5 Exercises to Help
You Conquer Your First Chin-Up

The biggest problem with
achieving your first pull-up is that in order to get better at
pull-ups you need to do a lot of pull-ups. One way to do this to
find several ways to train cheated or assisted pull-ups all the
while stripping the pull-up down and training it’s individual
 components.

1. Hollow Position Drills and Power Breathing
   The gymnast’s hollow position is essentially a
   high-intensity upside down plank. One way to begin to learn this
   technique is to learn how to turbo-charge your plank position by
   maximizing the strength of your muscular contractions with
   hardstyle techniques like power-breathing then progress to learning
   to hold the hollow position on the floor.  There are various
   way to practice the hollow position. Pictured to the right is
   the hollow position with the added challenged of holding a
   stretched elastic band under the small of my back. If the band
   slips out, I lost my abs.  An advanced variation would be to
   hold the arms out overhead as if hanging from a pull-up
   bar.Recommendation: Build up to 20-30 second reps. Start
   with three sets of three reps and progress to five sets of five
   reps. For more
   information on power breathing and maximizing abdominal strength I
   recommend the Book & DVD  “Hardstyle Abs by Pavel
   Tsatsouline.
2. Hanging
   for Time If you can hold the hollow position well on
   the floor, then progress to holding the hollow while hanging from
   the pull-up bar. It’s essentially a regressed hanging leg
   raise. Performed properly, this can be an incredibly intense
   exercise even for individuals who can perform 10 pull-ups or more.
   For example: one advanced variation is to where ankle weights or
   hold a kettebell on your foot.Practice holding at the bottom, top
    and even the middle of the pull-up position. It’s ok to
   use box to step on or have a training partner assist you into
   position. Start with the dead hang with arms straight. When you can
   do that, progress to hanging from the top position with your elbows
   flexed (Do not rest your chin or jaw on the bar). When you come
   down you can lower yourself slowly which is training the pull-up in
   reverse. Recommendation: Build up to
   15 and 30 seconds holds. Start with three
   sets of three reps and progress to five sets of five
   reps.  
3. Batwings Batwings are an
   exercise I first read about from Master StrongFirst Instructor Dan
   John.  The batwing is essentially a plank where you pull a
   weight with one or both hands up to your side and hold for time.
     The goal for men is to hold  16kg/35lbs. and women hold
   8kg/18lbs in each hand,  get the thumbs to armpit height and
   hold for 10 seconds or longer. Tight chests and shoulders are
   epidemic in today’s society, so many people find this
    movement  especially challenging. I recommend using
   stretches like armbars and
   brettzels.Recommendation: Build up
   to 10 second holds.  Start with three
   sets of three reps and progress to five sets of five
   reps.  
4. Suspended Rows Use your
   favorite brand of suspension trainer or gymnasts rings and simply
   perform rows as shown. Lean back to about 45 degrees or better and
   row yourself to standing. You should maintain a plank or slight
   hollow position throughout.  Always lower yourself carefully
   and keep your shoulders tightly packed so that they don’t get
   yanked forward and out of the socket.  Inhale as you pull.
    Similar to the Batwing , strive to get your elbows behind
   your ribs.  Pause motionless for a moment at the top and
   bottom of each rep.Recommendation:
   Start with three sets of five reps and progress to five
   sets of ten reps. Occasionally test yourself
   and move on when you can achieve 20 reps with control and good
   form.  
5. Elevated Rows These are the
   same as the suspended row with the additional challenge of worse
   leverage.  Place your feet on something sturdy  and start
   so that you are parallel to the floor when suspended. Perform in
   the same manner as the suspended
   row.Recommendation: Start with three
   sets of three reps and progress to five sets of five
   reps. Occasionally test yourself and shoot for
   10 repetitions.

To Chin-Ups & Beyond…. While
the exercises above are a great start, this list is far from
exhaustive. The number of ways to work toward the pull-up and
chin-up do not stop here. The possibilities are limited only by
your imagination, but a good trainer will find the fewest exercises
with the biggest bang for the buck.  Personally, I’ve been
able to get clients from zero to hero with only three variations,
one of which is not shown above.

Trunk Stability: Do you
have sufficient core strength in your lats, abs and glutes to keep
the body knitted together and stable as you raise and lower your
body through space?

Shoulder
Mobility: Do you have healthy mobile shoulders that
are  capable of safely attaining the overhead lockout or start
position?

Shoulder
Stability: Are all the muscles surrounding the
shoulders including the lats strong enough and coordinated enough
to keep the shoulders held tightly and safely in their sockets
while supporting your weight?

Grip Strength: Do you have
the grip strength and endurance to hang on to the bar long enough
to get the job done?

As a Functional Movement Screen Specialist and
StrongFirst Bodyweight Instructor I will use a quick series of
object assessments to determine the appropriate starting point for
you.

Learn more about the Functional
Movement Screen

Learn more about the StrongFirst
Bodyweight Instructor Certification