If you are in any form connected to a strength workout (especially in the gym), you must have come across the exercise called “chin ups”. Some beginners are confusing it with a pull up, but there is a big difference. They have both become a huge part of our weekly workouts. We must understand that even though there are some similarities, they are not the same and they have different influences on our bodies. If we learn how to use them both properly, our weekly workouts will not be the same, as we would be able to take full advantage of both.
List of Pros of Chin Ups.
More muscle groups are activated – yes, this is true. A proper chin up will get your lower back and your biceps going. The difference in the grip (the palms are pointing toward you) is engaging the biceps as well and thus you are actually hitting two birds with one stone. Because of the more developed biceps with some people, the chin up seems easier to execute. It also seems easier because when we are pulling up towards our center line, we engage the core and this adds more power. There are quite some secondary muscles benefiting from a good chin up as well – traps, pecs, forearms.
List of Cons of Chin Ups.
The chin up needs to be executed perfectly. When we are struggling, in the beginning mostly, we have the tendency to add the shoulder into the mix too much and this can lead to a potential injury. A grip that is too wide can bring up shoulder pain as well. A big no in this exercise is to have the bar behind our necks when we are pulling up.
Quite a lot of body control and strength is needed when in order for us to execute a proper chin up. As we are using only our body weight, beginners might have hard time operating it and getting a good, clean chin up. Most trainers advise to build up bicep and back muscle before we implement the chin up in our workouts.
As it can be very productive and it can deliver great results, the chin up can be quite tricky sometimes, so we need to make sure that we have the proper alignment. A good chin up can be very beneficial to us, but a bad one can bring us some serious pain.