Chin-ups

4 × 5-10  ·  Equipment: Pull-up bar

Muscle groups: Back · Arms

How to do chin-ups

1. Grip the bar with your palms facing you (supinated grip) and hands shoulder-width apart.
2. Hang with your arms extended and pull your shoulder blades down and back.
3. Exhale and pull your body upward, driving your elbows down and back.
4. Rise until your chin clears the bar, without swinging your legs.
5. Lower with control to full extension, avoiding dropped shoulders.
6. Keep your core and glutes tight so your body rises as one block.

Mistakes to avoid

• Do not swing your body or kick to get up; the effort must come from the back and biceps.
• Avoid dropping your shoulders at the bottom; keep your shoulder blades engaged.
• Do not force your chin over the bar with a neck yank: reduce difficulty with bands.
• Stop if you feel elbow or shoulder pain and use assist bands until you get stronger.

Progression

• If you cannot do chin-ups, use an assist band or negative pull-ups (slow lowering) to build strength.
• Add 1 rep per week when you complete the sets with control and no swing.
• When you reach 3 sets of 8, add weight with a belt or vest to increase the load.
• Increase the lowering time to 3-4 seconds on some sets to raise time under tension.