5 Hot Tips to Master Chin Ups/Pull Ups

Chin Ups. I LOVE them. Mostly because they are pretty damn badass and a symbol of strength but also because they are an effective exercise that can be completed virtually anywhere you find a bar that can hold your weight! For years I have been told by people that performing chin ups is one of their biggest health and fitness goals.

For years Ive witnessed a lot people do nothing more than bitch and moan about how hard they are.

Here are 5 simple ways to work towards pumping out chin ups like the badass you know you can be!

ITS ALL IN THE MIND

Develop your mind-muscle connection. In order to complete a movement effectively you first need to clearly understand what muscles you are trying to fire up! When performing chin ups your lats, biceps and scapular muscles all have to come to the party. Keep yourself honest. My belief is that a half rep is a failed rep and a failed rep is a waste of time. Train yourself to complete each part of each movement with relative perfection. That is – to the very best of your ability every single time.

GO SLOW TO GET THERE FAST

In my opinion eccentric training is without a doubt the fastest way to master pull ups ! Eccentric movements simply involve contracting the working muscles as they are being lengthened rather than when they are being shortened (eg in a bicep curl).

At Geelong Boxing Club we incorporate eccentric pull ups/chin ups into programming to support our members in banging out more reps with better form. Simply use a box to jump up off while holding the bar and stabilise yourself at the top of the chin up movement. Then sllllowly lower yourself, contracting your muscles to control the time it takes for you to return to standing position on the box. Then JUMP up and do it again.

There are many variables you can manipulate as you make progress. You can increase the time it takes to lower yourself as your strength increases. For more advanced members – you can even add weight to this movement to really improve your strength.

DITCH RESISTANCE BANDS

Resistance bands are undoubtedly a useful tool in the gym – but my pet peeve is when members start allowing them to hold them back from making progress. Resistance bands are fantastic for beginners. They support them in learning to complete the movement patterns as they learn to establish mind muscle connection.

For how long are you a beginner? If you have been using resistance bands for MONTHS (and most members fall into this catergory) then its time to step up and start giving it a crack without that support.

Usually, people’s ego will get in the way at this point. Most people would rather pump out multiple reps than fail at one or two reps unaided. Your ego is holding you back from ever making progress. You must be willing to fail and fail and fail again before you can fail better …and then eventually make progess!

Once you can complete 2-3 reps unaided, it can be time to introduce the bands again and start building your strength by completing a high volume of reps. Use a light resistance band to complete 8-10 reps for a few weeks and then remove the band for your first set and you should be able to pump out at least 5 reps unaided. BOOM. PROGRESS.

Keep building and each week complete an extra set without the resistance band and slowly but surely you will be mastering this movement! Even if you are only improving by one chin up per week – its one more than you did last week and if you kept that progress …. You would be DAMN proud of yourself!

Take your Strength work SERIOUSLY

The truth is, I never set out to be able to pump out chin ups. I worked really hard to improve my overall strength and power with weight training and as a result I am able to pull my own body weight with relative ease. Without a commitment to strength work – you will struggle to ever master chin ups!

Put simply, you need to target the primary muscles used in these movements when completing hypertrophy/accessory work in the strength component of our sessions. Any movement that utilises a horizontal row will work to build the appropriate muscles and also maintain your overall shoulder health.

JUST ‘EFFING DO IT

Above all else – just start. Do something. Today. And tomorrow. And the day after that. You wont wake up one day miraculously able to do chin ups. You are going to have to work for it. Youll be frustrated at times – but there will be moments of elation when you realise you are finally making progress!

Start today and if you remain consistent – you’ll find you always had it in you to blow your own damn mind!