Chin-Up Hold
What Is the Chin-Up Hold?
Chin-Up Hold is a compound exercise that primarily targets the back and also engages the biceps, forearms and rear shoulders. It is a beginner-level movement in which you get to the top of a chin-up with a close underhand grip, chin above the bar and elbows fully bent, and hold that position for time with your feet off the floor.
The top of the chin-up is where many people stall: the chin never quite clears the bar, or the shoulders shrug and roll forward as the arms finish bending. This hold lets you practice owning that finish position with your whole body weight on the bar, often before you can pull yourself up to it, and it is logged as time rather than reps. Holds build strength mostly at and near the angle you hold, so it works best alongside full-range pulling rather than in place of it.
The same chin-above-the-bar position is the flexed arm hang, a long-standing school fitness test that was also the female U.S. Marine Corps fitness test event until pull-ups replaced it in 2017. It is scored as the time until the chin touches or drops below the bar. Some versions of the test require an overhand grip, while others, such as the President's Challenge, allow the underhand grip shown here.
The lats and the teres major do most of the holding, keeping the upper arms pinned down toward your sides, while the lower trapezius and rhomboids keep the shoulder blades down and back. With your palms facing you, the biceps take a bigger share of the elbow work, and many people find this hold easier than the overhand Pull-Up Hold. In full chin-ups, a study of 25 young adults recorded more biceps and chest activity than in pull-ups, and more lower trapezius activity in the pull-up. Thinking about driving your elbows down toward your back pockets, rather than just squeezing with your arms, helps keep the work in your back.
The hold suits beginners working toward their first Chin-Up and anyone who can reach the top but cannot stay there. If you cannot keep your chin above the bar for a few seconds, build up first with the Leg-Assisted Pull-Up Hold, Leg-Assisted Chin-Up (Close Grip) reps and the Dead Hang. Once 30 seconds feels steady, the Negative Chin-Up is the natural next step.
Muscles Worked
- Latissimus Dorsi
- Primary
- Biceps Brachii
- High
- Brachialis
- High
- Teres Major
- High
- Brachioradialis
- Medium
- Deltoid
- Medium
- Flexor Carpi Ulnaris
- Medium
- Lower Trapezius
- Medium
- Rhomboid Major
- Medium
Instructions
- Stand under a sturdy pull-up bar that is high enough for your feet to clear the floor when you hang with bent arms.
- Grip the bar underhand, palms facing you, with your hands close together, a few inches apart and well inside shoulder width.
- Jump up, or pull yourself up if you can, until your chin is just above the bar and your elbows are fully bent.
- Keep your elbows pointing down toward the floor and close to your sides, with the bar near your neck and upper chest.
- Pull your shoulders down away from your ears, keep your chest up toward the bar and hold your head level with your eyes forward.
- Let your legs hang beneath you with your feet together and knees soft, and brace your core so your body stays still instead of swinging.
- Breathe in short, steady breaths and hold for the target time.
- When the time is up or your chin starts to sink below the bar, lower yourself slowly until your arms are straight, then let go and land softly with bent knees.
Common Mistakes
Shrugging toward the ears
Letting the shoulders ride up hands the hold to the upper traps and the front of the shoulder instead of the lats.
Craning the chin over the bar
Tilting the head back or jutting the chin to keep it above the bar strains the neck and hides a body that has already started to sink.
Swinging or kicking
Kicking the legs or swinging to stay up trades the hold for momentum, so let the legs hang quietly and keep the core braced.
Elbows drifting forward or out
Letting the elbows wander in front of the body or out to the sides takes load off the lats and puts more on the shoulders and elbows.
Holding the breath
Holding your breath for the whole set ends it early, so keep the core braced and take short, steady breaths.
Dropping from the top
Letting go with bent arms or falling straight into a hang jolts the elbows and shoulders, so lower yourself to straight arms under control.
Injuries
Chin-Up Hold is a low risk exercise when performed with proper technique. The hold is static and short, with no swinging, and you can let go at any moment, but it does put your whole body weight on your arms. The places that tend to complain are the front and inside of the elbow, where the biceps tendon and the forearm muscles hold a fully bent arm under load, and the wrists, which some people find cramped in a close underhand grip. The front of the shoulder takes over when the shoulders shrug or roll forward, and craning the chin over the bar strains the neck.
Warm up with a few short Dead Hang sets or easy rows first. During the hold, keep the shoulders pulled down away from your ears, the chest up toward the bar and the neck long. Start with holds of 10 to 30 seconds, end each one as soon as your chin sinks below the bar, and lower yourself under control instead of dropping from the top, since falling onto straight arms jolts the elbows and shoulders.
To make it easier, go back to the Leg-Assisted Pull-Up Hold setup with an underhand grip so your heels carry part of your weight, or shorten the holds. If the close grip bothers your wrists or elbows, move your hands out to about shoulder width. To progress, add Negative Chin-Up reps and then Chin-Up (Close Grip) reps. Stop if you feel sharp pain at the front or inside of the elbow or the front of the shoulder, a pop or sudden weakness in the arm, or numbness or tingling in the hands, and cut back if elbow soreness lingers into the next day.
- Primary Focus
- Back
- Equipment
- Pull-up bar and body weight
- Modality
- Strength
- Difficulty
- Beginner
Alternative Exercises
Other Names for the Chin-Up Hold
The Chin-Up Hold is also known as:
- Flexed Arm Hang
Frequently Asked Questions
- Q: Is the Chin-Up Hold the same as the flexed arm hang?
Yes, the flexed arm hang fitness test uses this chin-above-the-bar position and stops the clock when the chin touches or falls below the bar. Some versions, such as FitnessGram, require an overhand grip, while others, such as the President's Challenge, allow the underhand grip, so practice with the grip your test uses.
- Q: How long should I hold it?
Start with 3 to 4 holds of 10 to 30 seconds with full rest between them, and end each hold when your chin drops below the bar. Once 30 seconds feels steady, add harder work such as Negative Chin-Up reps rather than only holding longer.
- Q: How is this different from a Pull-Up Hold?
The Pull-Up Hold uses an overhand grip and is held lower, with the elbows at about a right angle and the head just under the bar, and the overhand grip gives more of the elbow work to the forearm muscles. With the underhand grip here, the biceps help more, and many people find this version easier.
- Q: What does a long hold say about my strength?
Mostly how strong you are for your size. A study of 60 college-age women found that flexed arm hang times, with both overhand and underhand grips, tracked lat pulldown strength relative to body weight, but not absolute pulldown strength or how many reps they could do at 70% of their max.
- Q: Will holding the top help me get my first chin-up?
It helps with the finish, where many people stall, but strength built in a hold carries over mostly to angles near the one you hold. Pair it with full-range work such as Negative Chin-Up and Leg-Assisted Chin-Up (Close Grip) reps.
- Q: How do I make it harder?
Once you can hold for 30 seconds with good form, add holds at a lower point in the pull or hang a small weight from a weight belt. The bigger step is moving on to Chin-Up (Close Grip) reps.