Written by Garett Reid | NSCA, CSCS, CISSN, M.S.E.S.S
Fact checked by Kirsten Yovino, CPT Brookbush Institute
FACT CHECKED
While both pull ups and chin ups are fantastic compound upper body exercises, we often get asked: “Pull ups or chin ups, which one is better for building muscle and upper body strength? Which one should I do?”
Because this topic comes up time and time again, we’ve decided to answer the question in depth.
In this post, we are going to be comparing chin ups vs pull ups from all angles - the differences, the similarities, difficulty level, how they target the back, biceps and upper body muscles, and more. This will tell you everything you need to know about these two challenging and highly effective body weight exercises.
Table of Contents:
- Chin Ups vs Pull Ups: Which Is Better?
- What Are Chin Ups?
- What Are Pull Ups?
- Types Of Pull Ups & Chin Ups: Different Grips
- Chin Up vs Pull Up: Muscles Worked
- Pull Up & Chin Up Test
- Benefits of Chinups vs Pullups
- Comparing Chin Ups vs Pull Ups: Side By Side
- Chin Ups vs Pull Ups: FAQs
CHIN UPS VS PULL UPS: WHICH ARE BETTER?
When it comes to back exercises, every trainer and strength coach will tell you that everyone should do pull ups and/or chin ups. Both are universally recognized as the best exercises for building muscle and upper body strength in the back and biceps. This is why pull ups and chin ups are used as the primary test of physical conditioning and strength.
Let’s look at this from a militaristic view…
One of the main physical fitness tests for Marines is the pull up. However, the pull ups can be done with an overhand (pronated) grip or an underhand (supinated) grip. In other words, you can do either pull ups or chin ups during the test. What does this say? Well, the two exercises are equally important.
All that said, the question of "which is better" still comes into play, with “better” meaning more effective.
The short answer to “chin ups vs pull ups, which is more effective?” is…both are effective, but pull ups and chin ups are a bit different!
They are different in that they target the back and biceps differently (pull ups hit certain muscles better and chin ups hit certain muscles better), but they do in fact target all of the same muscles.
So, that means you could hit all of the muscles with just one or the other…BUT if you were to do both, then you would be giving your back muscles and biceps the best possible stimulation and overload for adaption (i.e. strength and muscle gains).
To sum it up, both are great, they hit all the same muscles yet they target certain muscles differently, and you should do both. Let's get into the details of why both are important.
WHAT ARE CHIN UPS?
The chin up is an exercise that involves pulling your body up from a dead hang position, getting your chin up over an elevated bar, using an underhand grip (supinated - palms facing you) with your hands about shoulder width apart.
If you're just starting to dip a toe into the world of pull ups and chin ups, you may even want to start with the dead hang first to build up more upper body strength.
What Muscles Do Chin Ups Work?
Chin ups will increase strength and build muscle and definition in your biceps, lats, rear delts, infraspinatus, mid-to-lower traps, teres major, and rhomboids, as well as your pecs, abs, obliques, erector spinae and forearms (improved grip strength!).
How to do chin ups:
- Grab the bar with both hands about shoulder width apart and your palms facing you (supinated grip).
- From a dead hang, retract your shoulder blades for shoulder stability, and pull yourself up until your chin is above the bar. Your elbows should be fully bent (like they would be if you did a bicep curl).
- Pause for a second at peak contraction and squeeze your shoulder blades down and in.
- In a controlled manner, slowly lower yourself all the way back down until your arms are completely straight.
- Repeat from number 2 above.
WHAT ARE PULL UPS?
The pull up is an exercise that involves pulling your body up from a dead hang position, getting your chin over the bar and chest as close as possible, using a pronated grip (palm away from your body).
With pull ups, the width of your grip can vary. The closer your hands are to each other, the easier it will be. However, the standard pull up is considered to be the wide grip pull up, which is about 5 inches wider than shoulder-width apart (as seen in the picture above).
What muscles do pull ups work?
Pull ups and pull up variations work your lats, biceps, traps, rear delts, teres major, infrasprinatus, teres minor, and forearms, as well as your rhomboids, pecs, erector spinae, abs, and external obliques.
As you can see, it’s a true compound exercises that pretty much hits your entire back and arms.
