Pull-Up vs. Chin-Up-- Traps
Some state chin-ups are much better for the traps, however the only thing that matters in trap training is scapular motion. Grip orientation is entirely irrelevant.
Let's look at that from a physiological viewpoint. The main function of all 3 parts of the traps (upper, mid, and lower) are to pull back the scapula. Likewise, the uppermost fibers elevate the scapula (like a basic shrugging exercise) and the lowest fibers depress the scapula (push your shoulder blades down toward the ground).
What does the research say?
They found that the traps were more activated during the basic pull-up than in the neutral pull-up. Other researchers discovered that lower trap activity was higher in the pull-up than in the chin-up.
Chin-Up vs. pull-up-- Biceps
Supination is present during the chin-up and not the pull-up. From an anatomical perspective, the chin-up does appear to be better at hitting the biceps than the pull-up.
What does the research say?
One study discovered that bicep activity was far greater in the chin-up than in the pull-up. But it needs to likewise be kept in mind that bicep activity was very high in all 3 variations-- greater than 80% Muscle Voluntary Contraction.
Using This to Your Workouts
You can effectively train the lats, biceps, mid, and lower traps with either the chin-up or pull-up. Although, a basic tweak in your chin-up or pull-up type can make even more of a difference than pronation and supination ever could. However to get the most benefit, you'll have to adhere to strict pulling. One study found that there was significantly lower amounts of activity in the mid-traps, lats, and biceps throughout the kipping pull-up than in the other rigorous variations.
Boost Lat And Trap Activation
Sadly there are no research studies measuring the effect that training has on muscle activation throughout these exercises. Nevertheless, there is a research study that examined the impact that cueing had on untrained athletes who were performing pulldowns. The study found activation of the lats was considerably higher after training than before.
Coach yourself. Here are a couple of hints that can considerably increase the outcomes you see from both the chin-up and the pull-up.
1-- Chest to bar.
This will force you to extend your spinal column and anteriorly tilt your pelvis as you're extending your shoulder joints, which are likewise functions of the lats. Pulling your chest to the bar will cover three functions of the lats as opposed to one. When done correctly, pulling your chest to the bar will make your lats agreement to the degree that they feel like they're about to constrain.
2-- Squeeze a tennis ball between your shoulder blades.
This cue will require you into withdrawing your scapula prior to starting the pull-up. As you found out earlier, all three parts of the traps pull back the shoulder blades.
If the above workout looks familiar, it's due to the fact that it is essentially the "breast bone chin-up" which was created by Vince Gironda. When it comes to training, the Golden Age bodybuilders got a lot right.