Pullups Vs Chinups – Here’s the Difference
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Ever wonder what the difference was between pullups vs chinups? It’s a common question. Both of the exercises are performed by hanging from a bar and pulling your body up (either assisted with bands or unassisted) so that at least your chin goes above the bar. Then lower yourself back down to the starting position.
Both of these exercises are awesome in helping to build muscle and to increase your hand/grip strength. But there are definitely some differences between the two. Let’s break them down and see what the differences are.
The Pullup And Chinup Explained.
The difference between Pullups and Chinups is the grip. In pullups, the hands grip the bar so that the palms face away from your body. So if you look at your hands while doing pullups you will see the back of your hand and your knuckles. For Chinups the hands grip the bar so that the palms face to your body. If you look at your hands while doing chinups you will see the palm of your hand and your fingers.
Of the two, pullups are the more difficult to perform. The pullup is an awesome exercise to build up your back, and lats. It also helps to develop your grip strength and core all at the same time. The military especially likes to use pullups for testing and measuring the fitness of their enlisted.
Chinups are slightly easier to do than pullups because you use your biceps more. You’ll still work your back, lats, core and grip but get the added benefit of working the biceps all at the same time. The chinup is used in many general physical fitness tests as a measure of the overall strength a person. Though easier than pullups, chinups are still difficult for most people.
In your training, you should use both pullups and chinups. The grip differences will make you work different muscle groups. Try and work your back and biceps on the same day and alternate between pullups and chinups. If needed use a band or do them assisted by a machine until you can do them without help, then crank up the reps!
Variations of Pullups and Chinups.
There are many variations that you can do for pullups and chinups. Here are just a few to give you some ideas: kipping, butterfly, grip without thumb around bar, use parallel bars, use a thicker bar, hanging from a towel, mix your grip (one each way), close grip, wide grip, weighted (with a belt or a dumbbell between your legs), chest to bar, one arm and clapping (do a clap at the top!). These are just a few of many options that you have. Start with the basics and work up to more advanced as you get stronger.
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