Wide Grip Chin Ups

Setting up the wide grip chin up

The wide grip chin up is mechanically similar to a standard chin up with the hands placed wider on the bar. The wider grip changes the muscle distribution and the shoulder demand. Walk through the setup before chasing reps.

1. Grip and hang

Grip the pull up bar with palms facing you (supinated) at roughly 1.3 to 1.5 times shoulder width. Wider than 1.5 times shoulder width the supinated grip becomes uncomfortable for the wrists. Hang fully extended with arms straight. The shoulders should be set down and back at the start.

2. The pull

Drive the elbows down and slightly out. The chest leads the way up toward the bar. The wider grip naturally produces a more horizontal elbow path than narrower chin ups which biases the lats more. The chin should clear the bar at the top of every rep.

3. The peak contraction

Pause for one second at the top. The biceps and lats are fully contracted. The chest is high, ideally touching the bar. The arms are fully bent. The wider grip means the biceps are not in as strong a mechanical position as narrower chin ups so the peak contraction relies more on lat strength.

4. The descent

Lower under control over two to three seconds. The arms straighten completely at the bottom. Eccentric loading drives a large fraction of hypertrophy on chin ups (Schoenfeld 2010), so a fast drop wastes the most productive part of the rep.

5. The dead hang reset

At the bottom return to a fully extended dead hang for a brief moment before pulling again. Reset shoulder depression before the next rep. The pause prevents momentum carrying through and ensures every rep starts from the same range.

What wide grip chin ups train

The wide grip chin up is a hybrid back and bicep exercise. The wider grip biases the lats more than narrower chin ups while the supinated grip still places the biceps in a strong position.

Latissimus dorsi

Primary mover alongside the biceps. The wider grip and the supinated position bias the lower lat fibres. Wide grip chin ups produce significant lat hypertrophy stimulus alongside the bicep work. For lifters chasing combined back and bicep development this is one of the most productive single exercises available.

Biceps brachii

Primary mover. The supinated grip places the biceps in a strong mechanical position even at wider hand spacing. The biceps contributes meaningfully across every rep but does less work than in close grip chin ups because the wider grip reduces the biceps mechanical advantage.

Brachialis and brachioradialis

Both work hard. The brachialis sits beneath the biceps and contributes to elbow flexion. The brachioradialis assists from the forearm. The wider grip changes their loading slightly but they both still work heavily across every rep.

Mid back and core

The rhomboids and mid traps stabilise the scapula. The abdominals and obliques work to prevent lower back hyperextension and to control trunk swing. A clean wide grip chin up is a brief full body event with significant core engagement.

Five errors on wide grip chin ups

The wide grip chin up has the same general failure modes as a standard chin up with additional shoulder demand from the wider grip. These are the errors to watch on video.

Grip too wide

A supinated grip wider than roughly 1.5 times shoulder width places the wrists in an awkward position. Most lifters find 1.3 to 1.4 times shoulder width works well. Beyond that the wrist stress outweighs the lat benefit.

Kipping for momentum

Using a leg swing or hip kick to throw the body up moves the load to momentum rather than the biceps and lats. Strict reps train the muscles. Kipping reps train conditioning. For hypertrophy always start strict.

Partial range of motion

Stopping the pull before the chin clears the bar or dropping early on the descent halves the productive range. Every rep should clear the chin above the bar and return to a fully extended dead hang. The wider grip can make it tempting to cut reps short.

Shrugging at the bottom

If the shoulders rise toward the ears at the bottom of the rep the upper traps take over from the lats. Reset shoulder depression at every dead hang. Pull the shoulders down and back before bending the elbows.

Wrist strain

The wide supinated grip can stress the wrists if shoulder mobility is limited. If wrist discomfort persists try a slightly narrower grip or switch to a neutral grip pull up which is more wrist friendly while still working both biceps and lats.

Sets, reps and where wide grip chin ups fit

Wide grip chin ups work as a primary back exercise with significant bicep involvement. They also work as a primary bicep exercise with significant lat involvement. The wider grip biases lat development while still loading the biceps heavily.

Hypertrophy: 6 to 10 reps

The productive range. 3 to 5 sets of 6 to 10 reps with 1 to 2 reps in reserve. If you can do more than 10 strict reps add weight via a dipping belt. Total weekly volume of 6 to 12 sets fits well alongside other back and bicep work.

Strength: 3 to 5 reps weighted

For maximal strength load with a dipping belt to a point where 3 to 5 reps is genuinely difficult. 3 to 5 sets at this load. Most trained lifters can build to wide grip chin ups with 15 to 25 percent of bodyweight added for 5 reps.

Building to your first rep

If you cannot yet do one strict wide grip chin up, train heavy wide grip lat pulldowns at 80 percent of bodyweight for 5 to 8 reps. Pair with eccentric only wide grip chin ups (5 second descents, 3 to 5 reps per set). Most people build to a first strict rep in 6 to 10 weeks.

Frequency

2 to 3 weekly sessions are tolerated by most lifters. Daily light wide grip chin up work is possible if total weekly volume stays below approximately 25 working reps. Recovery is faster than for deadlifts because the spinal loading is zero.

Programme placement

Place wide grip chin ups early in a back or arms session when the biceps and lats are fresh. They pair well with horizontal rowing for back focused sessions or with isolation curl work for bicep focused sessions. The compound nature means they generate more total stimulus per set than isolation curls.

More on bicep training

For the narrower bicep biased variant, our Close grip chin ups guide covers narrow grip chin up work. Barbell curls are the heavy isolation bicep complement. And the EZ bar curls page covers the wrist friendly bicep isolation alternative.