Around the Bar Chin Up Overview
The around the bar chin up is a hard pulling move. You hang from a bar with your palms facing you. You pull up and shift to one side. Then you go up and around the bar to the other side. You lower down and reverse it. It works your lats, the big wing muscles on the sides of your back. It also works your biceps and middle back. You only need a pull-up bar. This move builds strong pulling power and body control. It is harder than a normal chin up. It is best once you can do several clean chin ups. Use the around the bar chin up early in a back workout when you are fresh. It fits well as a skill move on pull days.
What Is The Point of the Around the Bar Chin Up?
The around the bar chin up builds serious lat strength and width. It hits your back from a unique angle that regular chin ups can't match.
How To Do The Around the Bar Chin Up
- Set up under a sturdy pull up bar and take a shoulder width grip with your palms facing you. This underhand grip lets your biceps assist your lats through a demanding movement.
- Hang from the bar with your arms fully extended and your core braced. Pull your shoulder blades down slightly so you start from active tension, not a dead, loose hang.
- Begin pulling your body up while shifting your weight toward one side of the bar. Think about leading with one shoulder as you climb rather than pulling straight up the middle.
- Continue rising and traveling laterally so your chest moves up and over toward that side of the bar. This is the first half of the around the bar circle.
- Guide yourself over and around the top of the bar toward the other side. Keep your core tight so your legs do not swing and rob you of control.
- Lower your body down on the opposite side from where you started, under full control. The eccentric here is long and demanding, so resist the whole way down.
- Once you reach a hang on the far side, reverse the entire path back to your starting side. This completes one full circle around the bar.
- Keep your movement smooth and continuous rather than jerky. The whole point is controlled travel around the bar, not a kip or a swing to get you over.
- Breathe out as you pull up and over, and stay braced through your midsection the entire time. A loose core turns this into an uncontrolled swing.
- Because this is so demanding, work in low rep sets of 2 to 5 clean circles for 3 to 4 sets. Stop well before your control fails, since sloppy reps here are risky.
Around the Bar Chin Up Form Tips
- Keep your shoulders pulled down, away from your ears.
- Keep your belly tight to hold your body steady.
- Pull with your back first, then your arms.
- Move smooth and slow around the bar.
- Keep your grip firm the whole time.
- Do not swing or kick your legs.
- Lower yourself with control on the far side.
- Breathe out on the pull. Breathe in on the way down.
- Keep your neck long and easy.
Common Mistakes to Avoid for the Around the Bar Chin Up
- Kipping or swinging to get around the bar. Throwing your hips to generate momentum turns a strict strength move into an uncontrolled swing that stresses your shoulders. Keep your core locked and travel around the bar with muscle, not momentum.
- Starting from a dead, disorganized hang. If your shoulders are loose and inactive at the bottom, the joint takes the load in a vulnerable position. Set your shoulder blades and brace before you pull so you climb from active tension.
- Trying it before you own strict chin ups. This is an advanced move, and attempting it without a solid base of pulling strength almost guarantees ugly, risky reps. Build several strict chin ups first, then progress to traveling around the bar.
- Losing core tension and letting the legs swing. Swinging legs pull you out of position and make the lateral travel chaotic. Keep your abs braced and your legs quiet so you control the path around the bar.
- Rushing the lowering phase. Dropping quickly on the far side wastes the long eccentric, which is where much of the strength and control is built. Own a slow, controlled descent every rep rather than bailing down.
- Cutting the range of motion short. Not fully extending at the bottom or not clearing the bar at the top shrinks the movement and the benefit. Complete the full circle with real range on each side.
- Gripping the bar loosely. A weak grip on a move this demanding leaks power and risks your hands slipping mid circle. Squeeze the bar hard and keep your knuckles wrapped tight the whole way around.
- Leading with your head and neck. Craning your neck to get over the bar strains it and throws off your alignment. Lead with your shoulder and let your torso travel as one controlled unit.
- Doing too many reps per set. High rep sets on such a technical, taxing move mean the last reps are sloppy and dangerous. Keep sets short at 2 to 5 clean circles and stop before control fails.
- Ignoring shoulder warm up. Going straight into this cold puts your shoulders through a big range under load without preparation. Warm up with hangs and lighter pulls so the joint is ready.
- Only circling in one direction. Always going the same way builds an imbalance in how each side handles the travel. Alternate which side you lead toward so both sides share the work evenly.
Around the Bar Chin Up Workout Tips
- Treat this as an advanced skill move and earn it first. Build a strong base of strict chin ups and controlled pull ups before you try traveling around the bar, or the reps will be ugly and risky.
- Keep your core braced as if bracing for a punch. A stiff trunk stops your legs from swinging and gives you the control the circle demands.
- Lead the travel with your shoulder, not your head. Guiding with the shoulder keeps your neck safe and your torso moving as one coordinated unit.
- Own a slow eccentric on the way down each side. The long lowering phase builds serious pulling strength and control, so resist it rather than dropping.
- Squeeze the bar hard throughout. A crushing grip stabilizes your shoulders and gives you the security you need for a move where your hands are your only anchor.
- Alternate the direction you circle. Leading toward the same side every rep builds a side to side gap, so switch directions to keep both sides strong and coordinated.
- Warm up your shoulders and lats thoroughly first. Some hangs and lighter chin ups prime the joints for the big range this movement covers.
- Keep sets short at 2 to 5 clean reps. This is taxing and technical, so quality circles beat a long set that falls apart at the end.
- Film yourself from the side or front. A video shows swinging legs or a rushed descent far better than the movement feels while you are up there.
- Use it to build serious lat and grip strength. The travel and control demand hits your back, arms, and grip in a way standard chin ups cannot.
- Program it early in your pull day when you are fresh. A skill this demanding needs your full strength and focus, not tired arms at the end of a session.
- Keep the whole movement smooth and continuous. Jerky, stop start reps signal a lack of control, while flowing travel shows you truly own the pattern.
- Regress to lateral chin ups if the full circle is too much. Pulling up to one side and back builds the lateral strength you need before you commit to going all the way around.
- Do not train it to failure. A failed rep mid circle leaves you in a bad spot with your shoulders loaded, so leave reps in the tank and stay in control.
- Chase quality over quantity every session. A handful of beautifully controlled circles builds the skill faster than grinding out sloppy volume.
- Be patient with this one. It rewards months of consistent pulling strength and practice, so keep chipping away and let the skill develop over time.
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