Back · Pull Up Bar
Chin-up
How to do the chin-up, the muscles it works, and the mistakes to avoid. Pulled straight from the Kovo app's exercise library.
- Equipment
- Pull Up Bar
- Difficulty
- Intermediate
- Logged as
- Weighted reps
- Movement
- Row
- Mechanic
- Compound
How to do it
Grab the bar with an underhand, shoulder-width grip and start from a dead hang. Pull your chest toward the bar by driving your elbows down and back, then lower to a full hang with control.
- 1Biceps and lats working together, with a strong squeeze at the top.
Common mistakes
- Swinging/kipping, shrugging the shoulders up, or cutting the range of motion short.
Muscles worked
The chin-up mainly works the biceps and lats, with the forearms, mid traps, upper traps, upper abs, and rear delts assisting.
- BicepsPrimary
- LatsPrimary
- ForearmsSupport
- Mid TrapsSupport
- Upper TrapsSupport
- Upper AbsSupport
- Rear DeltsSupport
- Lower TrapsMinor
Kovo programs the chin-up for you and tracks it every session.
The AI builds your whole program, drops the right lifts into each workout, and adjusts your weights as you get stronger. Free on iOS and Android.
More back exercises
- How to do the back extension bench back extension
- How to do the barbell good morning
- How to do the barbell bent over row
- How to do the barbell shrug
- How to do the cable straight arm pulldown
- How to do the close grip lat pulldown
Last reviewed April 2026.