Both of these exercises are great for building biceps. Let’s take a look at the differences between both and see which is better.
Chin-ups and barbell curls are best while trained together, they both score out (Chin-ups 107 and biceps curls at 95 scores from EMG testing) the highest in muscle activation in the biceps. Chin-ups are great because of the full range of motion and put the biceps under more stress for growth. Barbell curls are beneficial because you can do more volume to make sure you are training for hypertrophy. They both have their benefits and should both be used for increasing bicep strength and size. You could start your workout out with pull-ups and finish with barbell or EZ curls.
Chin-ups vs Barbell Curls, which should I be doing?
Chin-ups are great for muscle activation, during EMG studies it scores out very high With a score of 107, where bicep curl scores at 95 score. This was discovered from an EMG tets but the results can vary with this type of testing.
Either way, they tested the highest for activation in the bicep muscles. If we look at how much chin-ups versus barbell curls for bicep growth, we can see that they both are great at training the biceps and should be used in our workout programs.
Something that chin-ups do that bicep curls do not train is that chin-ups will train more muscle groups at once just like a compound exercise will.
They’re also one of the best heavy bicep exercises because of the demand of force put on our biceps. This makes it the best heavy bicep exercise, this is because of the high amount of tension put on our biceps during chin-ups.
If you compare bicep curls it’s really tough to say that there is one better than the other. We do know that the best muscle activation of bicep curls is through either a barbell or EZ bar curl.
The dumbbell curl is actually one of the worst exercises when it comes to activating your bicep muscles.
The biggest benefit that we get with bicep curls vs chin-ups is that bicep curls are not as fatiguing because they are not as taxing as an exercise like a chin-up.
Therefore, you are able to train at a higher volume with an exercise like a bicep curl. While chin-ups are the best heavy bicep exercise, bicep curls are the best isolation exercise.
The best overall way to increase the size of our biceps is to really make chin-ups a priority in our workouts. Chin-ups are a full-body workout just like a bench press, deadlift, and a squat.
We should also be trying to increase progressive overload and volume for this exercise just like any exercise over time.
There is a cool study that shows that if we do bicep curls after lat pull-downs, the results show an increase of up to 60% more growth in our biceps. Something I’m going to experiment with and see if it works is try adding barbell curls after doing pull-ups.
If we are to compare chin-ups, they get the upper hand for building more muscle while hitting multiple areas of our upper body. Another bonus is that do a really good job of increasing the size of our biceps.
While chin-ups and pull-ups are both great for biceps, the studies out there are pretty mixed, you can get a better full range of motion for your biceps with an underhand grip otherwise known as a chin-up.
Bicep curls are different and they are better at increasing size because of the high amount of volume were able to train since it is an isometric exercise.
To make sure that we are getting hypertrophy from training, it’s best to make sure that we are doing both chin-ups and barbell curls.
They both have benefits that the other may not have and this is why we could program chin-ups at the beginning of our workouts and finish with barbell curls.
| Chin-ups and barbell or EZ curls should both be used in programs. This is because one has benefits that the other doesn’t have. The chin-ups did score out higher on an EMG test for bicep activation. |
Benefits of Chin-ups and Pull-ups
The whole purpose of the study was to identify key differences in the peak muscle activation or the average variable muscle activated. They’re also different techniques you can do that would determine if you’re doing a pull-up versus a chin up.
And these techniques would be something like a pronated grip with your palms facing forward or a supinated grip with your palms facing towards you.
The electromyography EMG was used and placed 8 different shoulder arm and forearm muscles. They use the activation of the muscles as a percentage to see which muscles are being at work the most or activated.
The pronated grip was shown to have the biggest increase and muscle activation versus a chin up. What they found was that the most muscle activation for the biceps and their back muscles came during the concentric part of the exercise.
