If you’re looking for a simple, tough move to work your upper body, all you need is a spot at the bar.

Pullups and chinups are two of the easiest exercises to perform, conceptually — all you have to do is hang from a bar and pull your chin up over it, hence the names — but they’re also some of the most effective when it comes to building pure strength. After all, you’re using your own body for resistance, no weights required (at least to start).

In case you’re scratching your head and wondering what exactly separates pullups and chinups, or what all the hype is about, a quick explainer is in order: A pullup typically refers to the move performed with a pronated (overhand) grip.

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Chinups, by contrast, use a supinated (underhand) grip.

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Both moves work your lats, traps, core, and arms, in different capacities.

For the most basic iteration of both exercises, all you have to do is grip the bar shoulder-width apart and hang with your elbows locked out and your arms straight. Pull yourself up until your head clears the bar using only your shoulders, back, and arms (no momentum from swinging your legs), then lower yourself down in a controlled manner until your elbows are once again locked out and your arms are totally straight.

Maintaining that rigid form is the real challenge for most people, especially when they’re first starting out. Cheating at pullups and chinups by using momentum or only lowering a few inches are all too common. The extreme logical endpoint of these shortcut techniques is the CrossFit’s kipping pullup, which is typically performed for speed.

The sport uses the move for a totally different purpose than most guys in the gym — remember, there are totally different competitive goals separating CrossFitters from more general lifters. Unless you’re working on beating your PR time on a WOD, keep your pullup form clean.

Pull Your Own Weight

If you’re struggling to pull yourself off the ground, never fear: You can work your way up to the proper form. Start with this exercise that can make you a pullup powerhouse. You can also hone your technique and begin building the proper muscle-mind connection by incorporating some assisted reps, using a partner, machine, or bands. Follow a step-by-step protocol if you’re really struggling.

If you can nail rep after rep of the chinup and pullup, we salute you. Hoisting your body weight from a dead hang is no easy feat. It requires a tremendous amount of upper-body strength and muscular endurance. Once you’ve reached that point, you can challenge yourself even further with these 14 pullup and chinup progressions.

“Some variations will be harder on your grip, some will attack your abs, some will zero in on your upper back—but they’re all tough,” according to Andy Speer, creator of The Anarchy Workout.

Watch Speer perform all 14 versions in the video above. Try as many as you can, but only if you can crank out a few reps of the standard movements first. Once you’ve done that, add weight, perform more reps — the only limit to your pullup gains will be your own creativity.

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