Well, at least we believe so...
If you've JUST got your first chin up or have been stuck at one or two chin ups for some time now, then it's likely you might need some guidance...
When most people try to increase the amount of chin ups they can do, they often think it is all about trying over and over again...
But, unfortunately this is not the best idea and if you're not doing the appropriate recovery, then it can even result in injury...
The reason this is a poor tactic, is because completing only one to two chin ups over and over to fatigue is too tiring on your body...
Your body is unable to recover fast enough between subsequent chin ups, which means you constantly end up failing your reps..
This is because, to your body, even just those one or two of chin ups are still seen as difficult...
Your body views it as a stressful kick in the butt and this takes it far too long to recover from...
But, I bet it doesn't feel that way right?
That's because training for strength exercises is not the same as going out for your casual run..
With strength exercises, such as chin ups, muscles need firing from cells in the brain at a larger level than when going for our casual run...
You can think of it like charging a battery...
Charging a small battery like your Iphone, takes as little as 30 minutes and so you're back up and running before you know it...
Whereas, a battery needed to charge a car, like a Tesla, would take up to 7 hours...
Well, this is the same for strength exercises, the more you put the brain to work, the more recovery you need...
And also the reason completing chin ups for one rep when it is still too hard, leaves you tired and sore...
So, why are you struggling exactly?
Well, to make it really simple...
One; A proper chin up alone is too hard for you...
and
Two; You're not doing enough total work in your training session...
Well, how do we fix this?
By taking a small step backwards and utilising certain exercises that first helped us get a chin up...
And then, increase the frequency of training throughout the week..
Below is an example of how this would look in a program;
Session 1;
Negative Chin Up
Complete for 2-4 reps at 10-15 seconds
Sets: 4
Rest: 90 seconds
This will allow you to develop anywhere between 20-60 seconds of time under tension...
The negative or lowering part of a chin up is up to 30% easier than the concentric or pulling part...
So, you can work for longer periods of time...
We use this exercise in our basics chin up program to help individuals first develop the strength and stability needed for a chin up...
VIDEO: Negative Chin Up demonstration...
Session 2:
Feet Assisted Bar Chin Ups
Complete for 6-10 reps at 3 seconds down, 2 seconds up
Sets: 4
Rest: 90 seconds
Even though we’ve focused on working on the lowering part and building time under tension, remember we still need the strength to pull up…
And, the aim is to do this multiple times..
By assisting the body slightly, we can work on the concentric and eccentrics parts with just enough assistance to make it through the reps…
But, still make it hard enough that the body must adapt to the movement for more reps…
VIDEO: Assisted Bar Chin Up demonstration...
Excellent, now that we’ve covered the exercise selection, there is still one problem….
We need make sure more training gets done throughout the week, if we really want to improve upper body pulling strength…
Alternating between these training sessions, with one day recovery in-between will allow the body to train more often free of fatigue…
The reason we can now train this often, is because the intensity of the exercise is not as difficult as those single chin ups…
So, from here on out, if you want to improve your chin up strength and get multiple reps, then complete one of these sessions every second day…
Daniel
Co founder & Coach
