Weight training is great for many reasons, including how it makes you bigger, self-confident, and more comfortable in your body. However, weight training also makes you progressively stronger. As a result, the more you engage in weight training, the stronger you get. Because of this, you may be curious about how much stronger you have gotten since you started and how strong you are compared to other weight trainers. This article will help you understand your strength level by answering how many chin-ups you should be able to do and offer tips to improve your chin-up.
The chin-up
The chin-up is a common bodyweight exercise that works your upper body, specifically your arms, upper back, shoulders, traps, and lats muscles. Unlike other bodyweight exercises, chin-ups are more challenging because they require you to actually lift all your body weight instead of some of it.
To perform the chin-up, you need a pull-up bar – the exercise is not much different from the pull-up, with the only difference being the hand placement. I recommend the Wall Mounted Multi-Grip Pull-Up Bar if you do not have an accessible pull-up bar.
To begin, grab the pull-up bar with your palms facing away from you so that your fingers grab the bar inwards. This little tweak differentiates a chin-up from a pull-up. Once your palms have fully grasped the bar, pull yourself up until your chin climbs over the bar, then return to the starting position with your entire body suspended on the bar.
📖 Related Article: If you're enjoying this article you may want to also check out: Which Is Better: Chin Up Vs Lat Pulldown?
Remember that the standard chin-up form needs your chin to be completely above the bar at your highest and your arms fully extended at your lowest. If the bar is not high enough to keep you suspended, you can fold your legs to give yourself more room for suspension. If you have problems with grip, I recommend the Rogue Mechanix Gloves V2.
How many chin-ups should you be able to do?
This is not a straightforward answer because chin-ups mean you pull your body weight. This means that the heavier you are, the harder it is to perform the exercise. For example, a 100 lb man would generally find it easier to lift himself up than a 200 lb man. Likewise, several factors influence how many chin-ups you can perform. For example, age, body weight, muscle mass, experience, and general fitness level considerably affect your performance. As a result, you must understand your limits in relation to these factors.
As a beginner, you will probably be unable to perform one successful chin-up because of how challenging it is; you are lifting your entire body weight, after all. This is the same for both males and females. After some practice, you become a novice, and you should be able to perform the chin-up about six times as a male, while novice females can perform about one.
With enough training, you make it to the intermediate level, and at this point, you should be able to perform the exercise 14 times as a guy and six times as a lady. When you move into the advanced category, the average number of chin-up reps for males and females becomes 24 and 13, respectively. As an elite resistance trainer, your competition becomes steeper, and the average number of reps in your category climbs to 35 and 22 for males and females, respectively.
💡 Quick Tip: You can make things more interesting for yourself if you believe you have gotten comfortable with your body weight and you do not want to increase your reps and sets. I recommend the Rogue USA Cast Weight Vest Plates.
Rogue USA Cast Weight Vest Plates
Other upper body exercises that can help develop your upper body
Just like the chin-up, these exercises will also help you develop the muscles that make up your upper body:
Pushups
Pushups are another bodyweight workout that helps you develop your core, in addition to your upper body. It is arguably an essential exercise for developing strength and muscles, especially for a beginner with little access to a gym or gym equipment. Furthermore, pushups are very easy to perform and, as a result, are one of the go-to shoulder and chest exercises.
Pushups are also very flexible as you can perform them practically anywhere without any equipment, as all you require is some space and your body weight. Likewise, you can perform several pushup variations for different specific benefits.
💡 Quick Tip: You can add a bit more fun by performing your pushups with weighted vests. If you want to try this, I recommend the 5.11 Tactec Plate Carrier.
5.11 Tactec Plate Carrier
The Shoulder Press
The shoulder press is an excellent shoulder, back, and general upper body developer. The exercise significantly targets your anterior deltoid muscles while working your triceps, trapezius, pecs, and the remaining deltoids. An interesting advantage of the exercise is that you are not limited to its free weight variation, as you can do it with a machine. This opens up more options for you and makes it easier to learn if your form is poor or you are just starting.
📖 Related Article: If you're enjoying this article you may want to also check out: Shoulder Press – Dumbbell Vs. Machine – Which Is Better?
Pull-Up
Pull-ups are another fundamental back-building exercise that you can perform almost anywhere. It is similar to chin-ups, and its overhead pulling action helps develop your lats and upper back muscles. Pull-ups also have variations that you can perform depending on what part of your back you want to target.
This exercise is also excellent because pulling your body weight helps you involve your core muscles due to using your body weight. The body weight feature also adds extra benefits if you are a bigger person, which means you are pulling more weight.
Lateral raise
Lateral raises are another vital and flexible upper body exercise. It works your shoulders, building your lateral deltoid muscles while developing your shoulder mobility. You can do it with a pair of dumbbells, resistance bands, and cable machines. However, you can also improvise with books or water bottles if you cannot access a proper gym or a home gym.
