The ability to perform a proper chin-up—grabbing an overhead bar and pulling yourself up until your chin clears it—is a struggle for many. Some see it as impossible, but with the right training approach, reaching 20 chin-ups is an attainable goal. Here’s how to do it.

The Key Factors for Chin-Up Success

1. Body Weight

Your body weight is the biggest factor in chin-up performance. The heavier you are, the harder it is to pull yourself up. A 100-pound person will find chin-ups far easier than a 300-pound person. Even extremely strong individuals struggle if they carry excess weight. Ask any 250+ pound bodybuilder or powerlifter to do strict, controlled, dead-hang to chin-clearing chin-ups, and you’ll likely count the reps on one hand.

2. Body Composition

Body composition plays a crucial role. More muscle mass and less body fat will always improve chin-up performance. If two individuals weigh the same, the leaner one will always perform better. Fat doesn’t contribute to chin-ups—it only weighs you down.

Advanced trainees looking to improve chin-up numbers should aim to lose fat while maintaining muscle mass and strength. As body fat decreases, relative strength improves. Even if absolute strength drops slightly (e.g., max weighted chin-up goes from 100 pounds to 90 pounds), overall bodyweight chin-up performance will increase.

3. Strength

While relative strength is most important, absolute strength still matters. Strong arms, shoulders, and back muscles will improve chin-up ability, and a strong grip is essential.

If you struggle to do even one or two chin-ups, focus on developing relative strength—your ability to generate force relative to your body weight. The best way to train for this:

• High intensity (85-100% of 1RM)
• Low reps (1-5)
• High sets (5+)
• Explosive concentric movements (move as fast as possible, even if the actual speed is slow)
• Long rest intervals (3-5 minutes)
• Sufficient recovery between sessions (at least 4 days)

Progression Strategies

If you can’t perform a full chin-up yet, focus on the stronger phases of the movement:

Eccentric Training

Eccentric strength (lowering phase) is up to 40% greater than concentric strength (lifting phase). Use this advantage:

• Perform band- or partner-assisted chin-ups
• Lower yourself slowly (4-5 seconds per rep)
• On the last rep, take 10 seconds to descend from top to bottom

Gradually reduce assistance (use smaller bands or switch from two legs to one leg) until you can perform unassisted chin-ups.

Isometric Training

Isometric strength (holding a position) is 10-15% greater than concentric strength. Use static holds to improve weak points:

• Start at the top position (use a bench or jump up)
• Lower ¼ of the way down (45-degree elbow bend), pause 1-2 seconds, then pull back up
• On the last rep, hold for 10 seconds before lowering

Increase the range of motion over time: progress from ¼ chin-ups to ½ chin-ups (90 degrees), then to ¾ chin-ups (135 degrees), and finally to full range (180 degrees).

Muscular Endurance Methods

Once you can do at least a few chin-ups, shift focus to muscular endurance. A simple but effective method is:

• Find your max reps (e.g., 10)
• Cut that in half (e.g., 5 reps)
• Perform 4 sets of 5 reps, resting 3 minutes between sets

If that’s too hard, try 5 sets of 4 reps or increase rest to 4-5 minutes. Gradually reduce rest time (by 5-10 seconds per session) until you can do 20 consecutive reps without stopping.

Use a stopwatch—start the countdown as soon as your feet touch the floor. When you have 10 seconds left, reset the timer, get in position, and go.

Avoid Machine-Based Chin-Ups

If you rely on assisted machines, you’re setting yourself up for failure. Machines provide support, reducing activation of stabilizer muscles and core engagement. When switching to unassisted chin-ups, your stabilizers won’t be strong enough to support the movement, making strict chin-ups much harder.

If you want real progress, train on a simple overhead bar. No machines.

The Mental Game

The biggest limiting factor for many—especially females—is perception. If you believe you can’t do a chin-up, you won’t. Your mind must be on board before your body follows.

Here’s a mental trick from Karsten Jensen, a former strength coach for the Danish National Elite Sports Institution:

• Start counting reps at 10 instead of 1
• When you reach 20, you’ve actually done only 10
• Next workout, start counting at 9
• Keep shifting the starting number down until you’re counting from 1

This helps trick your brain into pushing past perceived limits.

Take-Home Message

• Get lean—reduce body fat while maintaining muscle
• Get strong—focus on relative strength
• Train the right way—use eccentric and isometric methods
• Build endurance—gradually increase reps while reducing rest
• Ditch the machines—use free-hanging bars
• Master the mental game—believe in yourself and trick your brain into pushing further

And if you ever surpass 20 chin-ups? Gain weight!