Leg-Assisted Chin-Up
What Is the Leg-Assisted Chin-Up?
Leg-Assisted Chin-Up is a compound exercise that primarily targets the back, especially the latissimus dorsi, and also engages the biceps, the muscles between the shoulder blades and the rear shoulders. It is a beginner-level movement that lets you practice the full chin-up pattern before you can lift your whole body weight from a hang. You sit on the floor under a low bar, take an underhand grip and pull until your chin clears the bar, while your heels stay on the floor and carry part of your weight.
The exercise is a regression of the Chin-Up, and that is its main place in a program. It works well as the main vertical pull for someone building toward their first chin-up, or as extra pulling volume after harder sets. Because the heels never leave the floor, the load stays well below body weight, so it suits higher-rep sets with full control at the top and bottom of every rep.
The underhand grip is what separates it from the Leg-Assisted Pull-Up. With the palms facing you, the biceps take a larger share of the pull, which is why chin-up variations tend to feel easier than overhand ones. Taking the hands in narrower, as in the Leg-Assisted Chin-Up (Close Grip), brings the elbows down in front of the body rather than out to the sides.
You can adjust the difficulty without changing the bar. Legs straight out in front, as shown, is the harder setting, and bending the knees to bring the feet closer to the hips puts more of your weight on your feet. Either way the heels only support you, and the pull itself comes from the arms and back rather than from pushing off the floor. Once you can do 3 sets of 10 to 12 controlled reps with your chin clearing the bar, move on to the Feet-Elevated Pull-Up, Negative Chin-Up or Band-Assisted Chin-Up.
Muscles Worked
- Latissimus Dorsi
- Primary
- Biceps Brachii
- High
- Brachialis
- High
- Deltoid
- Medium
- Lower Trapezius
- Medium
- Rhomboid Major
- Medium
- Teres Major
- Medium
Instructions
- Set a bar in a power rack at a height you can just reach with straight arms while sitting on the floor beneath it.
- Sit under the bar with your legs straight out in front of you and your heels on the floor.
- Grip the bar with an underhand grip, palms facing you, with your hands about shoulder-width apart.
- Start with your arms fully straight and your torso upright, then pull your shoulders down away from your ears.
- Brace your core and squeeze your glutes.
- Pull your elbows down and back toward your ribs, letting your hips lift off the floor so your body pivots on your heels.
- Keep pulling until your chin clears the bar and your body forms a straight line from heels to head.
- Pause briefly at the top without shrugging.
- Lower yourself under control until your arms are fully straight and you are back in the seated position.
- Repeat for the desired reps, letting your heels support you without pushing off them.
Common Mistakes
Pushing off the heels
Driving the rep with a heel press or a hip thrust while the arms barely bend shifts the work from your back to your legs and turns the pull into a bridge.
Stopping short of the bar
Ending each rep with the chin well below the bar skips the hardest part of the chin-up, so pull until your chin clears the bar and your upper chest comes close to it.
Shrugging the shoulders
Letting the shoulders ride up toward the ears shifts the load onto the upper traps and the front of the shoulder instead of the lats.
Sagging or piking the hips
Letting the hips drop or bend at the top breaks the straight line from heels to head and makes it harder to finish the pull.
Dropping back to the floor
Falling back to the seated position wastes the lowering half of the rep, which builds much of the strength you need for a full chin-up.
Craning the neck
Pushing the chin forward to reach the bar strains the neck and hides an incomplete pull, so keep your head neutral and bring your body to the bar.
Injuries
Leg-Assisted Chin-Up is a low risk exercise when performed with proper technique. The heels stay on the floor and carry part of your body weight, so the load on the shoulders and elbows is much lower than in a full hanging chin-up, and you can stop any rep simply by sitting back down.
The main strain points are the elbows and the front of the shoulders. The underhand grip puts more of the pull through the biceps, and the elbow and forearm tendons are often the first to complain when pulling volume climbs too quickly. The front of the shoulder can get irritated when you shrug toward your ears, flare the elbows wide or drop loosely into the bottom of each rep. Set your shoulders before each pull, lower yourself under control, and add sets and reps gradually from week to week. If the underhand grip bothers your wrists or elbows, the Leg-Assisted Pull-Up uses the same setup with an overhand grip.
To make the exercise easier, bend your knees and bring your feet closer to your hips, or practice the pulling pattern with a Bent-Knee Inverted Row. To progress, slow the lowering phase, then move to the Feet-Elevated Pull-Up, Band-Assisted Chin-Up and Negative Chin-Up before the full Chin-Up.
Stop the set if you feel sharp pain at the elbow, the front of the shoulder or the wrist. Shoulder or elbow pain that lingers after training, or any numbness or tingling in the arms or hands, should be checked by a physician or physical therapist before you keep training through it.
- Primary Focus
- Back
- Equipment
- Pull-up bar and body weight
- Modality
- Strength
- Difficulty
- Beginner
Alternative Exercises
Frequently Asked Questions
- Q: Should my legs help push me up?
No. Your heels stay on the floor and support part of your body weight, but the pull should come from your back and arms. If you cannot finish a rep without pushing off, bend your knees and bring your feet closer to your hips until you can.
- Q: How do I make the Leg-Assisted Chin-Up easier?
Bend your knees and bring your feet closer to your hips, so more of your body weight rests on your feet. Straight legs, as shown, give the least support.
- Q: What height should the bar be?
Set it so you can just grip it with your arms fully straight while sitting on the floor underneath it. A bar that is too high leaves you hanging with no support from the floor, and one that is too low stops you from straightening your arms at the bottom.
- Q: Is the Leg-Assisted Chin-Up easier than the Leg-Assisted Pull-Up?
For most people, yes, because the underhand grip lets the biceps help more. In a study of healthy young adults doing full hanging chin-ups and pull-ups, the biceps and pectoralis major worked harder in the chin-up, while the lower trapezius worked harder in the overhand pull-up, and the same grip difference separates this exercise from the Leg-Assisted Pull-Up.
- Q: When should I move on to a full chin-up?
Once you can do 3 sets of 10 to 12 controlled reps with your chin clearing the bar, add harder steps such as the Feet-Elevated Pull-Up, Negative Chin-Up or Band-Assisted Chin-Up. Test a strict Chin-Up every week or two as those get easier.