Chin-ups vs Pull-ups and their effect on biceps
Doing chin-ups or pull-ups is a great exercise it should be used in every program whether it be for strength or to improve muscular endurance. most of us know that doing pull-ups works great and we should be doing them more often.
However, even with that being said there is not a whole lot of evidence that shows muscle activation when doing them. (Vanderburgh and Flanagan, 2000; Williamset al., 1999)
There are a couple of different ways to do pull-ups. Pronated Grip- this type of grip works more of your lat muscles or so we assume because there is little evidence an understanding of how pull-ups grips may affect muscle activation.
So instead of going by Bro Science or someone who swears they know for sure because they read online, we’re going to look at the research Instead of assumptions.
Muscle activation is really important when we train because it’s a big part of our programming. We don’t know which muscles are being worked and we don’t know how much volume they are getting trained.
This is why we need movement patterns from the exercise to be accessed.
Researchers have used something such as EMG Peak Which gives a variable of activated muscles from an exercise.
As mentioned before there are different techniques to do pull-ups and therefore will have different biomechanical demands on our bodies.
When studying the movements and muscles of the supinated grip which is the pull up also very common to be referred to as a chin up.
Previous Studies have proven that in order to activate your muscles while doing pull-ups there needs to be greater than 50 to 60% MVIC for strength and muscle growth.
Not all pull-up or chin-up variance activating muscles while doing exercise are all the same. Are there different levels in degrees of increasing strength adaptation in each muscle group.
Are chin-ups better than Pull-ups for Biceps
During the study, they assess 7 shoulder and arm muscles with each participant doing a shoulder with supinated and pronated grip pull-ups.
Regardless of what type of hand technique used rather it be a pronated or supinated grip, all of the results with muscle activation results were similar.
MVIC This is important because it stands for the maximal voluntary isometric contraction and is currently the best practice while doing research or studies for EMG.
What they found was that the MVIC maximal voluntary isometric contraction muscle activity was not up to the percentage needed for best practices of EMG research.
What they did discover was the supinated grip for Pull-Ups actually had quite a bit greater muscle activation for the biceps and the pectoralis when compared to the pronated grip technique.
It can also get a little murky as far as which is better between chin-ups and pull-ups. This is because a study that we just looked at showed that pull-ups were Superior to chin-ups and cause more muscle activation in the biceps. And there are also EMG scores showing that chin-ups are better for bicep training. You can’t go wrong with both so just choose the one you can do more reps with.
If we look at Bret Contreras Ph.D., he shows that weighted chin-ups can be up to 50% better at stimulating the bicep muscle than an exercise like weighted pull-ups.
He actually scored the exercises and found that chin-ups had a bicep activation of 107. Pull-ups had a bicep activation score of 65.
However, chin-ups are also great because of the full range of motion but the bicep goes through during the exercise. Even with that being said the chin up and pull up may not be the best exercise for increasing bicep size and strength
| The pronated grip or a pull-up is much better then chin-ups for increasing muscle activation in the biceps. However, there are up to 50% more bicep activation for chin-ups then weighted pull-ups. |
Best Tempo for chin-ups Exercises
No matter what exercise you are doing tempo is needed. Research has shown that tempo speed for the movement should not be more than 8 seconds total for each repetition.
The concentric part is in the squeezing or pulling up part of the movement for the exercise. The Eccentric is the part of the exercise where you’re coming back down towards the ground.
It’s very important to make sure that you are using the same speed on the concentrate and Eccentric part of the exercise. It’s a common mistake for most of us who work out and I am guilty of this in the past.
It’s best to keep the weight fall quickly on the eccentric phase of the exercise. You can build more muscle and strength while using the same tempo on the concentric and eccentric part.