Pull ups and chin ups are not the funnest exercises by any stretch for most beginners because they are difficult. Comparing to other bodyweight exercises, such as push ups, pulling your body up over an elevated bar is significantly harder and requires a good amount of upper body strength. However, it is essential to achieving well-rounded, true fitness and athleticism.
How to perform pull ups:
- Get into the starting position by grabbing the bar with both hands slightly wider than shoulder-width apart and your palms facing away from you (pronated grip).
- From a dead hang, retract your shoulder blades and pull yourself up until your chin is above the bar.
- Pause for a second at peak contraction and squeeze your shoulder blades down and in.
- In a controlled manner, slowly lower yourself all the way back down until your arms are completely straight.
- Repeat from number 2 above.
TYPES OF PULL UPS and Chin Ups: EASIEST TO HARDEST GRIPS
Pull ups are probably the hardest and most effective bodyweight exercise there is. For beginners, and most women, the difficulty factor of pull ups keeps efforts at bay.
That’s a shame because if you give your best effort, your pull up game will actually progress very quickly. Moreover, it’s a milestone upper body exercise that anyone who takes fitness seriously should be doing.
What’s harder: pull ups or chin ups?
For most people, the following variations are the easiest to hardest (based on grip):
- Neutral-Grip (palms facing in at each other)
- Chin Ups (underhand grip)
- Shoulder Width Pull Ups (overhand grip)
- Wide-Grip Pull Ups (overhand grip)
For beginners, start with neutral grip and once you can do 10 or so reps, move on to chin ups. Once you can do 10 reps of chin ups, do shoulder width pull ups…and so on and so forth.
If you are having trouble performing any type of pull up, consider using a resistance band when starting off. A resistance band is a great way to get correct form down, leading to better results.
Although you will be moving on to standard pull ups as you get stronger, you can still do neutral grip pull ups and chin ups, as they are working your muscles differently (we are about to get into this) and they are all still very effective.
The point is, you want to be able to master the wide grip pull up at some point so you can have that in your arsenal. Wide grip is king because the further your hands are apart on the pull up bar, the harder the pull up will be because less muscles are getting involved (the wider, the more isolated the movement is on your lats).
Widening your grip is a form of progressive overload for your lats, whereas weighted pull ups are a form of progressive overload for your back as a whole.
PULL UP VS CHIN UP: MUSCLES WORKED
Chinups and pullups are incredible exercises for muscle activation in your back and biceps. In fact, they are among the best exercises of all for building muscle, alongside squats, deadlifts, bench press, and shoulder press.
Both chin ups and pull ups target all of the same muscles, and pretty effectively at that. However, generally speaking, chin ups will hit the biceps and upper back muscles (including the rear delts, infrasprinatus, teres major, and teres minor) slightly more effectively, whereas pull ups will target the lats and lower traps to a greater degree. So, the best bet is to do both on a regular basis.
If you can’t do pull ups, start with chin ups or even these pull up alternatives. At the end of the day, chin ups are working all of the same muscles. However, eventually you need to progress to pull ups. Remember, your lats are the biggest muscle in your back, so if you want to build a big v-shaped back, you need as much lat development as possible, and no other exercise, including chin ups, is as effective at building big, strong lats as the pull up.
As we mentioned, pull up and chin ups not only work the same muscle groups, but they also work multiple muscle groups. However, what's different is the degree to which those muscles get worked. So, let’s look at each of the primary movers individually to compare.
- Lats: The primary function of the latissimus dorsi is shoulder extension, adduction and horizontal abduction. And when we're examining lat exercises, both pull up and chin ups involve shoulder extension and shoulder adduction. Pull ups emphasize shoulder adduction due the overhand (pronated) grip flaring out your arms. Chin ups, on the other hand, place more emphasis on shoulder extension due to your arms being tucked to your sides. For the mid-to-lower part of the lats, a close grip chin up is best, and for the upper-to-mid part of the lats, a wide-grip pull up is best.
- Traps: The main function of the traps is to retract the scapula, which you'll consistently notice when performing trap exercises. This applies to the upper, middle and lower traps. Both pull ups and chin ups involve scapular movement, so either one will target your traps. Some say the chin up targets your traps more as you can get your chest higher up to the bar and squeeze your scapulars more at the top. While this may be true, pull ups are more difficult than chin ups, so your traps will be more activated simply because of that.
