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If
you've never done a full bodyweight chin-up before,
don't worry! With the right training, just about
anybody can work themselves up to performing one
or more full range chin-ups. In this article,
you'll learn all the steps and progressions you
need in order get from zero to one!
And
it's NOT going to require pull-downs OR self-spotting
machines like the Gravitron (I'm not going to
take ANY resistance away from you!).
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So
first off, we need to distinguish between
a chin-up and a pull-up. A pull-up is generally
done with a wider grip and an overhand grip
on the bar. This is actually a HARDER exercise
to perform than the chin-up.
The
chin-up is done with a close grip on the
bar (hands only a few inches apart) with
an underhand grip.
The
reasons the wide-grip pull-up is harder
is that first, the biceps are not able to
contribute as much to the movement because
your arms are directly out to the sides.
Second, the lats (the muscles of the back)
don't have as good of leverage with the
arms out in this position.
The
chin-up places the lats in a better position
to contract and allows the biceps to contribute
more to the movement.
And
this is what we want, because to do that
first chin-up, you're going to need ALL
the muscle power you can get!
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THIS
is a Pull-Up |
The
first consideration to look at when it comes to
chinning is your overall bodyweight. If you're
carrying a lot of extra weight, it's going to
make it that much harder to perform a chin-up
because obviously, you're going to have to lift
that extra bodyweight up, too!
Dropping
extra weight is definitely going to help you achieve
your goal of that first chin-up, though it's not
100% necessary...it just means you'll have to
build up that much more strength in order to perform
the exercise.
When
it comes to building up strength for that first
chin-up, I prefer to do it over the long-term
rather than trying to get there all at once.
The
only thing I ask is that you NOT try and perform
a full chin-up until I tell you to. That's it.
I don't want you trying and failing and getting
discouraged. So take it step-by-step, build the
foundations...I'll let you know when you're ready.
PHASE 1
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So
the first step you're going to take is one
that is very simple and straightforward...you're
going to grab the bar and just HANG from
it for as long as you can. That's it!
The
reason? I find that a lot of people simply
don't have the necessary GRIP strength to
perform a full chin-up and building it up
with a very specific drill like this helps
tremendously.
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So
at the beginning of every single workout and at
the end of every single workout you do (NOT just
back workouts but EVERY workout), you'll stand
under the chin-up bar, reach up and grab it with
a close, underhand grip, then just hang at arms-length
for as long as you can until your grip gives out.
This
is going to help you get used to supporting your
entire bodyweight on the chin-up bar and it's
going to build up that very specific grip strength
we're looking for.
Repeat
this drill until you're able to hang from the
chin-up bar for at least 30 seconds before your
grip gives out. Once you can do that, you're ready
for Phase 2.
**
One tip I find very useful is to cross your feet
when doing any chin or pull-up related exercise.
For some reason, this locks your body into the
position more and gives you more pulling strength.
PHASE 2
The
second phase of training is going to be partial
reps in the bottom range of motion of the chin-up.
Now
that your grip strength is built up enough that
you can support yourself on the bar for a good
length of time, we're going to start adding in
movement.
Assume
your hanging position. Now pull yourself up 2
or 3 inches and hold for several seconds. Lower
yourself back to the hanging position then immediately
pull back up a few inches again and hold for several
seconds.
Repeat
this until either your grip gives out or you can
no longer pull yourself up those few inches. Remember,
it's a VERY short range of motion but we want
to hold that position for at least a few seconds
to get target stress on the muscles.
You'll
do one set at the beginning of every workout and
one set at the end of every workout you do.
I've
found this high-frequency approach to work extremely
well because it allows your body to gradually
adapt over time. You don't set giant goals that
you get spooked about and don't think you'll ever
achieve - you set small, achievable, repeatable
goals that build on each other to get you to the
end result.
Once
you can do at least 10 reps of this partial-range
and pause training, then it's on to Phase 3...
PHASE 3
Now
we move on to Negative Training. You may have
heard of this before...now you're going to put
it to use!
We've
built up a foundation of grip strength (which
is HUGE) and a foundation of pulling power in
the strongest range of motion of the exercise
(the bottom few inches). It's time to test yourself
against gravity.
Set
a chair, bench or box in front of the chin-up
bar. Ideally, it should be a height where you
can stand on it and put yourself into the top
position of the chin-up (chin just above the bar)
while still standing on it.
Because
what you'll be doing next is gripping the bar,
getting into position then lowering yourself down
slowly. This is called a "negative rep."
But
here's the key that a lot of people miss when
it comes to Negative Training...
The
idea is to not just passively lower yourself down...the
idea is to ACTIVELY FIGHT GRAVITY all the way
down!
So
when you take your grip on the bar and take your
feet off the bench, I want you to try your darndest
to pull yourself UP, even though gravity is pulling
you DOWN.
This
generally will result in a slow downward rep,
with you fighting it all the way. When you get
to the bottom, let go of the bar, climb back onto
the bench and repeat.
In
your negative set, perform reps in this fashion
until one of two things happens...
1.
You grab the bar, take your feet off the bench
and can't slow your descent at all, dropping right
into the position within a second or two.
2.
You get to 6 reps of this negative training in
your set.
What
do those guidelines mean? In the first one, it
means your muscles aren't actually doing any more
work and there's no reason to continue.
In
the second, when we hit 6 reps, that's plenty
when it comes to negative training. If, on that
sixth rep, you can still control your descent,
you're doing well!
So
here's the deal...in your workouts (again one
set at the beginning and one set at the end of
every single workout you do), do this negative
training. This will probably amount to 3 to 5
times per week, depending how frequently you're
in the gym.
Keep
going in this fashion until you are able to do
6 negative reps and on the SIXTH rep, you can
still pretty well control your descent and don't
just crash down.
Now,
for one calendar week, NO chin-up training. You're
going to give your muscles a break from the specific
training and allow them to recover.
PHASE 4
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The
last step before hitting chins on your own
is the Flexed Arm Hang. Now that your muscles
have recovered from the Negative Training,
we're going to set that bench back up and
get you into the top position of the chin.
Take
your feet off the bench and HOLD that top
chin position for as long as you can. Hold
it until your arms start to straighten and
your lats start to give.
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Now
FIGHT that all the way down until you're hanging
at arms-length on the bar. That's it! Just one
set and one rep, done ONLY at the beginning of
each workout (when you're strongest), not at the
end.
Repeat
this procedure (one set of hanging at the start
of each workout) until you can hang for at least
30 seconds before you start to lower down.
Once
you can do that, it's SHOW TIME!
YOUR FIRST CHIN-UP
Give
yourself a few days off from the Flexed Arm Hang
phase before doing your first chin. You want to
be fully recovered and feeling strong!
Grab
the bar (at this point, you will be so used to
grabbing the chin-up bar that there will be NO
fear associated with it, as there may have been
before). You'll KNOW you can do this.
Tighten
your grip, tighten your muscles, then PULL!
Because
of all the background work you've done, I have
a feeling you're going FLY right up!
Heck,
when you get the first one, if you feel good,
try a second one!
And finally, if you do go through this chin-up
program and WHEN you do your first chin-up, send
me an email and tell me your story! I want to
hear from you!
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