Comments on: Chin-up tips

By: Bribana

Bribana — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 06:52:03 +0000

Awesome post! That was a good read

By: gubernatrix

gubernatrix — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 07:38:35 +0000

Hi Dave,

Weighted chins are great for improving the non-weighted numbers.

I’m doing the Twenty Pullups challenge (http://twentypullups.com/) at the moment and it seems to be working really well. I’ve already breezed past my previous max and I’m only a couple of weeks in. It is a simple ‘grease the groove’ style programme but gets the job done.

By: Dave Lippi

Dave Lippi — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 05:19:41 +0000

Hey Guys,
I have been trying to blast out my number of chin-ups for years! I have to do a PFT for the USMC now and again and receive pts. for them. I have always wanted a fat set of 20. I got 18 in bootcamp when I was 19 yrs. old. BUT, now I’m an old timer and can do 6 good ones. I am going to buy wrist hooks and attach a 10 lbs.plate to my waist and go balls out. This has helped me get to 10.

By: gubernatrix

gubernatrix — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 12:57:36 +0000

Hi Mick,

I think you have slightly misunderstood me – or perhaps I wasn’t clear enough. I am not talking about wide grip pullups (which – as you point out – are much harder), I am talking about whether you have your hands in line with your shoulders, just outside them or just inside them. The difference is a matter of centimetres. For example, I use a different hand position for pullups as I do for chinups – that is what works for me. My hands are closer together on chinups (but not too close – you do need a bit of space).

By: Mick

Mick — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 08:54:15 +0000

‘Experiment with hand width to find your strongest pulling position. Shoulder-width apart is the default, but try narrower and wider to see if it makes a difference.’

This is a fallacy. The wider your grip the harder it is.

By: gubernatrix

gubernatrix — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 21:37:31 +0000

@ Justin_P: Thanks for posting that tip!

@ Rooroo: Good luck! I shall be checking your blog.

@ Mnem: Re kipping, I’ve recently started to learn the kipping pull-up so that I can do Crossfit workouts and add that string to my bow. I can put a few together but they don’t feel solid yet – I’m using too much strength and not enough kip! If you’ve got a home pull-up bar, you’ll be well away. Check out the vids on http://www.crossfit.com for some good technique pointers.

By: Mnem

Mnem — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 20:28:12 +0000

I have been training pullups by giving a slight hop at the bottom- it’s not a jump, though it’s certainly giving some assistance. I think it’s becoming a psychological issue though; I’m not feeling like I can get the motion started without that little hop, even though it’s really not much.
I think I will have to try to cut it out, or at least fail on unassisted pullups before I start assisting.
Do you have any thoughts on kipping? I want to learn this but my efforts so far at the gym have not been too successful- I worry I’m going to bump into someone, it’s usually kind of crowded. I’m waiting for my home pullup bar to arrive in the mail, when it does I suppose I can practice the kip without so much worrying.

By: Rooroo

Rooroo — Sun, 16 Mar 2008 23:17:01 +0000

I shall! Decided to record my progress and write some thoughts, see linky!

By: Justin_P

Justin_P — Sun, 16 Mar 2008 22:28:39 +0000

This is hard to describe but here it goes…

Place chair slightly behind your bar. Place your feet on the chair behind you while you still hang. This drop the amount of weight that you’re pulling uup.

By: gubernatrix

gubernatrix — Sun, 16 Mar 2008 17:50:05 +0000

@ Rooroo: good luck, let us know how you get on.