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Information about Chin Up

The chin-up (also known as a chin or heaves) is a strength training exercise designed to strengthen the latissimus dorsi muscle.

Form

A chin-up has a specific form. The movement begins with the arms extended above the head, gripping a fixed chin-up bar (or bar attached to a pulley in the case of the similar pulldown exercise, with the palms facing away from the exerciser) with a supinated grip (palms facing the exerciser). The body is pulled up, or weight pulled down, until the bar approaches or touches the upper chest. The weight is lowered until the arms are straight, and the exercise is generally repeated.

Chin-ups can be performed with a kip, where the legs and back impart momentum to aid the exercise, or from a dead hang, where the body is kept still. Performing the chin-up correctly can be tricky because of the natural tendency to do most of the work with the biceps rather than the lats. Initiating the pull with the shoulder blades helps avoid this problem. The exercise is most effective when the body is lowered down to a full extension.

Chin-ups are often incorrectly referred to as pull-ups. The term pull-up is traditionally used when the exercise is performed with a pronated grip.

Muscles targeted

Chin-ups target the latissimus dorsi muscle, assisted by the brachialis, brachioradialis, biceps brachii, teres major, posterior deltoid, infraspinatus, teres minor, rhomboids, levator scapulae, middle and lower trapezius and pectoralis minor muscles. Chin-ups are thought to build the width and thickness to one's back, as well as promoting growth of the biceps, brachialis, brachioradialis and pronator teres.

Variations

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A weight belt can be used to add weight to a chin up
  • Sternal chinups — this variant employs an extended range of motion, raising the sternum to the bar.
  • Towel chin-ups — a towel is looped over the bar, and instead of the bar, the towel is gripped.
  • Weighted chin-ups — weight is added with a dipping belt or weight belt.
  • One handed chin-ups — one hand grips the bar and the other hand holds the wrist or forearm of the gripping arm.
  • One arm chin-ups — one hand grips the bar; the other hand hangs free and does not assist with the pull.
  • Drop chin-ups — the grip is released at the top of the movement, and the bar caught towards the bottom of the movement, to incorporate a slight drop. This variant is for advanced athletes only.
  • Supine chin-ups — in the supine position (with the feet initially supported), the arms are held perpendicular to the body as the grip the bar; the chest is pulled towards the bar instead of the chin. This exercise is performed in the horizontal (transverse) plane, whereas other chin-up variations are performed in the vertical (coronal) plane. As a result, this variation recruits the trapezius and teres major muscles much more than a vertical chin-up would and is often considered a type of row.
Beginners who are not strong enough to perform a chin-up may make use of an assisted chin-up machine, where one stands on a bar with a counterweight to reduce the weight that one pulls up. Another useful exercise for beginners is the negative chin-up, where one is assisted to the top position and executes a slow, controlled descent. These machines frequently also include a dip bar, allowing for assisted dipping.

References

External links

Weight training is a common type of strength training for developing the strength and size of skeletal muscles. It uses the force of gravity (in the form of weighted bars, dumbbells or weight stacks) to oppose the force generated by muscle through concentric or eccentric
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The latissimus dorsi (plural: latissimi dorsi) is the large, flat, dorso-lateral muscle on the trunk, posterior to the arm, and partly covered by the spinotrapezius on its median dorsal region.
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Form is a way of performing a movement to avoid injury and cheating.

'Proper form'

Exercises or drills in sport have a recognized way of performing the movements that have two purposes:

Avoiding injury


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Chin-up bars are playground equipment that were once ubiquitous on children's playgrounds. They are still important in the adult equivalent of a playground, the Par course.
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pulley (also called a sheave or block) is a wheel with a groove between two flanges around its circumference. The groove normally locates a rope, cable or belt. Pulleys are used to change the direction of an applied force, transmit rotational motion, or realize a mechanical
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The Pulldown exercise or the Cable Lat Pulldown is a compound exercise designed to stress and develop the Latissimus dorsi (Lat). To feel this muscle in its motion, stand with your elbow in the air 45 deg from vertical above and in front of your shoulder.
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Supination is the rotation of the forearm so that the palm faces anteriorly, or palm facing up (when the arms are unbent and at the sides).

