11 February , 2008

Ask the coach: Exercise of the week - Chin-up

chin-up If you were to pick one exercise for the back, you would be hard pressed to rival the chin-up and its variations.The exercise predominantly trains the large back muscles called the lats, while the arms and the muscles between the shoulder blades are also challenged.

The sign of a good strength coach is measured by their ability to get a female to perform 12 repetitions within 12 weeks. The majority of females and males will be too weak to perform one chin-up on their first visit to the bar.

The way to improve your ability to do chin-ups is as follows:

The biggest problem facing people at the start is not just weakness but the fear of falling. Ask someone in the gym to spot you until you are more confident of holding your own bodyweight.

Clasp your fingers and thumb around the bar. The strongest grip is where your palms face into each other. Start with this grip.

Jump above the bar you're standing on and start with your arms bent. Concen-trate on lowering yourself, as you are stronger lowering yourself than you are lifting yourself up.

Each set, increase the amount of time it takes to lower yourself to the ground. Start with 5 secs and each set increase it by 2-5 secs until you can lower yourself in 30 seconds. When you can achieve this you should be able to perform one repetition.

By changing your hand positions on the bar, you are changing the muscles involved.

Chin-ups are hard work, but upon completion of your first proper repetition the self-satisfaction will make your efforts feel so worthwhile.