Chin-ups are a bodyweight workout which focuses on multiple muscle groups. The main muscle which is being targeted is the Biceps, Forearms and back. Chin-ups are a great exercise as they will help develop your upper body physique and strength.
It is highly recommended to add chin-ups to your warm-ups on arms day, it doesn’t matter whether you’re a professional or a complete beginner.
As a beginner, chin-ups will be hard to perform if your arm doesn’t have the strength but you can build more strength by performing dumbbell and barbell curls. If you’re struggling then use the pull-up machine and bands to assist you and over time you will be able to perform it with no trouble.
Chin-ups and Biceps Correlation
To answer the question chip-ups is an amazing exercise for developing biceps. When performing Chin-ups the primary muscle being used are the biceps and the upper back. After each set, you should feel the bicep pump.
Chin-ups can be performed from anywhere, you need to find somewhere to hang to. As bodyweight exercises, they are one of the best workouts to achieve bigger biceps but performing biceps curls and other arms workouts will help you further.
Also Read: Can pull-ups build biceps?
Chin-up workout plan to build biceps
In order to grow biceps you need to understand that the muscle in the biceps is different to other muscle groups. They require lots of high-intensity sets with less break time; more volume.
You might have seen people in the gym getting biceps pumps with medium-lightweight because they are targeting volume which helps the bicep to grow and build size. However, it doesn’t help with the strength of the bicep. Therefore, a mixture of volume and strength training will help build the ideal biceps you are aiming for.
This chin-up workout plan will take you anywhere from (15-25) and it is best for beginners. If you cannot perform a chin-up then use bands or assisted pull-up machine.
| Reps | Sets | Rest | Aim |
| 8-10 | 5 | 2 min after each set | Focus on slow and controlled reps |
| 3-5 | 2 | 30 sec after each set | Focus on the speed |
After this workout, you should feel fatigued and your upper body should be sore including your biceps.
How often should you do chin-ups?
Ideally, you should do chin-ups or pull-ups every day or whenever you’re hitting your upper body muscle groups but it can vary from person to person. There are so many factors which come in like your fitness level, goals, body weight, and strength.
- For beginners, you should perform 2 times a week with several sets when performing it.
- For Intermediate, you should perform 4 times a week with several sets when performing it.
- For Advanced, you perform every day whether before, after or during your workout.
How long does it take to get good at chin-ups?
This will vary from person to person as there are so many factors. Ideally, it should take anywhere from 2 weeks to 2 months with consistent training to get good at chin-ups.
To get better at doing chin-ups then you should do the following things:
- Consistently perform upper back workouts
- Consistently perform arms workouts
- Consistently perform core workouts
- Perform chin-ups every day (before and after your workout) and track your progress.
- Cut down some of your calories
Performing upper body, arms and core workouts will boost your chin-ups as they will develop a good amount of strength.
Is biceps hard to grow?
The biceps muscle is called Biceps brachii which consists of two heads called :
- Long Head: To grow perform close grip curls
- Short Head: To grow and perform wide grip curls
Honestly, growing biceps is not hard as long as you follow the right plan, diet, rest time and good workouts. This doesn’t mean your bicep will grow the next day after you trained them. It could take 1-3 months to see a good result but consistent training is required.
The first time you train your biceps you are very likely to feel pain in your form arms, joints and biceps which is completely normal. This is because you are not used to working the biceps but after they recovered you should train them again and repeat the process and you will see growth in your biceps.
Some of the workouts to grow your biceps are:
Note: Have a closer grip position for the Long head of the biceps and wider for the short head of the biceps.
- Incline Dumbbell Curls
- Barbell Curls
- Preacher Curls
- Hammer Curls
- Concentrated Curls
- EZ barbell Curls
Also Read: Benefits of Barbell Curls
Conclusion
For bigger biceps, I highly recommend that you train the bicep consistently and have a mixture of volume and strength training. It will help increase the bicep mass and strength the muscle over time.
In conclusion, when training my bicep I use the biceps exercises listed above. It’s not hard to build biceps muscle, just requires a lot of hard work and dedication. Also, my favourite variant would have to be the EZ barbell curl. This is because it reduces the chances of injury, and keeps my wrists in a neutral position. The more stronger you get with your upper body the easier the chin-ups will get.
