Chin-ups and pull-ups are two great upper body exercises. They not only target a number of muscles all at once, but can be executed by people of differing levels of strength due to the many variations available. From the most novice-like to the most proficient, these particular variations of the chin-up (supinated/underhand grip) and pull-up (pronated/overhand grip) are:
– Eccentric chin-up/pull-up
– Weight-assisted chin-up/pull-up
(typically a machine, unless you have a very helpful workout partner)
– Band-assisted chin-up/pull-up
– Traditional chin-up/pull-up
– Chin-up/pull-up with weight vest
These exercises are listed in ascending order of difficulty. Along with these variations, one can change his/her grip width in order to change the difficulty and angle of pull.
Chin-ups and pull-ups are exercises that involve movement at both the shoulder joint and elbow joint. This means that many muscles that cross these joints are used during these exercises. Between the two exercises, almost all upper body muscles are used in some fashion: either as synergists, stabilizing muscles, or prime movers. Because of the number of muscles used and variety of ways to execute these exercises, chin-ups and pull-ups are a key upper body exercise to increase strength.