It’s important to use a tempo of no more than 8 seconds for the total rep. an example would be something like 4 seconds on the way up on the chin-up in 4 seconds on the way back down in chin up. this would be the absolute most time speed used for each rep.
| The tempo is greatly overlooked in exercise technique. Studies have shown there are strength and muscle benefit in controlling the eccentric part of the movement of the exercise. The total time under tension of the rep should not be more than 8 seconds in total. For a chin-up would be 4 seconds on the way up and 4 seconds on the way down. |
Which type of curl is better for your Biceps, Dumbell, barbell, EZ Bar Curl?
The whole point of this section is to break down which type of curl is better for strength and size for your biceps. We want to compare the barbell, dumbbell, and EZ bar curl to see which is best.
Then we’ll do a break down to see which is best between all the exercises we’ve mentioned such as the chin-ups and barbell curls.
Let’s take a look at the study that compared the barbell curl versus the dumbbell an EZ bar curl for which exercise has the most muscle activation for the biceps.
These 12 male subjects with an average age of around 25 years old and with at least 3 years of experience with weight training with an average of 3 workouts per week.
They were all required to train with both types of exercises being dumbbell and barbell curls and anywhere right-handed.
The participants were all trained on proper form as well as this could throw a wrench in plans if your form is not correct. As always to determine which muscle groups are truly being activated an EMG is important.
Muscles that were being accessed by the EMG were the biceps and the brachialis.
Furthermore to determine which one of these three exercises And maintained a standing posture during each. During the barbell curl, dumbbell curl and EZ bar curl 1 rep max was determined for each.
Without even going too much further in the study I would have assumed that the barbell curl would easily cause more muscle activation in the biceps versus a dumbbell or curl EZ bar curl.
I don’t think that that seems to be the case though the more I read through this let’s finish and take a look.
During the study, each guy did a standard warm-up that included 12 reps of alternate dumbbell curls at 40% of their one-rep max. During the randomized order of the type of bicep workouts that was done each participant was asked to workout with one set of 10 repetitions.
As mentioned previously tempo is important while not being on top of the list for gaining muscle and building strength but nevertheless should be a priority.
Again, the total time for a rep should not be over eight seconds such as 4 seconds on the concentric and eccentric movement. During the research, each guy was asked to keep the tempo at 3 seconds for each rep duration.
The total weight lifted or “load” was related to 65% of their one-rep max. So rest time between each side was a 4-minute break to allow for recovery during each exercise.
The results are in let’s get a drumroll going. The EZ bar curl Maybe more preferred over the dumbbell curl Because it causes more muscle activation for the bicep and the brachioradialis. It also is better for the whole range of motion and only in the eccentric phase.
The only difference between the barbell curl in an EZ bar curl where the variance of the bicep and brachioradialis EMG activity makes the big winner between the two bicep curl exercises a matter of subjective comfort.
And there we have it between the three exercises the barbell curl and the EZ bar curl we’re very similar muscle activation that was the EZ bar curl slightly preferred. While EZ bar curl was preferred also was glass up to a matter of comfort from the results of this study.
| The EZ bar curl is slightly preferred over the barbell curl because it causes more muscle activation in the biceps. The EZ bar curl is also better in the whole range of motion. It’s so close that it also comes down to preference. |
Final Thoughts
It’s tough to say that chin-ups should only be used versus a barbell or EZ bicep curl. This is because they both have benefits that the other may not have.
Chin-ups are great and should be classified as a compound exercise such as a bench press, deadlift, and squat. The reason being is because you are still training more than just your biceps and multiple muscle groups at once.
It also has a good for a range of motion for your biceps. While EMG scores may vary, the chin-up scored 107 while the bicep curls scored 95. However, barbell or EZ curls are the best type of bicep curl exercise.
Dumbbell exercises have shown to produce the least amount of bicep activation from EMG scores. One of the great benefits of doing a barbell curl is because you can train the biceps at higher volumes to ensure that you are training to Hypertrophy.
This is because it is more of an isolation exercise mainly just focusing on the bicep versus a total body exercise like a chin-up where you are working more than one muscle group that once. It’s best to use them both in your programs, because of the benefits that they both provide.