All the fitness enthusiasts and gymaholics are very particular about the exercises and their performance. The wariness further becomes noticeable when it comes to muscles. Chin ups and pullups are one of the most challenging exercises when it comes to gym training, but pull ups have proven to be harder for men. 

Now before we move on to delineating more information for you to understand, let us have a look at the difference between chin up and pull up. In this article, we will highlight and elaborate on the difference between chin ups and pullups and evaluate which one is better. 

What is the Difference Between Chin Up and Pull Up?

All the difference lies about holding the bar which directly affects the muscle that comes into function. If explained the entire procedure in a nutshell, then:

Pull ups: is when your palm is facing away from you. 

Chin ups: is when your palm is facing towards you. 

Now, let us get deeper into the differences in order to understand it more clearly. While you do the pull-up, it lays emphasis on lats, biceps, the middle of your back and pecs. Pull-ups maintain the overall muscle structure and build stamina and endurance, especially to the upper part of your body. 

On the contrary, when you do chin-ups, your brachii and biceps are stressed. Also, in terms of coverage, pull-ups form a wider angle as compared to chin-ups. Thus, you get almost no aid from your biceps while you do pull-ups and the entire stress is put on your lats.  Thus, this was the major difference between pull up and chin up, which is unknowingly used interchangeably by most of the people. 

What is involved in Chin Ups and Pullups?

The second major topic to ponder upon is what parts, muscles, etc. are involved in chin ups and pullups. Let us have a look at each of them to stand them clearly.  There are three things involved in pull ups and chin ups that intensify the differences between the two. 

• The grip
• The strength
• The muscles engaged while doing it.

Let discuss each of them broadly. 

The grip of your hands

The grip plays a key role in determining which exercise you are doing irrespective of the hanging bar, which is common to both of them. 

1. In chin ups, you palm faces towards your face whereas, in pull ups your palm faces away from your face.
2. The hands while doing chin ups are placed shoulder-width apart, but in pull ups they are put slightly wider than the shoulder-width apart distance.

The strength

While you do chin ups, you actively engage your biceps muscles. But when you re performing chin ups, that are harder than chin ups because of the grip, the stress is on the middle back, biceps and pecs. Thus, beginners find pull ups harder (and they really are!) than chin up for the obvious reasons: more muscles get worked up in pull ups than in chin ups. But this does not imply that chin ups are easy. In respect to other exercises, chin ups are quite harder as they require enormous strength. 

Muscles engaged in the performance 

While these are almost similar in nature, the effect of grip simultaneously changes the muscles worked on by each of the exercises. While chin ups focus on biceps, the pull ups engage with your lats and the middle back, which forms the major part of your upper body. Chin ups too engage in muscles expansion and contraction thereby, giving more motion to the upper body. 

Chin Ups vs Pullups Debate

The most evident and inevitable question that just randomly and rightly pops up is : chin ups or pullups? It is okay to ask this question and to find its answer not because you want to win a debate, but to assess what your body lacks and what does it needs, through which you can decide which is better for you: chin ups or pullups. 

Let us hop on to the bandwagon, then! If you are a beginner then you must consider two things before you pick what is better for you. Evaluate on the basis of difficulty factor and pick what feels easier for you to perform, under the supervision of your trainer/coach. Start off with small numbers and gradually increase your rep range. 

For the ones that are already into the gyming game, there comes a different strategy to make a decision. The answer lies what you want to improve. If you want to build biceps specifically without stressing any other body part, go for chin ups! If you wish to build up your upper body including your biceps with focus on your lats, go for pull ups. 

Don’t fall in these categories? No worries

If you don’t fall in either of these categories but are looking for a substantial reason to help you motivate to either or both of these, then worry not! We have got you covered with that, too. Chin ups and pullups should be performed as both of them help in building and boosting your stamina and endurance. As hard as they may seem, it comes with benefits. Once you are able to perform these efficiently, your stamina is boosted and built for life. You can do any exercise without having to worry about your level of endurance. 

How to master the skill of doing Chin Ups and Pullups?

Now that you have evaluated what is better for you, let us learn how to do them with perfection. 

For Pullups

1. Keep your hands shoulder-hip apart, and palm facing away from your face.
2. Join the knees towards the chest to give you a push
3. Engage the biceps and lats for the help to push you upwards.

For Chin Ups

1. Keep you slightly wider than the shoulder-hip distance with palm facing towards you.
2. Jump and push upwards with knee joined so that your chin touches the holding bar.
3. Stop there for 5-10 seconds
4. After the arms are extended fully, go back to the original position.

Doing these exercises can prove beneficial as they are considered one of the best exercises among all, improving and boosting stamina. Hope the article helped you with your doubts regarding the same.