Strength discipline · Bodyweight
Chin-ups
Chin-ups is a strength discipline in BYOH, trained with bodyweight and building arms and back. Its ladder runs from 1 rep at Level 1 to 40+ reps at Level 9, and Level 10 is the world record.
The ten levels
BYOH measures a discipline in ten cleared levels. Level 9 is a genuine feat; Level 10 is the standing world record, which is there to be looked at rather than reached.
Chin-ups starts at Level 1 with 1 rep. Level 5 asks for 12 reps, and Level 9 - the last level a person can train towards - 40+ reps. The largest single jump is from Level 8 to Level 9, 30 reps to 40+ reps.
| Level | Target |
|---|---|
| 1 | 1 rep |
| 2 | 3 reps |
| 3 | 5 reps |
| 4 | 8 reps |
| 5 | 12 reps |
| 6 | 16 reps |
| 7 | 22 reps |
| 8 | 30 reps |
| 9 | 40+ reps |
| 10 · Legend | Provisional legend benchmark |
The record past Level 9
Strict chin-ups — Provisional legend benchmark.
BYOH uses a provisional final gate until a comparable governed record format is selected. This is a provisional benchmark rather than a governed record.
How it is done
- Grab the pull-up bar with the palms facing your torso and a grip closer than the shoulder width.
- As you have both arms extended in front of you holding the bar at the chosen grip width, keep your torso as straight as possible while creating a curvature on your lower back and sticking your chest out. This is your starting position. Tip: Keeping the torso as straight as possible maximizes biceps stimulation while minimizing back involvement.
- As you breathe out, pull your torso up until your head is around the level of the pull-up bar. Concentrate on using the biceps muscles in order to perform the movement. Keep the elbows close to your body. Tip: The upper torso should remain stationary as it moves through space and only the arms should move. The forearms should do no other work other than hold the bar.
- After a second of squeezing the biceps in the contracted position, slowly lower your torso back to the starting position; when your arms are fully extended. Breathe in as you perform this portion of the movement.
- Repeat this motion for the prescribed amount of repetitions.


Movement guidance and imagery from the public-domain Free Exercise DB. BYOH adds the level thresholds.
How the attempt is judged
A level only means something if two heroes clearing it have done the same thing. These are the rules BYOH counts an attempt by — they are the rules of a game, not coaching.
- What counts as one
- One repetition is from a full dead hang, palms facing you, to the chin clearly above the bar.
- The set
- One unbroken set. You may pause in the supported position for as long as you like; the set ends the moment you leave it.
- What you need
- An underhand grip about shoulder width. The supported position is the dead hang.
- What ends it
- Letting go of the bar ends the set. Kipping or kicking does not count.
What it builds
Chin-ups feeds Arms and Back in a hero’s record, working lats, biceps, forearms, middle back.
- Vertical pull
- Biceps
- Grip & forearms
Chin-ups is one of 32 strength disciplines. It shares its bodyweight requirement with 13 other strength disciplines. Arms is also built by pull-ups, cross-body hammer curl, chair dips and 2 more, and a broad attribute needs several of them rather than one taken far.
Quests that ask for it
- Broad at the ShoulderDiscipline · Level 4
Put it on a record
BYOH turns these levels into a hero: what you clear becomes attributes, quests and a character that grows with your training. It is free, and in open alpha.
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