees is the Pull-Up and the Chin-Up. We often use the terminology for these two exercises interchangeably, but I guess there is some level of nominal agreement within the strength training world that Pull-Ups are done with an overhand grip (palms facing away from you) and Chin-Ups are performed with an underhand grip (palms facing towards you).
In the end it’s not terribly important which exercise you prefer, both exercises work the lats pretty thoroughly, but Chins give quite a bit more work to the biceps, which is why trainees can generally get more reps in this fashion.
I’ve tried basically every method you can think of over the last 10+ years with different trainees to see what works best and what doesn’t work at all.
Below are my thoughts and observations about what works and what doesn’t when it comes to improving chin up / pull up performance.
#1: Aim to Improve Chin Ups first…..Pull Ups Will Follow.
As Chins are easier to improve (which might mean getting from 0-1), get these strong first and your pull-up strength will eventually follow. Work your Chins hard until you can get about 8 of them and then start adding in Pull-Ups. At first, you’ll probably get about half the number of Pull Ups as you can Chin Ups, but they’ll improve fast. As you start improving your Pull Ups then you’ll start getting better at Chin Ups too. The two exercises will kind of wind up feeding each other.
#2: Don’t Waste Your Time With Negatives
Pretty much summarizes my thoughts on this methodology. Never had much luck with it.
#3: Use an Assist – But Do It Manually
First I’ll tell you that the “Gravitron” or Assisted Pull-Up Machine is a waste. In the several years I spent working at various Globo Gyms that had this piece of equipment I don’t think I ever once successfully moved someone off of this machine and into a real chin up or pull up. Resistance Bands are slightly better but not by much. The problem with using a machine or bands as an aid to get you up over the bar is that there is continual assistance through the entire movement. This is actually a bad thing. There will be parts of the pull up / chin up where you are able to complete some of the range of motion on your own, but these apparatus don’t allow you to do any of the work yourself. They give you aid even when you don’t need it. Also, sometimes you may be able to get 1-3 reps or so on your own but then you peter out and need assistance to complete more volume. These apparatus support you through an entire set, even when you don’t need it.
The better option is Partner Assisted Pull Ups with Forced Reps. This is admittedly hard to do if you train alone. But, as long as you instruct him or her correctly, your partner can cup your feet in their hands or place their hands on the small of your back, and give you assistance only where you need it. For instance, you may be able to get from a deadhang to about halfway up with your own strength and then get stuck in the middle of the rep, this is where your partner can give you a slight push to get you through that sticking point to allow you to finish the entire rep.
Or maybe it’s the inverse. You can’t get your fat ass moving from a deadhang, but once you get about halfway up you can complete a rep. Your partner can give you a little bit of a boost out of the bottom of the rep and then ease back on the amount of help they provide and let you finish the rep on your own.
For this to work, your partner should keep his hands on your feet or the small of your back for the entire rep, but only aid when he feels you start to stick.
Additionally, I like to do a couple of forced reps at the end of each set with partner assistance. So crank out as many as you can on your own and then have your partner help you with 2 to 3 additional reps with a spot.
This has been my most reliable method of increasing a trainees pull ups / chin ups over the years.
#4: No Partial Range of Motion – Learn to Pull From Your Lats
Many trainees who are weak on Pull Ups / Chin Ups like to shorten the range of motion and only go about halfway down each rep. This forces you to use mainly biceps and forearms to complete the movement. You’ll actually be stronger if you allow yourself to descend ALL the way down, feel your Lats stretch at the bottom of the movement and rebound out of the hole with your Lats. The Lats are obviously much bigger and stronger than the Biceps/Forearms so harness the power of the stretch reflex from the lats and learn to go all the way down, stretch, and EXPLODE out of the bottom with the power of your lats and then finish with your arms.
#5: Get The Grip Right
I see most people go too narrow on both exercises. Too narrow on Chins makes for a very long range of motion and a heavy dependency on the Biceps. Go about shoulder width or a just a tiny margin wider on Chins. Pull Ups should be done a good distance outside of shoulder width at first. A shoulder width or narrower grip on a Pull Up is very mechanically dependent on the strength of the forearms which is the weakest link in your chain. Go wider to shorten the range of motion a bit and get more into the lats.
#6: Use Lat Pulldowns to Build Volume and Muscular Endurance
In combination with regular Pull Up or Chin Up work, adding higher rep Lat Pulls to the mix is beneficial. This has the benefit of allowing you to do some “density work” for the muscles involved in the Pull Up / Chin Up and use the incremental loading ability of the Lat Pull machine to slowly build strength.
Usually I set up two workouts per week dedicated to improving Chin Ups / Pull Ups if this is something you want to focus on.
The first workout would be Chin Ups followed by Lat Pulls with a wider overhand grip. The second workout of the week would be Pull Ups followed by Lat Pulls with a narrower underhand grip. If you are weak on both exercises, aim for about 20-25 total reps of Chin Ups / Pull Ups each workout in as many sets as it takes to achieve that number. As a measure of progress look at the total number of reps you achieve on your first work set, as well as how many total sets it takes you to achieve each rep total goal. Over time, we want the number of reps you perform on set #1 to increase and the total number of sets you perform to reach your target number to decrease. When you can achieve your target number in 3 sets then bump up your total by 5-10 reps. Follow this up with 3-5 sets of Lat Pulls in the 8-10 range with short rest periods, full range of motion, and absolutely perfect form.
#7: Train Your Biceps
Tack these onto the end of your Chin Up / Pull Up / Lat Pull workout. I like the following set up:
- Day 1: Chin Ups (20-25 total reps), Wide Grip Lat Pull 5 x 8-10, Barbell Curl 3 x 8-10
- Day 2: Pull Ups (20-25 total reps), Reverse Grip Lat Pull 5 x 8-10, Hammer Curl 3 x 8-10
If you want to really prioritize your Chin Up / Pull Up strength it’s going to mean making some room in your weekly training split to give enough attention to the movements. If you suck at them you cannot just throw a couple of sets onto the end of a Squat, Bench, Deadlift workout and hope to improve on them. You can only accomplish so many goals at once. So if you want to prioritize these, make sure you are relatively fresh for each of your two weekly sessions and hit each of the 3 exercises HARD.
This may mean temporarily consolidating some of your other lifts/bodyparts into separate sessions at other points during the week so you can devote adequate time and attention to these exercises.
