Neutral Grip Chin Up Exercises

Olympic strength coach Charles Poliquin calls chin-ups “the king of upper body exercises,” noting that while similar workouts challenge the same muscles, the physical act of lifting your own body presents an incomparable test of functional, real-world strength. Few exercises have as many variations as chin-ups, but the neutral-grip version serves as the foundation of the exercise -- get comfortable with this grip before moving on to other styles.

  1. How To

    • Typically, neutral-grip chin-ups are done with a pullup bar featuring parallel grips, so your palms face each other. However, you can use a supinated, meaning underhand, grip on a regular bar as well. Grasp the bars so your hands are just slightly wider than shoulder-width apart. Cross your legs to help stabilize your body as you hang from the bar with your arms fully extended and your head, spine and hips in straight vertical alignment. Bend at the elbows as you pull your body upward until your chin is level with the bar. Take a brief pause and return to the starting position.

    Muscles Targeted

    • Neutral-grip chin-ups squarely target the latissimus dorsi, a muscle that spans from just under the armpit to the mid-back. They also engage the biceps, brachialis, brachioradalis and triceps of the arms as secondary muscles. Additionally, neutral-grip chin-ups work the pectoralis muscles of the chest as well as the rhomboids, levator scapulae and lower trapezius muscles of the shoulders.

    Tips

    • Tighten your abs as you perform neutral-grip chin-ups to work your core and stabilize your spine. Throughout the exercise, keep your shoulders pulled back and down and avoid swinging your body on the bar. Exhale as you lift your body and inhale as you descend, focusing on a smooth, controlled motion throughout the exercise. Following these tips for proper form helps you maximize the impact of the exercise and prevent shoulder stress.

    Grip Variations

    • Neutral-grip chin-ups are just the tip of the iceberg for this exercise. For a wide-grip variation, the movement and position of your body remains the same, but you grasp a pullup bar with an underhand grip that is substantially wider than shoulder-width, so your body resembles a “Y” shape. This variation emphasizes the outer portion of the latissimus dorsi. For a narrow-grip variation, grasp the bar underhand with your hands about 10 to 12 inches apart and perform the chin-up as usual. Narrow- or close-grip chin-ups put additional focus on the biceps.