The Trick That Will Make Doing Chin-Ups Much Easier

Chin-ups are one of the most challenging exercises because you have to lift your entire body weight. You start with your hands on the chin-up bar, palms facing away from you, and pull yourself up until the bar is at your chest. Then you lower yourself back down. That's one chin-up. Getting that first chin-up is a huge accomplishment. If you're not there yet, that's okay. Use this trick to help you get to your goal. 

Lifehack recommends adding a resistance band to your chin-up game. Loop your resistance band around the chin-up bar, making a hitch, leaving a loop dangling. With your hands on the bar, ready to do a chin up, step a foot into the looped band. Cross your feet to help keep the band from slipping. The resistance the band adds will help lift some of your weight, making chin-ups a lot easier for you. 

According to Live Healthy Chron, these are called self-assisted chin-ups. Kelsey Merritt, Victoria's Secret model, uses this modification to do her chin-ups. She puts both feet into the looped resistance band when doing her chin-ups (via Self). Her goal is to do one unassisted chin-up, and using the resistance band is excellent practice. 

Live Healthy Chron recommends using a box or a chair to help you get your feet into the loop. Grab the bar and guide your bent leg into the loop until it hits your ankle. Then, do the same with your other leg. So, both knees are bent, and feet are flexed to keep the band from slipping off. 

You can try it with both feet in the resistance band, so the band is around the bottom of your feet, and your body is straight as you're doing the chin-ups, or you can do it with your legs bent with the band on the front of your ankles. Try both and see which one you like better. It could also depend on how long your resistance band is. If it's shorter, you'll want to use the bent legs technique, and if it's longer, you'll need to put your feet in it. Live Healthy Chron says you can do one or both feet in the loop, but recommends using the bent knee technique, so you have a lower chance of the band slipping off your feet. 

Women's Health points out that the thicker the band you use, the more it will help you. So start out with a thick band and work your way up by switching to a thinner band when using the thicker one gets easy.