Close Grip Chin-up
Close Grip Chin-up pairs pure bodyweight leverage with muscle you built on purpose — a step up once the basics feel easy.
How to do Close Grip Chin-up
- Grab the pull-up bar with your palms facing towards you and your hands shoulder-width apart.
- Hang from the bar with your arms fully extended and your feet off the ground.
- Engage your back muscles and pull your body up towards the bar, keeping your elbows close to your body.
- Continue pulling until your chin is above the bar.
- Pause for a moment at the top, then slowly lower your body back down to the starting position.
- Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.
Close Grip Chin-up Sets and Reps by Goal
Strength
4 sets of 6-8 reps at your hardest clean leverage, resting 2-3 minutes. Add reps first, then slow the lowering phase.
Hypertrophy
4 sets of 12-18 reps with 60 seconds of rest. Change leverage or elevation before you add load.
Endurance
3 sets of 25-30 reps with 30-45 seconds of rest. Hold the end position for a beat once reps come easily.
Common Close Grip Chin-up Mistakes
Rushing reps so gravity does most of the work
Take two to three counts on the lowering phase of every rep.
Moving through the easy half of the range only
Work the part of the range that feels hardest, not the part that feels good.
Repeating the same load and rep scheme for months
Pick one variable, load, reps, or tempo, and push it every week.
Easier and Harder Than Close Grip Chin-up
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Close Grip Chin-up — Frequently Asked Questions
How do you do the Close Grip Chin-up?
Grab the pull-up bar with your palms facing towards you and your hands shoulder-width apart. Hang from the bar with your arms fully extended and your feet off the ground. Engage your back muscles and pull your body up towards the bar, keeping your elbows close to your body. Use your bodyweight only and keep the movement controlled through the full range. The animated GIF above shows the complete rep at normal speed.
What muscles does the Close Grip Chin-up work?
The Close Grip Chin-up primarily targets the lats. It is classified as a back exercise and is performed with your bodyweight only.
How many sets and reps of the Close Grip Chin-up should I do?
For muscle growth: 4 sets of 12-18 reps with 60 seconds of rest. Change leverage or elevation before you add load. Adjust the load rather than the rep target if form breaks down before the final rep.
Is the Close Grip Chin-up good for beginners?
It is an intermediate movement. You will get more out of it once you can already perform the basic back patterns with controlled form. Beginners can still use it with light load and close attention to technique.
What can I do instead of the Close Grip Chin-up?
Try the Cable Pulldown (pro Lat Bar), Band Close-grip Pulldown or the Barbell Pullover. Each trains the lats with a similar movement pattern, so you can swap based on the equipment you have available.
