Chin-Up (Close Grip)
What Is the Chin-Up (Close Grip)?
Chin-Up (Close Grip) is a compound exercise that primarily targets the back, especially the latissimus dorsi, and also engages the biceps, brachialis and the muscles between the shoulder blades. It is an intermediate-level movement in which you hang from a pull-up bar with an underhand grip, hands almost touching in the middle of the bar, and pull your whole body weight up until your chin clears the bar.
Like the standard Chin-Up, it builds the vertical pulling strength behind pull-ups, rope climbs and climbing, and it needs nothing more than a sturdy bar. It usually works as the main vertical pull of an upper-body or pull session, or as a variation to rotate in after the standard chin-up, and its rep count is an easy way to track relative pulling strength over time.
What sets this version apart is the hand position. With the hands nearly together, the elbows travel down in front of the torso instead of out to the sides, so each rep becomes mostly a matter of driving the upper arms down toward the ribs. Bringing the hands together changes the elbow path more than it changes which muscles do the work, so the lats still lead and the biceps and brachialis assist as they do in any chin-up. It also differs from the Close Grip Pull-Up, which uses an overhand grip just inside shoulder width. The close, fully turned-up grip is the least forgiving position for the wrists and inner elbows, so the standard chin-up or the Neutral Grip Pull-Up suits anyone who feels strain there.
This variation suits lifters who can already do several strict chin-ups and want a different hand position, or who find that tucked elbows feel better on their shoulders than a wider pull. If you cannot yet complete clean reps, build up with the Leg-Assisted Chin-Up (Close Grip), the Band-Assisted Chin-Up and the Negative Chin-Up first. Thinking about driving the elbows toward the hips, rather than pulling the chin up with the hands, helps keep the work in the back.
Muscles Worked
- Latissimus Dorsi
- Primary
- Biceps Brachii
- High
- Brachialis
- High
- Brachioradialis
- Medium
- Infraspinatus
- Medium
- Lower Trapezius
- Medium
- Rhomboid Major
- Medium
- Teres Major
- Medium
Instructions
- Stand under a sturdy pull-up bar and grab it with an underhand grip, palms facing you.
- Place your hands close together in the middle of the bar, leaving a small gap if your wrists need it to stay straight.
- Hang with your arms fully straight, then bend your knees and cross your ankles behind you.
- Draw your shoulder blades slightly down and brace your core.
- Pull your elbows down in front of your body toward your ribs, keeping them pointing down rather than out to the sides.
- Keep pulling until your chin is above the bar and your upper chest is close to it, with your head neutral.
- Pause briefly at the top with your shoulders still down.
- Lower slowly until your arms are fully straight, then repeat without swinging.
Common Mistakes
Kipping or swinging
Using the legs or hips to throw the body upward takes the work away from the back and arms and loads the shoulders and elbows abruptly, so keep the knees bent and the body still.
Cutting the range short
Stopping before the arms are straight at the bottom or before the chin clears the bar trains only part of the movement.
Flaring the elbows
Letting the elbows drift out to the sides undoes the close grip's tucked elbow path, so keep them pointing down and in front of the body.
Shrugging at the start
Pulling with the shoulders up by the ears shifts stress onto the front of the shoulder, so draw the shoulder blades down before the elbows bend.
Craning the chin forward
Poking the chin toward the bar fakes the top position and strains the neck, so keep the head neutral and bring the chest up instead.
Bending the wrists to fit the grip
Forcing the hands together until the wrists bend sideways loads the wrists and inner elbows, so leave a small gap between the hands if you need it.
Injuries
Chin-Up (Close Grip) is a medium risk exercise when performed with proper technique. You lift your full body weight with the palms fully turned toward you and the hands close together, which concentrates the load on a few small structures, and the risk rises quickly with swinging, dropping into the bottom or piling on volume.
The main strain points are the inner elbows, forearms and wrists. Holding a straight bar with the palms up and the hands together loads the forearm flexors that attach at the inner elbow and the biceps tendon at the front of the elbow, and it can force the wrists to bend sideways. If you feel this, leave a small gap between the hands so the wrists stay straight, or switch to the standard Chin-Up or the Neutral Grip Pull-Up. The shoulders are most exposed at the bottom, so keep them drawn slightly down rather than dropping into a loose hang, and lower every rep under control.
To regress, use the Leg-Assisted Chin-Up (Close Grip), the Band-Assisted Chin-Up or the Assisted Chin-Up machine, or practice slow Negative Chin-Ups. To progress, add a pause at the top and a slower lowering before moving on to the Weighted Chin-Up, and increase pulling volume gradually so the elbow tendons can keep up.
Stop if you feel sharp pain in the elbow, wrist or shoulder, inner-elbow soreness that lingers into the next day, a pinching sensation at the front of the shoulder, or numbness or tingling in the hands. A sudden pop at the front of the elbow, bruising or a change in the shape of the upper arm needs prompt medical attention.
- Primary Focus
- Back
- Equipment
- Pull-up bar and body weight
- Modality
- Strength
- Difficulty
- Intermediate
Alternative Exercises
Frequently Asked Questions
- Q: How is this different from the regular Chin-Up?
Only the hand spacing changes. In the Chin-Up the hands sit about shoulder width apart, while here they almost touch, so the elbows travel down in front of the body instead of out to the sides. The underhand grip, the hang and the range of motion stay the same.
- Q: How is it different from the Close Grip Pull-Up?
The Close Grip Pull-Up uses an overhand grip, palms facing away, with the hands just inside shoulder width. This variation turns the palms toward you and brings the hands almost together, which most people find easier to pull with but harder on the wrists.
- Q: Does the close grip work the biceps harder?
Many people feel their arms working more with the hands close, but the narrower spacing mainly changes how the elbows travel, and the lats still do most of the work. The underhand grip already brings the biceps in strongly in any chin-up, so choose the close grip for how it suits your shoulders or for variety, not as a way to target the arms.
- Q: How close should my hands be?
Close enough that they almost touch, but never so close that your wrists bend sideways. Start just inside shoulder width, move the hands in a little at a time, and stop at the narrowest spacing where your wrists still stay straight.
- Q: I can't do one yet. What should I practice?
Rehearse the same grip with lighter loading on the Leg-Assisted Chin-Up (Close Grip) or the Band-Assisted Chin-Up, and add slow Negative Chin-Ups to build strength through the full range.
- Q: How do I make it harder?
Pause for a second with the chin above the bar and take 3 to 4 seconds to lower. Once you can do sets of 8 to 12 strict reps, add load with the Weighted Chin-Up.