For years we’ve been told to avoid behind-the-neck pulldowns and pull-ups. They place a tremendous amount of stress on the shoulders when lifting a heavy load with the humeri abducted and in a position of maximum external rotation. It’s a problem waiting to happen. Furthermore, it’s not a natural movement. We’re not really meant to…
The act of grabbing an overhead bar and pulling yourself up until your chin clears that bar is pretty difficult for most people. In fact, some would consider it impossible, but like anything where there’s a will, there’s a way and chin-ups are no different. With the proper training and a few key elements in…
You may recall from a recent post that my benchmark for complete recovery from distal biceps surgery was the ability to do chin-ups. For my first workout, I did one set of five reps. I performed chin-ups twice a week, adding one set per session. I stuck with body weight throughout and kept plenty in…
Before you read on, watch this video: Now, you may be asking yourself—what’s the big deal? A few chin-ups, so what? Well, those few chin-ups were a big deal to me. That was the first set of supinated-grip chins I performed after my distal biceps surgery. Trust me, it’s been on my mind ever since….
You know the importance of varying your grip during chin-ups—to prevent stagnation, promote balanced strength and size development, and reduce the risk of recurring injuries. But what if you only have a straight chin-up bar? Supinated, pronated, and even mixed-grip chin-ups are no problem, but how do you perform neutral-grip chin-ups? Here are three simple…