| Hi Friend,
You ever been to New Orleans? This one time my wife and I went and we were walking to Willie Mae's Scotch House to get some fried chicken and along the way, there was some scaffolding and I spontaneously jumped up and banged out 10 easy pull ups. Not really surprising to Vanessa as I'm the guy that collected her from the Longwood Shuttle by doing hip and thigh stretches on the rock wall (because I was tight obviously), so randomly jumping up to some piping in dress clothes to do some exercise is to be expected if you're with me. It was simple, gave me a shot of endorphins better than a shot of espresso, and helped contribute to me presenting my best self to a fun evening.
Now V didn't match me, because she's not as cool as me or maybe cause how she was dressed, I don't know, but being able to move your own body weight is a sure sign of health, strength & fitness and since I've been talking about chin ups in the last couple of emails, I thought I'd share our chin up tutorial and re-share our chin up progressions.
First: why do you want to be able to do a chin up? You want lean, strong & sculpted arms. You want a tighter, flatter, stronger and more tapered waistline. You want healthy and pain free shoulders. You want to be more athletic. You want to look more awesome. You want to look better in your clothes. You want to recover faster from falls. You want to be able to do push ups easier. You want to pass the High School Physical Fitness Test. You want to be able to bang chin ups out when you go to Willie Mae's Scotch House. You want to be more bad a**!
Second: hand grips.
Chin Ups mean palms towards you or a supinated hand grip. Neutral Grip Pull Ups mean palms facing each other like in clapping. Alternate Grip Pull Ups mean one palm faces you like in chin ups and the other palm faces away like in Pull Ups. Pull Ups mean palms facing away or a pronated grip.
These are the basic hand grips and shared in order from easiest to most challenging, though some people might find the alternate grip pull ups easier than neutral grip and some might find neutral grip pull ups easier than chin ups, but usually this is the order.
Chin Ups Tutorial Watch this video to see general demonstrations of: Chin Up Holds Chin Up Negatives Assisted Chin Ups Chin Ups
Then watch these videos for individual demonstrations.
Chin Ups Progressions Note: I may use chin ups, neutral grip pull ups, alternate grip pull ups and pull ups interchangeably, as the progressions from holds to negatives to assisted to unassisted are the same.
Aim to get 4 sets of 2 reps for Level 1 and 4 sets of 1 rep for Level 2. When you can get 4 sets in a workout, you'll better be able to progress to a thinner band or no band if you're holding; to negatives if you're doing bodyweight. To assisted pull ups if you're doing negatives and when you get 4x4 with a 1/2" band on your knee, you'll most likely be ready for body weight pull up progressions.
Example 1: Holds (with bands on foot = Level 1a; w/ bands on knee = Level 1b and w/o bands = Level 1c)
4x2 (5:10) = 40seconds of holding
Example 2: Negatives (Level 2a)
4x1 (20sec: 5 @ top, 5 @ 1/3, 5 @ 2/3 and 5 @ full hang) = 80 seconds of holding body weight and controlling it eccentrically
Example 3: Assisted (Level 2b = bands on foot, Level 2c = bands on knee)
#1: 4x1
#2: 1x2, 3x1
#3: 2x2, 2x1
#4: 3x2, 1x1
#5: 4x2
#6: 1x3, 3x2
#7: 2x3, 2x2
#8: 3x2, 1x2
#9: 4x3
#10: 1x4, 3x3
#11: 2x4, 2x3
#12: 3x4, 1x3
#13: 4x4
#14: either go to thinner band on foot or knee, use same band on your knee if it was previously on your foot or progress to body weight and start over at step #1.
Note: its possible you could leapfrog this schedule if you're having a strong day or you've had multiple days of consistency. If you feel like you can do more reps than you're scheduled for, go for it. Do as many as you can and leave 1-2 in the tank. Then do 1 less for the next 3 sets.
E.g. You're supposed to do 3 reps on your 1st set, but you get 5 reps. Then do 3x4 for your remaining 3 sets.
Example 4: Chin Ups, Neutral Grip Pull Ups and Alt. Grip Pull Ups (Level 3)
Put yourself on the chart above.
Note: In all 4 examples find away to get 4 sets before you leave. This means use any available time to get the extra sets in. Use the time during transitions, after clean up, after stretching or after class as examples to get the extra sets in. When you do, you'll progress faster. When you get to 10 reps, start over at 1 rep, while holding a dumbbell between your knees or wearing a belt with weight suspended between your legs. This is when you become more bad a**.
So that's CYBBC's chin up progressions. Go ahead and get yourself a free standing, trapeze rigging pull up bar, an Iron Gym Pull Up bar to hang over your door jam or practice at the gym and/or playground. Get yourself some super bands from perform better if you need them and get going. If you need help with these, reply and let me know. And just so you know when we walked back from Willie Mae's Scotch House, it was a lot harder to get 10 reps with a full belly from all that yummy fried chicken, collard greens, corn bread, sweet tea and butter beans.
Making change happen,
Coach Mike
p.s. if I can help you get better faster, reply and let me know!
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