5 Step Chin-Up Guide
As a strong-ass woman, I know you have that same fantasy I had: being “that one” busting out chin-ups on the monkey bars or the perfectly-designed tree at the family BBQ.
A quick blurb on the different between chin-ups and pull-ups: Chin-ups require your hands to be supinated, or underhand, while pull-ups require your hands to be pronated, or over-handed.
What’s the difference? Well, having your hands supinated naturally recruits more assistance from the biceps which inherently makes this move slightly easier and better for beginners.
Getting your first chin-up is like unlocking a new level of strength—it’s not easy, but it’s totally possible with a bit of strategy, sweat, and consistency. Let’s break it down into four steps that will help you conquer the bar.
Step 1: Strengthen Your Pulling Muscles
If chin-ups are the main event, think of these exercises as the pre-game warmup.
To perform a chin-up, you need to build a strong foundation of pulling muscles—primarily the latissimus dorsi (lats) and biceps brachii. The lats are the largest muscles in your back and are primarily responsible for the pull in a chin-up. However, the biceps play a significant role too, along with your rhomboids, forearms, and stabilizers like the trapezius and core muscles. The goal here is to build up the strength you’ll need to haul yourself up to the bar like a pro and stop hanging there like a wet dishrag.
Why You Need to Train for Chin-Up Strength: Your muscles respond to specific demands (known as the SAID principle—Specific Adaptations to Imposed Demands). If you want to get better at chin-ups, you need to target the muscles involved directly. Integrating exercises that directly strengthen these muscles individually into your training at least 2-3 times per week will help increase muscle hypertrophy and neuromuscular efficiency, which will enhance your ability to perform the chin-up.
Key Exercises for Your Routine:
Lat Pulldowns: These mimic the pulling motion of a chin-up while strengthening your lats and biceps. Try for a full range of motion, focusing on contracting your back muscles. Research suggests using a moderately heavy weight (70-80% if your 1RM) for 5-7 reps will aid significantly in building strength and muscle. If you struggle feeling your lats in this exercise, try a wider grip and a 2-3 second pause at your chest, and imagine there is a string tied at each elbow and it’s being pulled very tight. Also be sure to keep your shoulders tucked down and in your “back pocket” to keep your traps from taking over the movement.
Dumbbell or Barbell Rows: These are compound exercises that work your lats, traps, biceps, forearms and rhomboids. Rows will help improve your pulling strength and posture—both of which are essential for chin-ups. Use a few variations and I always tell my clients to keep their shoulders away from their ears, and pull towards their belly button.
Bicep Curls: Strong biceps are crucial for pulling your chin over the bar. Like, more crucial than people give them credit for. Including curls in your routine will directly support the pulling phase of your chin-up. And don’t just grab the 8s and pump out 15-20 reps while jabbering away to your bestie - I’m talking slow and controlled heavy weight for those curls, ideally reaching within 0-2 reps of failure for 6-10 reps per set. It wasn’t until I got serious about my bicep curls did my chin/pull-up strength improve massively.
Face Pulls: Essential for shoulder health and scapular stability, face pulls will help prevent imbalances that can lead to injury as you train your pulling muscles.
Hollow Body Holds: These are a fabulous exercise that directly mimics the position your body should be in during a chin-up. Suck your lower back to the floor and build up to 30 second strong and controlled holds.
Dead Hangs: Literally just hanging from the bar can massively improve your grip and forearm strength in meaningful ways. Aim for a 20-30 second strong dead hang with a hollow body hold. The beneficial crossover will be hard to ignore!
Scapular Chin-Ups: Basically dead hangs with a little shoulder retraction, this is literally the initial movement pattern of a chin-up. Skip that retraction and chances are you will be using a lot of your traps to pull which won’t get you any closer to your goals. Practice scapular chin-ups every time you practice dead hangs to help solidify the movement pattern.
Remember, chin-up strength doesn’t just magically appear—you have to intentionally train for it. Dedicate a few sessions each week specifically to pulling exercises, and make them a non-negotiable part of your routine. It's like prepping for a showdown with gravity.
If you want a free guide that lays out a simple program for you, I got you covered…click HERE to snag it.
Step 2: Use the Correct Regressions and Rep Schemes
Whenever people think of doing chin-ups, they often jump straight to the assistance machine or banded chin-ups. The machines are just not as great with the crossover to actual, free-hanging chin-ups unfortunately, and banded chin-ups are often more suited for someone who is already doing chin-ups or very close to achieving one. So, start with regressions that not only have better crossover to the no-more-wet-dishrag world, but allow you to build strength in different phases of the chin-up.
My Favorite Regressions:
Inverted Rows: Think of these as chin-ups lying down. Almost. You pull your body horizontally toward a bar, which works similar muscles to the chin-up but at a reduced intensity. Adjust your body angle to make it easier or harder.