- Biceps: The two heads of the bicep have the same function, elbow flexion and supination and forearm supination.To make things straightforward, the chin up is more effective at building muscle and strength in the biceps, but the pull up is great too. With pull ups, the narrower grip, the bigger role the biceps will play. With wide grip pull ups, your biceps are playing a much smaller role, placing emphasis on your lats.
PULL UP & CHIN UP TEST
Before starting the test, it's important to know how many pull ups and chin ups you should be able to do.
Men should be able to perform at least 8 pull ups. This is average. Anything below that is a grade of fair or poor. 8-13 reps is considered above average, and anything higher than that is excellent to elite. Women should be able to perform between 1-3 pull ups to be considered average. 4-9 would be above average, and anything above 10 is excellent to elite.
For chin ups, men should be able to do 10 chin ups to be considered average. 10-15 is above average and anything higher than that is excellent to elite. Women should be able to do 1-3 chin ups to be considered average. 5-10 is above average and anything higher than that is excellent to elite.
All in all, you should be able to do a few more chin ups than you can pull ups when testing yourself. When first starting our, your chin up to pull up ratio will likely be 3-to-1, but as you get stronger, that ratio narrows.
The Test:
When it comes to the upper body, the pull up test (also called the chin up test) is the ultimate measure of strength and endurance. All you need for this test is a pull up bar or a power tower and your body. A straight horizontal bar is best and the standard for most tests.
Test yourself for both chin ups and pull ups. Do them on separate days. For most tests, chin up and pull up norms are the same. This is why military pull up tests allow for either grip variation.
BENEFITS OF MASTERING PULL UPS AND CHIN UPS
Looking for more reasons to start performing pull ups and chin ups? We'll give you seven good ones!
- Compound Exercise: Pull ups and chin ups are a multi-joint compound exercise. If you look at any weightlifter’s program, you will find pull ups in the mix. You may not find any other bodyweight exercises, but pull ups will always be employed. This is because they are part of the 5 big compound exercises: squats, deadlifts, bench press, shoulder press, and PULL UPS.
- Versatile: Pull ups are extremely versatile. By simply changing your grip (neutral, underhand, overhand, and grip width), and even body position, you can target your back and arms differently. One could argue that you could build a perfectly well rounded back with just pull up variations alone. All in all, if there was only one back exercise that you could do, it better be pull ups (sorry deadlifts). The risk to reward ratio for pull ups is way better too.
- Low Risk, High Reward: Pull ups and chin ups are among the top compound exercises for strength and hypertrophy. However, comparing to the others, pull ups are far safer. You get the same big rewards, but with a lot less risk. It's actually quite hard to hurt yourself when doing pull ups. Now, most exercises have some form of risk, so that’s not to say you shouldn't do the other compound lifts we mentioned, but it does make us particularly fond of pull ups. They are very easy on the joints.
- Easy Improvements: You will find that your muscles respond very well to pull ups. It’s probably the hardest exercise that’s the easiest to improve at. Ironic right? If you struggle with 1 or 2 pull ups today, we guarantee if you stick to it and do pull ups every day, you will be able to do 10 unassisted in a matter of 3-4 weeks.
- V-Shape: There is no better exercise for building the lats than pull ups. And if you want that sexy v-shape physique, you need solid lats. So, not only will you become more powerful by doing pull ups, you will also become more attractive thanks to better body composition in the form of a “V”.
- Grip Strength: Pull ups and chin ups build incredible grip strength and powerful forearms. Grip strength is important as having a strong grip will translate to improvements across the board. You will become stronger in deadlifts, rows, and all the other pulling exercises you do.
- Improve Strength, Endurance, and Hypertrophy: Last, but surely not least, pull ups and chin ups are great for building upper body strength. All of those muscles we mentioned make up like a third of your body. So, pull ups will be covering a huge basis of your strength, hypertrophy, and endurance training. If you want to build upper body strength, you need them!
In addition to these superstar benefits, pull ups and chin ups also help with decompression of your spine, opening your chest up, increasing shoulder mobility and range of motion, strengthening your shoulder joint complex (rotator cuff muscles), and better posture.
