This one is a GREAT chin-up exercise
that will blow your lats and your biceps up like crazy! I won't
go into detail about how chin-ups are one of the best back exercises
you can do and how bodyweight exercises generally activate more
muscle fibers, making them superior to machine exercises (and many
free weight exercises)...of course, I guess I just DID go into detail
there!
Anyway, to perform this chin-up variation,
you should be able to do at least 8 to 10 regular chin-ups. It's
a tough exercise and requires some base chinning strength to perform
properly and get the most out of it. But if you've hit a plateau
with regular chins, you're going to LOVE this one.
For this one, you'll just need a chin-up
bar. I'm using the bar that goes across the frame of my power rack
and that works just fine. It doesn't have to be a long chin-up bar
by any stretch. Even the bar of a Smith machine set to the highest
point will probably work.
DEFINITELY watch the video on this
one to get the best idea of how it's done.
So first, go to one of the bar and
stand perpendicular under it (NOT like you normally would directly
under the bar).
Take a staggered grip on the bar (like
a baseball bat grip).
Now pull yourself up to one side of
the bar - the side you'll want to pull to is the same as the hand
that is FURTHEST from you. Basically, if your left hand is furthest
away, pull up on the left side of the bar.
Now lower yourself down PART WAY...NOT
the whole way. You should have some bend in your elbows. At this
point, most your furthest hand over in front of your nearest hand
(hence the hand-over-hand name!).
The key here is to be sure you've
got a bend in the elbows and tension on the lats. Because when you
take one hand off, you're basically putting your entire bodyweight
(just for a moment) on the one lat. VERY big time tension here.
Once you've placed the hand, pull
youself up to the OTHER side.
Lower yourself down, step your hand
forward on the bar again.
Now pull up to the other side again.
This picture shows when the one arm
is the only one supporting the body.
Continue along the bar until you run
out of bar then go back the way you came, moving your hands FORWARD
this time so you're walking the other direction on the bar.
Keep going forward and backward along
the bar until you can't do any more reps.
It's a BRUTAL back exercise that makes
regular chins look like nothing. By the time you're done, your entire
back and your biceps will be so swollen full of blood, you won't
believe it. The continuous tension and bodyweight combination really
makes for a potent back attack!
Nick Nilsson is the Director
of Online Operations for Staley Training Systems. He has
a degree in Physical Education and Psychology and has been
inventing powerful new training techniques for more than
17 years.
Nick is the author of a number
of bodybuilding eBooks (listed below) all available by clicking
here and has written for a variety of publications
including Men's Fitness, Reps, Musclemag, Bodybuilding.com
and many others. He can be contacted at nick@staleytraining.com.
