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Chin-ups: The King of Upper Body Exercises
Surefire cures for dweeb upper back training
by Charles Poliquin
1/12/2011 11:43:45 AM
Date: 1982
Place: Weightroom of the Central Institute of Physical Culture, Moscow, former Soviet Union
Lesson: Never gamble with a Russian woman pre-glasnost days
Our jaws almost hit the floor when a slender, 18-year-old young woman walked into the gym and challenged everyone in our class, including me, to a chin-up contest. Not only was she challenging our masculinity, but she also bet us each 10 US dollars that she could do more supinated chins (i.e., the easier way, with palms facing the body) than we could do pronated (i.e., the harder way, with palms facing away from the body). Back then, 10 US dollars could buy you a lot on the Russian black market, so we took the bet because we figured it was good for a laugh and some easy money.
I did the most reps of our group – 23 super-strict, narrow-grip, pronated chins. But I, along with my classmates, soon parted with 10 bucks and a large portion of our self-esteem when this young woman grabbed the bar and proceeded to crank out 60 perfect reps! The worst part was that she didn’t even reach muscular failure, having probably 10-12 more in the tank. I later found out she had come in 10th in the breaststroke event at the Moscow Swimming Championships.
I share this story because I have always believed that chin-ups and pull-ups are the best upper body mass builders. If you believe that the squat is the king of leg exercises, then you probably wouldn’t waste your time doing endless sets of abductor machines, leg extensions, or any leg movements on the near-useless Smith machine, right? Likewise, the chin-up and its variations should be considered the “upper body squat,” because of its superior mass-building qualities and, as demonstrated by the performance of this remarkable young woman, its ability to develop high levels of functional strength.
Most bodybuilders would be jealous of the back development of top-level gymnasts and kayakers. And their conditioning programs center on – you guessed it – chin-ups. Many elite police organizations, such as Special Forces units and SWAT teams, require a minimum number of chins to be performed before a candidate can get into their programs. This is because, unlike the dweeb pulldown machine, chin-ups are a true test of real-world strength.
For example, 4 reps in a pronated grip with full tactical load (40 kg of various tools of trade, including weapons, ammunition etc..) is a standard test. It replicates the amount of strength you need to get on an helicopter.
Why do I consider pulldowns a dorky exercise? Simple. With pulldowns, you move a free-moving object (the bar) around you, and it’s easier to use your lower back and momentum to pull the weight. But “easier” is never the best way to build strength and muscle mass. With chins, you have to move your body around a fixed object (the bar), ensuring an overload on the upper back and the flexor muscles of the upper arms. The movement is closer to what you encounter in real life and has a much better transference to sports performance. As a bonus, the close-grip chin-up will also add size to your biceps.
Although the movement you perform on a Gravitron-type machine seems to emulate chin-ups, I don’t like such machines because counterweights are used to offset your bodyweight. The stabilizer muscles are almost completely taken out of the movement, setting you up for poor performance and possibly injury. Machines such as this, and pulldowns as well, are okay for variety, but the core of your upper back training should revolve around the chin-up.
In my seminars, attendees often ask me about rows. Sure, the barbell row is a good exercise, but seeing someone perform it correctly is as rare as an overnight Internet bodybuilding guru coming up with an original idea that actually works and that has been tested. But we’ll save a barbell row lesson for another article. First, let’s get some basics out of the way, and then I’ll show you how to progress from zero to hero in the chin-up.
Getting Back on Track with Chin-ups
Just to make sure that we’re on the same page here, the pull-up is a type of chin-up; the only difference between a chin-up and a pull-up is the grip. So when I talk about chins, I often mean pull-ups as well.
Chin-ups traditionally use a supinated grip, while pull-ups use a pronated grip (as you’ll see, several other grip options are also available). When you perform either one, always lower your body to a full extension – none of that half-rep junk. As for breathing, you should inhale when you start the exercise, and exhale as you begin the descent. Never use straps, though, because they could easily become a crutch and will take away from your forearm and grip strength. You don’t want grip strength to be a limiting factor in real life or sports performance. And I’ve never been involved in a judo or wrestling match in which the other athlete says, “Hey, can you wait a minute while I wrap this strap around your wrist?”
With most styles of the chin-up, you can use the basic progression that I’m about to describe. First, let’s say that you can’t complete a single rep by yourself because of weakness or heavy bodyweight, or a combination of both.
Instead of resorting to a dork machine, simply perform several eccentric-only reps. In other words, stand on a bench or jump up so that your chin is over the bar. Now, lower yourself in a slow and controlled manner. That’s a good start.
For an eccentric-only routine, perform four sets of one eccentric rep so that each negative portion lasts for 30 seconds. Once you get the hang of that, try stopping the movement on the way down. Begin with your chin above the bar, lower yourself slowly until you’re one third of the way down, and stop – hold this position for eight seconds. Drop again until you’re about halfway down and hold the position again for another eight seconds. Finally, lower yourself again until you’re almost at full extension and hold again for eight seconds (you probably can’t get the full eight seconds on this last one just yet, but set that as your goal). Sometimes I have my athletes lower themselves for 30 seconds on the last rep of each regular set. Another variation is to pause isometrically on the way up. If you’re shaking as though you’ve just been zapped by a police taser, you’re doing it right.
