Mixed-Grip Chin-Up
Trains the Lats.
- Equipment
- A pull-up bar
- Mechanic
- Compound
- Force
- Pull
- Level
- Advanced
How to do it
- Take a bar with one palm facing you and the other facing away, hands about shoulder-width apart.
- Hang with the arms straight and the shoulders pulled down away from the ears.
- Pull the chest up towards the bar, driving the elbows down and back.
- Get the chin over the bar, keeping the body from twisting towards the underhand side.
- Lower under control until the arms are straight again.
- Swap the grips over between sets so both sides do each job.
Common mistakes
- Twisting towards the underhand side. The supinated arm is stronger and the body rotates to favour it; the chest stays square to the bar.
- Letting one shoulder lead. Both shoulders pull down together; if one rises towards the ear, that side has stopped working.
- Forgetting to swap grips. Each grip loads the arm differently, and always having the same hand underhand builds an imbalance.
- Kipping. The body hangs still at the bottom; a swing to start the pull takes the work away from the lats.