Chin-ups and Pull-ups

Last Updated on Saturday, 10 October 2009 23:36 Thursday, 08 October 2009 10:06

I recently invested the grand sum of $8.99 in a chin up bar. One I can wedge between into any doorframe and use to complete chin-ups. It's not ideal but in the general course of my investments, this has been one of the better one's. Chin up's can be  performed on any bar that can take your weight - trees, rafters, roof beams or home made bars.They are therefore perfect for anybody with no access to a gym requiring minimal equipment to complete.

Chin-ups are a great workout for back and bicep muscles. They can blast and stimulate muscle where you previously thought you had none. Chin-ups are a fantastic exercise because they require only one piece of cheap equipment (a bar), can be done anywhere and can deliver huge gains in upper body strength if done correctly. Their simplicity is not to be mistaken for being easy. In fact they are notoriously hard and if you've never worked out before you'll have trouble doing one single solitary chin up - it is after all your complete body weight you are lifting.

Chin-ups and pull-ups are commonly interchanged terms. The difference between the two is the way your palms face on the bar. Chin-ups are with the palms face you, pull-ups are with the palms facing away. Chin-ups are better for biceps, whilst pull- ups are better for the back. Of the two, pull-ups are harder to perform. Any combination of wide grip, narrow grip and even  thumbless grips can be used for both chin-ups and pull-ups. You should mix up the hand grips to both challenge yourself and engage and build different muscle groups. Avoid sticking with the one grip and one form of chin-up.

Forget about assisted pull-up machines and lat pulldowns. They don't come anywhere close to the strength and development you  will gain from doing raw chin-ups and pull-ups. The exercise is like the bench press - if you want to bench and seriously  develop the chest you need to do heavy benches.

Chin-ups are not rocket science to perform but as with all exercises execution of the exercise is key. Begin by hanging from the bar with hands at shoulder width. If the bar is not high enough, you may need to bend your legs. Once hanging, pull  yourself up until your chin clears the bar. You should be looking up when doing chin-ups and pull-ups, not down. The elbows should be pointing to the floor which forces your back to be involved more in the exercise. Lower yourself steadily to the starting position again. Avoid 'half' chin-ups where you don't extend yourself through the full range or use leg and hip  swinging to help you complete a chin-up. The exercise isn't about how many half assed chin-ups you complete but engaging the back and bicep muscles through a structured movement.

Even President Obama does Pull-ups!

There is only one time you should ever be using help or assistance in completing a chin-ups - when you are beginning. If you  cannot complete one chin-up, have somebody support you at the legs. If you have nobody, use a chair for leg support but  avoid placing the full body weight down onto your legs. As you progress, you will come to the stage where you will need to  increase resistance above what your own body weight offers. Using a belt with weights attached is the easiest method of  doing this, but backpacks with weights are also used.