What Muscles Do Semi-Supinated Grip Chin-Ups Work?

A semi-supinated grip is one in which your forearms are in a neutral state. This means they are in between an internally-rotated and externally-rotated position. If you have a difficult time picturing this forearm position in your head, then think about how you hold a hammer. That is an example of a semi-supinated grip. You can perform chin-ups using this type of grip to work your muscles a tad bit differently than ordinary chin-ups, in which your hands are supinated.

  1. Exercise Steps

    • To do a semi-supinated chin-up, which you can also call a neutral chin-up, begin by hanging from a chin-up bar with your hands semi-supinated. You must use a chin-up bar that has an appropriate handle for this grip, as the long bar of the chin-up only allows for an underhanded or overhanded grip. Once you're hanging from the bar, raise your body by bending your elbows and then stop as soon as your upper chest is touching the bar. Hold for a second and then lower your body by straightening your elbows.

    Back Muscles

    • Semi-supinated chin-ups, and any other type of chin-up for that matter, work your back muscles the most. These muscles include the large latissimus dorsi, which spans your middle to lower-back region. Assisting this big muscle is the teres major, which is quite small in comparison, and is located in the outer upper-back region.

    Shoulder Muscles

    • You also work your shoulder muscles during this exercise. The most activated of these muscles is the posterior deltoid, also known as your rear-shoulder muscle. It is located over the back part of your shoulder joint, called the glenohumeral joint. The other two shoulder muscles that you work are the infraspinatus and teres minor. Both are a part of your rotator cuff, which is a four-muscle complex responsible for maintaining the stability of your shoulder joint.

    Arm and Forearm Muscles

    • In addition to your back and shoulders, your arms play a large role during semi-supinated chin-ups. Specifically, it is your elbow-flexor muscles, which allow you to bend your elbows. The most worked of these muscles is the brachialis, located in your middle to lower region of your upper arms. Assisting this muscle are the biceps brachii, brachioradialis and pronator teres. The biceps span your entire upper arm, while the latter two muscles are located around your outer elbow region. You also target, although to a small degree, two forearm muscles that play a role in the elbow-flexion movement. These two muscles are the flexor carpi radialis and flexor carpi ulnaris, which are located around your inner and outer forearm regions respectively.