The next step in this progression requires the use of a good spotter. In the first spotter-assisted progression, your partner will support you by holding on to your ankles. If needed, you may then push off their base of support for extra assistance. Once you can perform 12 reps in this style with minimal assistance, you’re ready for the next phase, in which your partner will hold on to only one ankle. The extra weight of the free leg will increase the overload on the lats. Once you can complete 12 reps without much assistance, you’re ready for the third phase.
In the third progression, your spotter will hold you at the waist. As you get stronger, you’ll find that you require assistance only in certain parts of the exercise. At these sticking points, your partner should only provide enough assistance to help you clear the bar. Soon, you’ll be knocking out strict reps with no help. But don’t rest on your laurels! Here are three ways to increase overload:
1. Hold a dumbbell between your ankles. This method allows you to perform a drop set by dropping the dumbbell as you reach failure. Then, you can perform a few more reps and extend the set.
2. Have your partner pull down on your ankles as you ascend.
3. Use a chin/dip belt with weight attached to it.
With the above progression, I was able to help the women on the Canadian National Ski Team increase their average number of chin-ups from zero to 12 reps in just 11 weeks. They could also perform reps holding a 35-pound dumbbell with their feet.
Chin-up Challenges
Once you get past basic wide-grip pull-ups and medium-grip chin-ups, it’s time to shake things up a bit. Here are a few options:
The gymnast’s extended-set back routine. This routine has gained a lot of popularity since it was originally published in my Poliquin Principles book back in 1997. Many athletes and bodybuilders who claim that they can never really “feel” their lats will be “feeling” them for several days after this program.
I must warn you that this is an advanced routine. You need to be able to perform at least 12 shoulder-width supinated chins in strict form before you tackle this bad boy. Here ya go:
1. Wide-grip pull-ups: as many reps as possible
Rest for ten seconds
2. Medium-grip pull-ups: as many reps as possible
Rest for ten seconds
3. Medium-grip chin-ups: as many reps as possible
Rest for ten seconds
4. Narrow-grip chin-ups: as many reps as possible
Rest for three minutes
Repeat steps 1-4 twice
Sternum Chin-up. I consider sternum chins to be the undisputed king of compound exercises for the upper back. Popularized by Vince Gironda, this chin-up variation requires you to hold your torso in a layback posture throughout the entire movement. As you pull yourself to the bar, extend your head back as far away from the bar as possible and arch your spine; towards the end of the movement, your hips and legs will be held at about a 45-degree angle to the floor. Keep pulling until your collarbone passes the bar, your lower sternum makes contact with the bar, and your head is parallel to the floor. You can use either a supinated or a pronated grip, and you can change the width of your grip for variety.
Not only does this exercise create a great overload on the scapulae retractors, it works more than just the lats. The beginning of the movement is more like a classical chin, the midrange resembles the pullover motion, and the end position duplicates the finishing motion of a rowing movement. If you’re advanced enough to even attempt this routine, then you should make sternum chin-ups the staple of your back program.
Side-to-Side Chin-up. Here’s a chin-up variation you don’t see much. Get into a wide-grip pull-up position. The hands should be placed a little wider than the shoulders. Instead of pulling yourself straight up, pull toward one hand at a time. I tell my athletes to “kiss” their wrists. This is a favorite among judokas and wrestlers.
One-Armed Chin. This isn’t just a show-off exercise but one of the most advanced forms of the chin-up. Before attempting the one-armed chin, though, first become competent in the standard mixed-grip chin. This is another exercise you don’t see very often.
In the mixed-grip variation, you’ll place the hands about shoulder-width apart, but with one hand pronated and the other supinated. The side using the supinated grip is going to get the greatest portion of the load. Make sure to perform an equal amount of work for both arms by reversing the grips on each alternating set. The stronger you are, the wider a grip you should use.
Once you master the mixed-grip chin, you’re ready to work towards performing a legitimate one-armed chin. Place one hand on a chin bar and the free hand on a rope that’s hanging from the chin bar (for support). As you continue to get stronger, you’ll be able to place your hand lower and lower on the rope.
Now, it’s tough to impress me in the gym (unless you’re a smart-ass Russian breaststroker), but I once saw a mountain climber perform several one-armed chins while holding a 45-pound plate across his chest. Needless to say, his upper body was huge and strong. We had waxing rep that worked for our ski team who could do 23 one arm pronated pull-up holding on the edge of a diving board on an empty swimming pool.
Thick-Grip Training. Once you’re chinning with Tarzan-like upper body strength, there’s one more way to increase the overload. Simply take all of the above exercises and perform them using a thick bar (2 to 2 1/2 inches). The end poles of monkey bars at the local playground work well, but wrapping a towel or piece of foam around your usual bar will do the trick for most people.
Just as in training with thick-grip barbells and dumbbells, chinning with a fat bar recruits more muscle fibers, leading to faster strength gains. After a few weeks of thick-grip training, you’ll notice a 10-12 percent increase in strength when you return to using a bar of regular diameter. Also, expect to add some size to your forearms.
I’ve given you just a taste of the endless variations of the chin-up. By changing the grip, tempo and resistance, you should never have to rely on dweeb machines again for back training. Once you see your size and strength gains hit the roof, you’ll never want to go back anyway.
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