Chin-Ups vs Pull Ups: Comparing Side-By-Side
We've gone over a ton of information comparing the chin up vs. pull up. Here's a look at the two exercises side-by-side so you can see the similarities and differences.
|
Feature |
Pull-Ups |
Chin-Ups |
|
Hand Placement |
Overhand (Palms facing away) |
Underhand (Palms toward you) |
|
Target Muscles |
Lats |
Biceps |
|
Difficulty Level |
More challenging |
Beginners find chin ups easier |
|
Grip Width |
Wide |
Shoulder-width |
|
Movement |
Vertical pulling movement |
Vertical pulling movement |
|
Activation |
Emphasizes back muscles |
Emphasizes bis & chest |
|
Variations |
Wide grip |
Standard |
|
Equipment Needed |
Pull-up bar or similar equipment |
Pull-up bar or similar equipment |
|
Benefits |
Strengthens upper body & back |
Strengthens bis, forearms, & upper back |
|
Common Mistakes |
Swinging |
Not using full range of motion |
|
Progression Options |
Add weight with weight belt or vest |
Add weight |
|
Goal-Specific Use |
Great for overall upper body strength |
Focuses on building bis & forearm strength |
|
Precautions |
Ensure proper form to avoid injury |
Pay attention to wrist and elbow health |
FAQS ABOUT Pull Ups vs Chin Ups
More questions about pullups vs chinups? Let's answer them here!
Why can I do chin ups but I can’t do pull ups?
This is very normal. Chin ups are easier than pull ups. This is because chin ups put the biceps in a more active role, whereas pull ups take away much of the biceps activity, isolating the lats, which makes pulling yourself up considerably more difficult.
What if I can’t do chin ups or pull ups?
If you can’t do pull ups, let alone neutral grip pull ups or chin ups, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be doing them. There are many assisted pull up options to employ. When it comes to assistance exercises, here are some of the best types of pull ups, all of which are still very effective for building strength and muscle.
- Assisted Pull Up Machine: Most gyms have assisted pull up machines. With these assisted pull ups, you can decrease the weight assistance as you get stronger, until you eventually can do the pull up.
- Pull Up Assist Bands: Pull ups with resistance bands uses the same concept as above. As you get stronger, you can use lighter bands, until you are eventually not using any bands. Check out the 11 Best Resistance Bands on the market so you can perform these at home!
- Ask a buddy to assist you: Have a gym buddy spot you. He/She can put their hands on your hips and help you pull up.
Be sure to practice the different grip variations as well.
What do I do when I master the wide grip pull up?
When chin ups and pull ups become easy for you, it’s time to increase the difficulty. If you can do 10-15 reps of chin ups or wide grip pull ups for 3-4 sets, you can add weight to the movement by wearing a dip belt or a weighted vest. If you don’t have either, cross your feet and place a dumbbell between them. You could even throw on a heavy backpack.
Other ways to make pull ups and chin ups harder is by chaining the tempo. Practice slow pull ups with holds at the top, as well as explosive pull ups.
These are all great ways to continue increasing strength and building muscle.
How To Program PULL UPS AND CHIN UPS
When it comes to a well rounded exercise routine, we highly recommend doing pull ups and chin ups if you can.
Adding both chin ups and pull ups (as well as neutral grip pull ups) to your workout plan is easy. If you do full body workouts three times a week, you could do pull ups on day 1, chin ups day 2, and neutral grip on day 3.
If you do upper/lower body workouts, then you likely hit upper body twice a week, so do chin ups on one of those day and pull ups on the other.
If you do a 4-5 day bodybuilding split, then you probably hit your back once a week. That means you are doing around 6-8 exercises on back day. At least 2 of those exercises can be pull up variations (chin ups, shoulder width pull ups, wide grip pull ups or neutral grip pull ups).
As chin ups and pull ups are arguably the most effective back exercises you can do, you should be doing them every back session! The more, the better. And yes, you can do both on the same day!
Ready to master the pull up? Start following our Pull Up Progression Plan! Hoping to perform a pull up anytime, anywhere? Buy a Pull Up Bar For Your Home!
Garett Reid
Author