Can Do Chin Ups but Not Pull Ups

Why Your Chin-Up Strength Is Holding You Back

If you can do chin ups but not pull ups, it's because the pull-up is a mechanically different and roughly 20% harder lift that your biceps can't save you from. It’s one of the most common frustrations I see in the gym. You feel strong. You can hoist your chin over the bar with your palms facing you, maybe for 3, 5, even 8 reps. But the moment you flip your hands around for a pull-up, you hit a brick wall. You might get halfway up, or you might just hang there, unable to even start the movement. It feels like a total failure of strength, but it’s not. It’s a failure of specific muscle activation and leverage. A chin-up (supinated grip) is an arm-and-back exercise. Your biceps are in a powerful position to help you pull. A pull-up (pronated grip) takes your biceps almost completely out of the equation. It forces your lats and upper back to do all the work, especially from a dead hang. The wider grip also creates a less efficient pulling path. This isn't a sign that you're weak; it's a sign that you have a very specific strength gap. Continuing to do more chin-ups won't fix it. You need to train the pull-up movement itself.

The Hidden Weakness That Kills Your Pull-Up

The reason you get stuck is because of a hidden weakness at the very start of the movement. The bottom 25% of a pull-up, moving from a dead hang to the point where your elbows are at a 90-degree angle, is almost entirely latissimus dorsi strength. Your chin-up strength doesn't help here because your biceps are in their weakest position. The number one mistake people make is trying to fix this by doing more chin-ups or doing jerky, half-rep pull-ups. This only trains the top half of the movement where you are already strong. You are essentially avoiding the weak point, guaranteeing you never conquer it. The true first move of a pull-up isn't bending your arms; it's scapular retraction. From a dead hang, you must first pull your shoulder blades down and back. This engages your lats and creates a stable platform to pull from. Without this step, you're just doing an arm exercise you're not strong enough for. The solution isn't to train harder, it's to train the specific, weak part of the movement until it's no longer weak. This requires leaving your ego at the door and using exercises that feel like a step backward but are actually the only way forward.

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The 6-Week Protocol to Your First Full Pull-Up

This isn't about hope. It's a progressive plan. Follow these steps for 6 weeks, training this protocol 2 times per week on non-consecutive days (like Monday and Thursday). Do not train this every day; your muscles need 48-72 hours to recover and get stronger. Rest 2-3 minutes between sets.

Step 1: Master the Eccentric (Weeks 1-2)

The eccentric, or negative, is the lowering phase of an exercise. Your muscles are about 40% stronger during the eccentric phase, so you can control the weight down even if you can't lift it up. This is the key to building pull-up strength.

• How to do it: Place a box under the pull-up bar. Use your legs to jump to the top position, with your chin over the bar and your hands in a pull-up grip (palms facing away). Hold for one second.
• The work: Slowly lower yourself down until your arms are completely straight. The goal is a controlled 5-second descent. At first, you might only manage 2-3 seconds. That's fine. Fight gravity the entire way down.
• The goal: Perform 3 sets of 5 negative reps. Once you can complete all sets with a 5-second descent on each rep, you are ready for the next step.

Step 2: Build Strength at Sticking Points (Weeks 3-4)

Now we target the specific weak points in the range of motion. We will do this with paused negatives and add a new exercise to train the initiation of the pull.

• Paused Negatives: Jump to the top of the pull-up position. Lower yourself down about one-third of the way and pause for 2 full seconds. Lower another third of the way (just above a 90-degree elbow bend) and pause again for 2 seconds. Finish the descent to a full dead hang.
• The goal: Perform 3 sets of 3-4 paused negative reps. These are brutally effective.
• Scapular Pulls: While you're resting between negative sets, do this. Hang from the bar in a pull-up grip. Without bending your arms at all, pull your shoulder blades down and back, lifting your body 1-2 inches. Hold for a second, then relax back to a dead hang. This is a tiny movement that isolates the muscles that start the pull-up.
• The goal: Perform 3 sets of 8-10 scapular pulls.

Step 3: Use Bands The Right Way (Weeks 5-6)

Most people use resistance bands incorrectly. They use a band so thick it does all the work for them, especially at the bottom. The goal is to use the *lightest band possible* that allows you to complete a full rep.

• How to do it: Loop a light resistance band over the bar and place one foot or knee in it. Start from a full dead hang and perform a full pull-up. The band will give you the most help at the bottom, where you're weakest.
• The goal: Perform 3 sets of 3-5 full-range-of-motion pull-ups. If you can do more than 5 reps easily, the band is too thick. You want to be struggling to finish that 5th rep. As you get stronger, you'll switch to a thinner band.
• The Test: After week 6, take two full days of rest. Then, on a fresh day, attempt one unassisted pull-up. Start from a dead hang, engage your scapula, and pull. You will be surprised at your new strength.

What Your Pull-Up Progress Will Actually Look Like

Getting your first pull-up is a process, not an event. Your body needs time to build new neural pathways and muscle tissue. Here is the honest timeline so you know what to expect and don't get discouraged.

• In the First 2 Weeks: The negatives will feel incredibly difficult. You will be sore in your lats, traps, and forearms in a way you haven't been before. This is a great sign-it means you're finally working the right muscles. Your first few negative reps might be more like a controlled fall. The goal is to slow it down by just one second each session. Progress is going from a 2-second negative to a 3-second negative.
• After 1 Month: You should have full control over a 5-second negative. The paused negatives will still be hard, but you'll feel stable in the hold instead of shaky. The scapular pulls will feel strong and deliberate; you'll feel a distinct 'click' as your lats engage. This mind-muscle connection is the foundation for a real pull-up.
• In Month 2: You will be working with bands and completing full reps. This is where the confidence builds. Don't be surprised if it takes 8 or even 10 weeks to get that first unassisted rep. Progress is not linear. Some days you will feel weaker than others. That's normal. The key is consistency. If you follow the protocol 2 times a week, you will get your first pull-up. After that, your first 3-5 reps will come much faster.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Pull-Up vs. Chin-Up Muscle Differences

A chin-up (palms facing you) is an arm and back exercise, heavily recruiting the biceps. A pull-up (palms facing away) minimizes bicep involvement and places almost all the load on the latissimus dorsi and teres major, making it a far more effective back-building exercise.

Using Bands vs. Assisted Machines

Bands are superior for learning pull-ups. They offer variable resistance, providing the most help at the bottom of the movement (the hardest part) and less at the top. Assisted pull-up machines provide constant help, which often becomes a crutch and doesn't build strength at the sticking point.

The Role of Grip Strength

Weak grip is a common roadblock. If your hands give out before your back during negatives or hangs, your grip is the limiting factor. Add dead hangs at the end of your workouts. Aim for 3 sets, holding for 30-45 seconds each to build grip endurance.

How Often to Train for Pull-Ups

Train pull-ups or pull-up progressions 2-3 times per week on non-consecutive days. Your back muscles are large and powerful; they need at least 48 hours to recover and adapt. Overtraining by doing them daily will lead to fatigue and stall your progress.

Other Exercises That Help Pull-Ups

To build a stronger base, include heavy horizontal rowing movements in your routine. Barbell rows, single-arm dumbbell rows, and chest-supported rows build the same back muscles. These allow you to handle more volume and build the raw strength that will carry over to your pull-up performance.