How come I can curl 70 pounds 10 times for three sets but can only do a max of 6 chin ups?

Question

Why are chin ups harder?

I was told by trainers that I had very good form when I did curls!!!

There is no way that dude down there is curling 268 pounds. That is just wack.

Answer 1

It depends alot on body weight. If you are on the heavier side, chin ups and pull ups will be harder to do than those on the lighter side of the scale.

Also remember, you curl 70 pounds. Think of your body weight, it's definitely alot more heavier than 70 pounds, don't you think?

Answer 2

Because you're engaging back muscles when you do chin ups more than you are engaging your biceps.

Also, you're pulling up a lot more weight when you do chin ups.

Finally, bicep curls are simply a much more common and natural exercise -- think of all the things you pick up curl-style every day. We don't do chin-up style movements as part of our daily routines, though.

My advice: three days a week, do 30 chin ups. Take as many sets as you need to do them.

Gradually, you'll start needing fewer sets to do the 30.

I don't do chin ups, but I do pullups, which are similar.

At first it took me six sets to get to 30, but gradually I improved.

Now I can do five sets of 10 pullups each, for a total of 50 pullups.

I've only been doing pullups for about three months, and I'm a 41 yr old woman, so if I can do it, anybody can do it. I couldn't even do that many pullups when I was a 19-yr-old in the Navy!

Answer 3

Chin ups are just like any other exercise, in the way that it will take awhile for you to build up to doing more of them. Remember when you first started curling your biceps? I'll bet you didn't start at 70 lbs. right? You had to start lighter, and the stronger you became, the more weight you could lift.
Chin ups are a totally different exercise, and will take some time to be able to lift your body weight up like this, remember you're lifting your whole body, and also using alot more muscles too, and these muscles aren't ready for it either! Keep doing them, and like the other muscle groups, do them every other day, not daily. You'll be able to do more in no time, just like your weights eventually got heavier with your biceps. Hope you're training your back, chest, and triceps too, I'm sure you are.
Hope this helps some.......

Answer 4

You are indeed using different muscles. Curling involves primarily the bicep muscle as well as a little of your front deltoid and forearm (Depending upon how much body english you are using).

The chin up involves a little of your bicep, but mostly it involves the latissimus muscle (the fan-shape muscle) on the sides of your back. In addition, it uses your forearms, traps and rhomboids -- to a lesser degree. It appears that your lats are underdeveloped or you are on the heavy side. Generally, the heavier you are, the harder it is to do pull-ups.

You and I are reversed. My biceps are a bit on the weaker side, but I can crank out pull-ups / chin-ups fairly easily. I weight around 160.

Good luck.

Answer 5

First of all, your body weight is heavier than the 70lbs that you're doing. Secondly you're probably able to "cheat" more when doing your biceps by swaying and bending when curling the weights.

Answer 6

When you are curling, you are primarily using one specific muslce. When doing chinups, you are working a variety of muscles. Lifting weights is different than working with your own body weight.

Answer 7

First of all you are not using proper form when you curl obviously, second you are not strong at controlling and working out with your bodyweight.

Answer 8

70 lbs. isn't much weight, no wonder u can't do chin-ups.

I can curl my own weight 268 lbs. ('0' fat), you should be able to also (someday).

Answer 9

Because to do chin ups it takes more than just your biceps. Your lats, deltoids, pecs, trapezius and others work when you do chin ups.

Answer 10

Because (hopefully) you weigh more than 70 pounds.