Chin-ups

[Susan Otcenas]

I'm curious to know how many women here can do a chin up. I'm betting Veronica can. Anyone else?

I've been using a personal trainer since January, with a special focus on core and upper body strength. He tested me quite a bit to start, to determine my strengths and weaknesses. Let's just say I had far more weaknesses than strengths!

The facility I use does not believe in machines. Everything is free weights and body weight based. I, of course, could barely hang from the chin up bar, much less get any movement trying to do a chin up. Nor could I get any upward movement when hanging from the bar with my feet braced against the wall.

So, he started me with a bench to stand on under the bar. I would pull up as much as I could, using my legs to do what my arms couldn't. Of course, it's easy to cheat like this, but I always gave it my all, getting to muscle failure in 4 or 5 reps.

But each workout, I would start by bracing my feet against the wall, just to see what would happen, and little by little, slowly but surely, over time I started to see some bend in my elbows. Progress!

A few weeks ago, I FINALLY managed to do a chin-up with my feet braced against the wall. WOOT! The next week I did two. :-)

Now the bench is gone. It's been replaced by a stretchy rubber strap. I dead hang from the bar, pull up, and the strap provides extra lift. I'm still using the thick strap (more lift). There's a thinner strap but I can't pull all the way up with that one yet, though I can get a little bend. I look forward to graduating to the thin strap in the next few months.

SOME DAY, I am going to do a chin-up. All on my own. It might take me another year, but dang it, I'm determined to be able to do it eventually. Losing some weight would help, of course, but in the meantime I'm considering it extra resistance training...

So, show of hands - can YOU do a chin-up?

[solobiker]

A few years ago I could do several...back in my rock climbing days. I even go to the point where I could do them just using my finger tips on the bar vs a whole hand grip. Keep it up and you will get there. :-)

[lph]

I've always been able to do them, palms away, even before I started rock climbing. But then I'd been riding racehorses for several years, and could on request produce quite an impressive "bull's neck" :-)

I think it's a mix of technique, static and dynamic strength, and having short arms helps!

[Susan Otcenas]

I haven't even tried palms away. I do them palms facing me. I'm under the impression that palms away is more difficult, as it uses more triceps...

[GLC1968]

I could do a set of them with the light band assisting me last spring (crossfit). I was almost at my heaviest back then.

I haven't tried lately, but I am fairly certain I could do at least one now (30 lbs lighter makes a HUGE difference!). Now you've got me wondering...

Congrats on your truly wonderful progress, Susan!

[ny biker]

Back around 1990 I had a chin-up bar in my apartment in Chicago. I probably could only do a few at a time back then. I don't think I've tried to do one since then.

I won't see my trainer again until Dec 5. I'll try to remember to mention it to him and see if I can do any then. That way we can both laugh about it if I can't do one (rather than just looking silly by trying and failing when I'm working out by myself.)