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Pull Ups ~ One of The Best Upper Body Exercises

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Pull ups & Chin Ups

Pull-ups chin-ups are one of the best exercises to increase upper body strength. They force you to lift your own body-weight without the use of heavy machine equipment. Unfournately they are also one of the most challenging exercises.

What are Pull-ups & Chin-ups?

The grip is the major difference between Pull-ups & Chin-ups

Pull-ups: Palms facing away. Less biceps, more back. Harder.
Chin-ups: Palms facing you. More biceps, less back. Easier

Pull-ups (left) & Chin-Ups (right) 

Pull-ups & Chin-ups Benefits

Build Muscle Mass: Pullups & Chinups force you to lift your own bodyweight. This stresses your body, building the muscles of your arms & back
Grappling Strength: Pullups & Chinups help any sport which involves gripping, grappling & pulling
Decrease Shoulder Injury: Pull-ups prevents muscle imbalances

Baby Monkey Steps ...

Take a look at monkeys and apes in the wild. They're in far better shape than human beings. They have greater endurance and flexibility, and they possess far superior strength. The exercises that resemble what these primates do most are pull-ups and chin-ups.

New StickyNote

Monkeys and apes that climb trees for a living work with their own bodyweight. They don't lift weights or use machines. And so, is it any wonder that a 60 pound chimpanzee has 3x the strength of an athletic male - While a gorilla has the strength of 10 Olympic weight lifters?

Pull-up & Chin-up Technique

If you have poor weight lifting technique you will have poor muscle gain results. Pull-ups & Chin-ups are no different.
  • Proper Breathing: Never hold your breath. Improper oxygen consumption will thus ultimately lead to fatigue and incrase anxiety states
  • Chest Up: Don't let your shoulders go forward, it's unhealthy for your shoulders:
  • Basic Pull-up: Hang from a bar with your hands about shoulder width apart
  • Wide Arm Pull-up: Hang with your arms wide in an over-grip. Pull up so that either your chest touches the bar or the back of your neck touches the bar.
  • Muscle Control: Go down in a controlled way, don't forget to raise your chest!

Can't Do A Single Pull-up or Chin-up?

Some people can't do any at all, and some people can do some, but not nearly enough to make a real workout out of. Don't feel bad if you are one of these people

Do Chin-ups: They are easier than pull-ups
Do Push-ups: Increase strength to do Pull-ups or Chin-ups
Ask For Help: Ask someone to grab your side with his hands

When Bodyweight Is Not Enough

Once you can do 10 or more Pull-ups or Chin-up, adding weight would the best choice to increase the intensity of the workout.

Rucksack: Wear a rucksack & put plates in it
Belt & Chain: Wear a belt. Suspend plates from a chain, attach the chain to your belt

Common Errors ...

No Warm-up This is vital to prevent shoulder injury, but also to raise the body temperature; increase metabolic activity; quicken the heartbeat and breathing rate; and prepare the muscles and nervous system for exercise

Not Straightening the Arms: Always start from a dead hang with straight arms

Half Rep: Chin not over the bar is a big mistake since you're muscles do not work as hard as they should.Make sure you pull yourself up as if your elbows were doing the work. This helps you to isolate your lats.

Using Body Momentum: kicking with your legs or basically using any means possible to get your chin over the bar

~How Strong Are You??~

Bodyweight Pullups...
15 = Decent
25 = Good
35 = Very Good
45+ = Physical Badass!!

One Arm Pullups...
1 = Good
5 = Very Good
10 = Physical Badass!!

“Pull-ups is the best thing you could do for your whole back, lats, traps, biceps, and true power”

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New Guestbook

  • MKolitsov May 16, 2012 @ 12:33 pm | delete
    My favorite muscle group is the back muscles and I love pull ups. It is truly a great wokrout. Please, check out my new lens. I am still building it and more topics will come soon. I would appreciate your feedback. Thanks.
  • ahmed-mohamed Apr 7, 2012 @ 10:04 am | delete
    great share
    Best treadmill
  • dragoonk Sep 26, 2011 @ 4:09 pm | delete
    I do them every day. At first I could only do a few, but then I build up my strenght and now I added more weight. Feels good! My Blog
  • coreworkouts Aug 22, 2011 @ 1:27 pm | delete
    Pull ups is such a huge core workout that works the whole body! I LOVE pull ups! I hated them at first, but, then, when I saw how much stronger I got from them, I fell in love!
  • DailyHealthBlitz Aug 18, 2011 @ 8:23 pm | delete
    I love chin ups and at almost 50 I can still do 20 reps. Here's a tip: when you get stuck on your last rep, tense your stomach tightly and squeeze the heck out of the bar. This creates muscle irradiation and you will usually be able to force out that last rep.
  • vitalmughal Jan 14, 2011 @ 3:10 pm | delete
    10 pullups and I am on the floor. LOoks easy but hard.
  • mannasugar Jan 13, 2011 @ 2:59 pm | delete
    Anyone who promotes Health makes the world better....
    How does working out make you feel better?
  • extremepullups Jan 10, 2011 @ 3:31 am | delete
    heres another good article to a>
  • extremepullups Jan 10, 2011 @ 3:33 am | delete
    Improve Pull ups
  • EditorDave Dec 31, 2010 @ 12:10 am | delete
    Nice lens! I gave you a thumbs-up!
  • Fit_Over_40_Buzz Sep 20, 2010 @ 1:05 am | delete
    I just found your lens. I like it a lot. Thanks for building it. Gave you a thumbs up.
  • extremepullups Aug 19, 2010 @ 10:08 am | delete
    another great website for information on pullups is Extreme Pullups
  • noauctionbids Jul 20, 2010 @ 10:51 am | delete
    One simple exercise machines that I like too is the Brenda Dygraf Air Climber. It is relatively small, inexpensive and most of all, actually fun to use!
  • noauctionbids Jul 20, 2010 @ 10:50 am | delete
    Hi, nice lens. I've been doing a lot of reading on body building and pull ups and chin ups have always been one of my favorite exercise to get a nice, sculpted upper body. I've also been reading up on supplements to complement our workouts. One new product I found that's natural and builds muscles fast is Nitro Muscle Mass. Right now they have a free trial bottle so hard to not give it a try.
  • maddin Apr 9, 2010 @ 9:40 am | delete
    Very informative lens, 5 stars
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    because a healthy body is an investment.
  • muscle-building-tips Mar 4, 2010 @ 3:02 pm | delete
    Really great lens, good to see such a deep focus on this area.
  • TexasAppraiser Nov 28, 2009 @ 9:11 pm | delete
    You should always check your heart rate as well! http://www.womensheartratemonitors.com
  • Dec 15, 2008 @ 10:36 am | delete
    Thanks, it was interesting and useful to know what I'm doing wrong. Getting better all the time...
  • RobbiePringle Nov 2, 2008 @ 7:45 am | delete
    Great lens, a friend of mine recommended pull ups/chin ups, in combination with dips, for a total upper body workout and great results. One thing I would add is, a strong core is essential to progress; for a while my progress plateaued, my weak lower back was nagging me and so I was introduced to pilates, this really helped as you need to stabilize your lower body to do it right,

    agree with the comment, " a healthy body is an investment"; would say the same also of the mind,

    cheers

    Robbie
  • Dr_Joe Jul 31, 2008 @ 7:45 pm | delete
    Very informative.
    Great lens. Rated it 5 stars.
    Feel free to visit Weight Loss Diet Advice | Diet Plans | Diet Pills
    because a healthy body is an investment.
  • shortnblonde Jul 21, 2008 @ 4:59 pm | delete
    nice lens:)
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