This past week has been a recovery week. Typically in a recovery week my coach incorporates general strength sessions and conveniently my new pull-up bar has been a great addition into this routine. Pull-ups are addicting as I've discovered- I have been doing them daily!! I can complete 5 pull-ups now (and YES I'm proud of that!). Our friends have also been testing their pull-up ability! We have discovered a pull-up bar is a great way to entertain friends - hey want to come over and check out the pull-up bar?....
I've been reading up on the benefits of pull-ups- below is a list of 10 reasons to do chin ups from http://articles.elitefts.com/articles/training-articles/10-reasons-to-do-chin-ups/
- Chin-Ups are a closed kinetic chain exercise. Closed Kinetic chain exercises are much more functional than open kinetic chain exercises like the lat pull down.
- Direct strength transference of motor pattern. On most strength exercises the concentric is the upward phase and eccentric is the lowering phase. The lat pull down is the opposite of this, while the chin-up fits the mold of core lifts like the bench press and overhead press.
- Chin-ups work more muscles than machines. Big lifts equal big strength gains and big fat loss. They also release large amounts of anabolic hormones like growth hormone and testosterone.
- Brett Contreas in his own words, “When I conducted my EMG studies, I was shocked to find that the bodyweight chin-up led to the highest levels of lower rectus abdominis activation. It surpassed every ab exercise imaginable – even ab wheel rollouts and hanging leg raises.”
- Brian Dobson trainer of Ronnie Coleman and Branch Warren says “Deadlifts and chins built Ronnie’s back. Chin-ups are king for upper back development. Chin-ups are the upper body squat!”
- Special forces and other elite organizations use chin-ups as a testing standard.
- Chin-ups are a catalyst for bicep growth!
- Look at the back development of athletes like gymnasts that use chin-ups as their primary means of strength training in comparison to the physiques of basketball players that use lat pull downs. Physique enthusiasts envy the upper back development of gymnasts. Yet, very few feel the same way about basketball physiques.
- Assuming you are not wearing straps (which you should not be) chin-ups build great grip strength!
- Chin-ups force you to handle your own body weight, which is a crucial aspect of success in most sports!
VERNON: 3 ME: 5
Not Pictured: BERT: 3 (no worries Bert- we will take one next time you come-- I am sure you will be back tomorrow as you're likely addicted too. This next time I'm hoping you'll go all out - three really isn't that impressive ... I was slightly let down... ). My goal is to get to 10-- wonder how long that will take and am excited for this bicep growth to occur !