The hand is supine (facing anteriorly) in the anatomical position.
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A pull-up is an upper body compound pulling exercise where the body is suspended by extended arms, then pulled up until the elbows are bent and the head is higher than the hands, utilizing an overhand (pronated) grip.
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Pronation is an anatomical term to describe a rotation movement[1]. Such movement can occur in the forearm (at the radioulnar joint) and the foot (at the subtalar and talocalcaneonavicular joints)<ref name="Kendall et al." />[2].
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The latissimus dorsi (plural: latissimi dorsi) is the large, flat, dorso-lateral muscle on the trunk, posterior to the arm, and partly covered by the spinotrapezius on its median dorsal region.
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The brachialis (brachialis anticus) is a muscle in the upper arm that flexes the elbow joint. It lies just deep to biceps brachii, and is a more powerful flexor of the elbow. It makes up part of the floor of the region known as the cubital fossa.
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Brachioradialis is a muscle of the forearm that acts to flex the forearm at the elbow. It is also capable of both pronation and supination, depending on the position of the forearm.
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For other uses, see biceps.


In human anatomy, the biceps brachii is a muscle located on the upper arm. The biceps has several functions, the most important simply being to flex the elbow and to rotate the forearm.
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Teres major is a muscle of the upper limb and one of six scapulohumeral muscles. It is a thick but somewhat flattened muscle.

Origin and insertion

It arises from the oval area on the dorsal surface of the inferior angle of the scapula, and from the fibrous septa
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In human anatomy, the deltoid muscle is the muscle forming the rounded contour of the shoulder.

It was previously called the Deltoideus and the name is still used by some anatomists. It is called so because it is in the shape of the Greek letter Delta (triangle).
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The Infraspinatus muscle is a thick triangular muscle, which occupies the chief part of the infraspinatous fossa.

Origin and insertion

It attaches medially to the infraspinous fossa of the scapula and laterally to the greater tubercle of the humerus.
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The Teres minor is a narrow, elongated muscle of the rotator cuff.

Origin and insertion

It arises from the dorsal surface of the axillary border of the scapula for the upper two-thirds of its extent, and from two aponeurotic laminæ, one of which separates it from the
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The rhomboid muscles, oftem simply called the rhomboids, are rhombus-shaped muscles associated with the scapula and are chiefly responsible for its retraction.
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The levator scapulae is situated at the back and side of the neck.

Origin and insertion

It arises by tendinous slips from the transverse processes of the atlas and axis and from the posterior tubercles of the transverse processes of the third and fourth cervical vertebrae.
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This article or section may be confusing or unclear for some readers.
Please [improve the article] or discuss this issue on the talk page. This article has been tagged since December 2006.
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The Pectoralis minor is a thin, triangular muscle, situated at the upper part of the chest, beneath the Pectoralis major.

Origin and insertion

It arises from the upper margins and outer surfaces of the third, fourth, and fifth ribs, near their cartilage and from the
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The supine position is a position of the body; lying down with the face up, as opposed to the prone position, which is face down.

Using terms defined in the anatomical position, the posterior is down and anterior is up.
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This article or section may be confusing or unclear for some readers.
Please [improve the article] or discuss this issue on the talk page. This article has been tagged since December 2006.
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Teres major is a muscle of the upper limb and one of six scapulohumeral muscles. It is a thick but somewhat flattened muscle.

Origin and insertion

It arises from the oval area on the dorsal surface of the inferior angle of the scapula, and from the fibrous septa
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In strength training, rowing (or a row, usually preceded by a qualifying adjective — for instance a seated row) is a form of muscular resistance training exercise that shares many characteristics of rowing a boat without involving water or a boat.
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A bar dip is a piece of fitness equipment that consists of a U-shaped bar, usually about 1" (2.5 cm) in diameter, which surrounds the user's body at the waist. The user grips the bar with both hands, and supports their bodyweight on it.
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Strength training is the use of resistance to muscular contraction to build the strength, anaerobic endurance and size of skeletal muscles. There are many different methods of strength training, the most common being the use of gravity or elastic/hydraulic forces to oppose muscle
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"Quads" redirects here. For other uses see Quad
The quadriceps femoris (quadriceps, quadriceps extensor, guads or quads) includes the four prevailing muscles on the front of the thigh.
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The squat is a lower body exercise used in strength training. It is also a competitive lift in powerlifting and an essential movement in the sport of weightlifting. The exercise's main emphasis is on the quadriceps and the glutes, but it also involves the hamstrings, the calves,
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The leg press is a weight training exercise in which the individual pushes a weight away from them using their legs. The term leg press also refers to the apparatus used to perform this exercise.
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