Chin-Ups from the Floor: By bending your knees and assisting with your legs, you can practice the chin-up motion while reducing the load. This allows you to work on form and control, crucial aspects of your chin-up success. There are also so many ways to progress this, from using less assistance from your legs to raising your feet on a bench as well as raising the bar close to a more chin-up ready position.
Here I am using a pronated grip - all of these regressions can be used for pull-ups as well as chin-ups
Box-Assisted Chin-Ups: If you can only do half of a chin-up, having a bench or box to push against at that sticking point can help you build to a full chin-up. Make sure you hang in that sticking point pulling as hard as you can for a good 1-2 seconds though - research shows that this time in the “sticking point” is part of what sends the messages to your brain to “get stronger…like, stat”.
Negative Chin-Ups: These focus on the eccentric phase of the movement, which is when your muscles lengthen under tension (as you lower yourself from the bar). Eccentric training has been shown in research to increase strength more effectively than concentric-only training. Not only this, but one of the areas people struggle with the most in a chin-up is the top 1/4 of the movement - you know, that moment when you actually get your chin over the bar and bar to chest. This movement helps train that last 1/4 so you will truly look like a pro when you master this move. Jump up to the bar in a chin-up position, then lower yourself slowly for 4-7 seconds. One thing to note is that these are very difficult - don’t get discouraged. If you are so far away from that 4-7 second recommendation, just build up to it.
Once you’ve nailed these, progress to banded chin-ups where the resistance band gives you an extra lift but doesn’t carry you through the entire motion.
Advanced Programming Techniques:
Rest-Pause Sets: Perform a few reps, rest for a short period (10-15 seconds), and then perform a few more reps. This technique allows you to accumulate more volume in a set while managing fatigue.
Cluster Sets: Similar to rest-pause, but instead of doing several reps at once, you perform 2-4 reps with 10-15 second breaks between them until you achieve your desired number of total reps. For example, you could do 2 reps with 15-second rest intervals four times to achieve 8 reps. This method improves endurance and strength in the long run without burning out early in your sets.
Step 3: Practice makes progress
Let’s talk about neuromuscular adaptations. In simple terms, the more you practice a specific movement (even at low intensity…actually, especially at low intensity), the better your brain and muscles become at coordinating it. This is known as motor learning. Practicing chin-ups consistently will refine your form and improve muscle memory, allowing your body to more efficiently recruit the necessary muscle fibers when performing the chin-up.
Daily Practice Strategy: Even on days when you're not actively training, aim to do 1-3 reps of an easier variation of the chin-up at around 60% effort. This could be as simple as hopping up on the bar and lowering yourself slowly in a negative chin-up, doing a few inverted rows, or doing a partial chin-up/scapular pull-ups to build familiarity. The science of greasing the groove suggests that this regular, low-effort practice helps improve your strength without overly fatiguing your muscles. By doing this most days, you’ll reinforce the neural connections needed to actually get better at the movement quicker over time.
Step 4: Progressive Overload and Consistency
The concept of progressive overload is the cornerstone of strength training. This principle states that in order to continually make gains, you need to gradually increase the demand placed on your muscles. For chin-ups, this means increasing the number of reps, reducing the assistance used (e.g., lighter bands, less assistance from the floor, etc.), or adding weight once you can perform 7-10 bodyweight chin-ups.
Why Progressive Overload Works: When you progressively increase the difficulty of your workouts, your muscles are forced to adapt to the increased load, which leads to muscle hypertrophy and strength gains. Studies have shown that training with progressive overload is the only way to stimulate greater increases in muscle mass and strength, making it an essential strategy for reaching your chin-up goals.
Example of Progressive Overload:
Week 1: Perform 3 sets of 5 reps of from-the-floor chin-ups
Week 2: Perform 3 sets of 6 reps with only one foot on the ground
Week 3: Put both feet on the bench and perform the same reps
Week 4: Add weight to your lap and perform the same reps
Week 5: Move to negative chin-ups, perform 1 or 2, then complete 4-6 reps from the floor the same way you did last week
Week 6: Do 2-rep-cluster-sets of negative chin-ups until you get to 6
Stay consistent with your training and be patient. Even if progress seems slow at times, remember that strength building is a gradual process. Consistency over time will win out and bring you closer to your first chin-up.
Building on Your First Chin-Up: Congratulations on hitting your first chin-up! Now that you’ve conquered that milestone, the focus shifts to increasing your rep count and building endurance. The key here is progressive overload combined with volume and variation. Start by incorporating more challenging variations like weighted chin-ups (even just 2.5-5 lbs added can make a big difference) and pause reps, where you hold the chin-up at the top for 1-2 seconds. You’ll also want to work on density training, which involves doing as many reps as possible within a set timeframe (e.g., 10 minutes) to increase volume. Continue practicing eccentric (negative) chin-ups and implementing rest-pause sets to squeeze out extra reps when fatigued. Remember, the goal is to progressively increase your total chin-up volume each week while maintaining good form. Consistency, combined with the right programming and recovery, will steadily build your chin-up endurance and strength, allowing you to crank out multiple reps with confidence! Don’t forget to continue to Grease the Groove - practice daily by hopping on that bar every time you pass it to hit a rep or two.
