Archive for October, 2011
Chin ups and pull ups are without a doubt one of the best ways to build a powerful and impressive looking upper back. However, one of the problems with pull ups or chin ups is that many people are not strong enough to do even one repetition. So this begs the question, “If you can’t do a pull up, how in the world can you benefit from them?”
If you are one of the many people who struggle with pull ups then you need to go through a progression or purchase an aid to help you in the quest to build a strong back. Below you will find a few suggestions.
The first suggestion is to pull a chair up to the chin up bar and use it to get you in a position where your chin is above the bar. Then pull your feet up and hang in this position as long as you can. Or you can slowly lower yourself (resisting as you lower) to the point where your arms are fully extended. Continue to repeat.
You can also use the chair to help give you a “leg up.” Place the chair slightly in front of you so that the back of the chair is facing you. Then place one foot on the back of the chair to help push your way upward. But only push as much as you need to get to the top. This is a back exercise not a leg exercise.
You can also do a slightly simpler exercise (but still challenging) to help in your progression toward doing a pull up. Inverted rows are a great exercise for this.
If you have a few dollars to spend then one of the most useful things that you can buy is a heavy duty pull up assist band. You can hook them around the bar as shown below and then place your foot in the other end of the loop. These will help lighten the weight that you will be pulling up. You should start with a band that is strong enough to allow you to do at least 5 pull ups. As you become stronger you can use a lighter band. Before long you will be doing pull ups on your own.
One of the reasons that I enjoy doing bodyweight exercises is because they don’t beat up my joints as much as throwing around heavy free weights. Some would even go so far as to argue that bodyweight exercises even heal your joints. Whether that is true or not, they are at the very least a more natural form of exercise and can greatly enhance your overall athleticism.
There are many who will argue that body weight training can never be as effective at building muscle as traditional weight lifting. This would definitely be true if you were trying to develop the physique of a bodybuilder but if that is not your goal you might want to rethink that statement.
I understand why it is that certain people think that body weight exercise is not as effective at building muscle. Many perceive this type of training to merely be an exercise in endurance. It is simply thought to be a form of exercise to increase your overall conditioning (much like the military uses the exercises for). However, I have continually been impressed with the upper body development of male gymnasts. There arms are huge in many instances and their strength is unparalleled.
The problem is that many have a much too limited view of what bodyweight exercise involves. The average person believes it is not much more than pushups and body weight squats. The never move past the most basic of exercises.
They are correct that the simplest of bodyweight exercises will probably not provide them with the amount of muscle that they are looking to build. They need to move through bodyweight exercise progressions.
When you can master a number of sets of standard pushups you need to increase the difficulty. You can simply start by elevating your legs and performing an incline pushup. However, you ultimately want to work your way up to be able to do one arm pushups. These take quite a bit of strength and can build a sizable amount of muscle.
You can also add resistance to the standard pushup, pullup, or inverted row by adding weighted vests or by wrapping your body in chains. Now, I guess when you add something to the exercise it is technically no longer a body weight exercise but for our purpose we will still call in body weight training.
Some body weight exercises are more superior for building muscle that anything that you can do with weights. One of those exercises is a pull up. They are much preferable to a weighted pull down. I would also argue that handstand pushups are superior to military press and that glute ham raises are better at building muscle that leg curls. And I will take a wheel rollout any day of the week over an ab machine.
So if you want to build muscle don’t exclude body weight training from your arsenal. Continue to progress onto more difficult forms of body weight exercise and I believe you will be pleased with the results.