Step 5: Build Supportive Habits and Prioritize Recovery
Achieving your first chin-up doesn’t just happen in the gym; it’s a full-body commitment that requires proper recovery, nutrition, and the right habits to keep you moving forward. If your muscles don’t recover, they won’t grow—and if they don’t grow, your progress stalls. So let’s talk about the things you can do to speed up your chin-up journey outside of training.
1. Prioritize Recovery
Strength gains are made during recovery, not while training! This is when your muscles repair and rebuild stronger after being stressed during training. Here are a few key recovery strategies:
Improve Your Sleep: Aim for 7-9 hours of quality sleep per night. Sleep is when your body does most of its muscle repair and growth thanks to increased growth hormone levels. Skimping on sleep can slow your progress and leave you feeling fatigued in workouts. I know this is a hard area to control when life is full of stressful work and children, but guaranteed there is something you can change to help improve your sleep…there is more in your control than you are willing to see sometimes, so look deeper!
Stretch and Mobilize: Incorporating daily stretching or mobility work can help prevent muscle stiffness and improve range of motion, which is crucial for the overhead movement in chin-ups.
Active Recovery: On non-training days, try low-impact activities like walking, cycling, or yoga. This promotes blood flow to your muscles, helping them recover faster.
2. Fuel Your Muscles
Your nutrition is just as important as your workouts when it comes to building strength. Make sure your diet supports muscle repair and growth:
Protein: Since you're training for strength, make sure you’re getting enough protein—around 0.7-1 gram per pound of bodyweight is a good target to help with muscle repair. High-quality sources like lean meats, tofu, and eggs will help fuel your recovery.
Hydration: Don’t underestimate the power of water. Dehydration can impair muscle function and slow recovery. Aim for half your body weight in ounces of water daily, more if you're sweating a lot during training. Go ahead and throw in some electrolytes and creatine to really optimize your routine.
Carbs and Fats: Carbs provide the energy you need for intense training, and healthy fats support hormone production, including those that aid muscle repair, and nutrient absorption.
CALORIES: Simply put, you need to be eating enough overall. If you find yourself sluggish and making snails-pace progress, chances are increasing your overall calories will help.
3. Mindset and Patience
A large part of getting that first chin-up is mental. Staying motivated and keeping a positive attitude can make the process feel less daunting. Here’s how to maintain mental strength during your chin-up journey:
Set Mini Goals: Break down the larger goal of a chin-up into smaller, achievable milestones—like holding a dead hang for 30 seconds or improving your reps on inverted rows. These mini-wins will keep you motivated.
Visualize Success: Visualization techniques can help reinforce muscle memory and boost confidence. Spend a few minutes each day imagining yourself completing a perfect chin-up—science shows this mental rehearsal can actually improve physical performance.
Rest Days Are Productive: Remember, rest isn’t laziness—it’s an essential part of the process.
Set Your Expectations Accordingly: Progress in chin-ups, like with most strength training, can vary greatly from person to person depending on factors like your starting strength, body composition, consistency, and recovery habits. On average, most people can expect to see noticeable improvements within 6-12 weeks of consistent training. This might mean moving from banded chin-ups to full bodyweight chin-ups, or from partial reps to full range of motion. Remember, progress isn’t always linear—some weeks you’ll feel stronger, and others you might hit plateaus, which is completely normal. As long as you stay consistent, follow a plan prioritizing progressive overload, and give your body the time it needs to recover, you’ll keep moving forward. Celebrate small wins along the way, like increasing your rep count, decreasing assistance, or mastering a clean negative, because each of these steps brings you closer to that first chin-up!
Track Your Progress: Keep a training journal or use a workout app to track your reps, sets, and the variations you’re using. Celebrate the small victories—like when you move to a lighter band or add an extra rep—because those little wins are the foundation of achieving that first chin-up.
So hop up on that bar, stay patient, and don’t forget to laugh at yourself when you feel like a floppy sloth. Chin-ups are tough, but you’re tougher!
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It includes video tutorials for every exercise, so you can master the movements with perfect form and know exactly what to do at every step. Plus, with live weekly coaching calls, you’ll get real-time feedback, answers to your questions, and motivation to keep you on track. Combine that with custom nutrition plans tailored to your needs and an amazing community of like-minded individuals supporting you, and you’ve got the ultimate recipe for success. No more second-guessing your programming—just clear, actionable steps that will get you to your first chin-up and beyond. Come join us in The Squad, and let’s hit that bar together!
- Coach Jaime
Free 4 day per week Chin-Up Program
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