Chin ups are one of the best upper body strength exercises and are excellent for promoting fat loss because they tax the muscular system and burn a large amount of calories. The problem occurs when chin ups become a daunting exercise because they are so difficult for many people, especially women. Because of this, many individuals (men and women) shy away from the exercise because they just don’t know where to start.

In this three part series of articles I will break down the exercise and give tips on how to build up your strength and fitness so you can begin to perform them on a regular basis.

A lot of people resort to exercises like lat pull downs and rows because they cannot perform chin ups. These are great movements but if you really want to develop a strong and fit body with a high potential for fat loss and calorie burn, then you need to perform larger movements and chin ups are one of the best.

The best way to begin a chin up program is to seek the help of a qualified and nationally certified personal trainer. A trainer can help you to develop a proper scheme of repetitions and monitor your progress so that you know when you are ready to take the next step or modify your technique if necessary.

If you do not have access or resources for a fitness trainer, then here is the first step toward developing a solid chin up program.

Inverted Rows or Body Rows:

Inverted rows are also called body rows and these are a great starting point for people who cannot yet perform a chin up. In order to perform an inverted row, set up a barbell in the squat rack at just above waist height. You want this height for now and as you get stronger you will lower it a notch or two.

o Lie on your back under the bar with your knees bent

o Grasp the bar with a shoulder width grip, arms straight

o Lift your hips off the ground

o Pull your shoulder blades down and back to activate your upper back muscles

o Using your back as the primary mover, pull your body up with your chest coming toward the bar

o Slowly lower your body toward the floor without relaxing your back muscles at the end of the movement

o Repeat for as many repetitions as you can, 3 sets

Once you can perform 3 sets of 8 repetitions, lower the bar one notch and continue to build up the repetitions. You always want enough room to fully extend your arms without releasing the tension in your upper back. Having a personal trainer watch your technique is important because you want to maintain a tight and straight back without using momentum.

As you progress in this fitness program and your strength increases, you can straighten your legs, then eventually elevate your feet on a bench and set the bar at waist height. You should be able to perform 3 sets of anywhere from 6-12 repetitions.

Use this progressive model to improve your upper body strength and fitness levels. Stay tuned for the second part of this article to learn more about chin up progressions. You are now well on your way to building up great strength, developing a toned and fit looking upper body, and boosting your metabolism to burn a ton of body fat.

Chin ups are one of the best upper body strength movements. They tax the entire muscular system and burn a large amount of calories. If these are performed on a regular basis, along with other large movements and a proper nutrition program, fat loss potential is elevated.

If you are looking to lose body fat, build upper body strength, and develop a fit and lean looking body, include chin ups into your fitness training program. When you perform exercises such as chin ups, you are automatically using many large muscles which translates to a higher calorie burn and metabolic boost.

In the first two articles I discussed exercise progressions that will help develop the strength and overall fitness that is required to perform the exercise. As a personal trainer, I use all of these progressions with my clients and have great success. It is important to develop a base of strength and progress accordingly, so check back on my first two articles for training tips.

Enlisting the help of a qualified, knowledgeable, and certified personal trainer is one of the best ways to progress in this program. If you do not have access or resources for a trainer, then follow these three articles, grab a workout partner, and get started on your strength program.

If you are proficient at performing inverted rows and assisted chin ups, it is now time to start performing body weight chin ups. This movement will increase your fitness levels, promote body fat loss, and will give you a lot of satisfaction because many people cannot perform this exercise. If they are doing the exercise, a lot of times it is incorrect so keep working hard on your form.

Here are the steps for the final piece of your chin up puzzle:

o Use a bar or the top portion of the squat rack, or a chin up bar if your gym has one.

o Grasp the bar at shoulder width with your palms facing you.

o Activate your upper back by pulling your shoulder blades down and back.

o Pull your body up toward the bar, elevating as high as you can above the bar.

o As you pull up, drive your elbows down toward your ribcage to maintain proper muscle activation.

o Slowly lower your body back down to a straight arm position but do not lose tension in your upper back.

o Repeat for a maximum amount of repetitions, 3-5 sets.

If you can perform 3-5 sets of more than 10 repetitions with your body weight, increase the difficulty by holding a dumbbell between your ankles or strapping a dumbbell to a weight belt and hanging in between your knees. Perform 3-5 sets of maximum sets for ultimate strength.

Chin ups are one of the best exercises for strength and developing an athletic, sleek, and tight upper body. Using the help of a personal trainer will ensure that you have proper form and will also push you past your typical workout limits. They also promote lower levels of body fat due to the high stress of the exercise and the amount of calories that will be burned after a training session.

Follow the three articles and good luck with your training programs.

Wall Mounted Pull Up Bars are made that will fit most standard doorways. For most people, these are plenty sufficient, but make sure the bar you get will fit your doorframe and will hold your weight (or weight you’ll be wearing to increase your workout). Most bars are well built. They permit the user’s arms to move naturally, reducing strain on joints, and engages additional muscle groups as compared to the standard pullup bar. You can actually combine the standard pullup and chin-up exercises into one, and can facilitate additional workouts to core and abdominal muscle groups.

For most people, a standard pull-up is challenging enough without weights. To do a pull-up hold onto a bar with your palms facing away from you, about shoulder width apart, and and let your legs hang. Hold the handles, lift your legs to the handles and pull down while bringing your feet to the ground and trying to stand up.

There are a number of different kinds of pull up exercises; some of which, such as the standard pull ups would require one to use both hands and lift them up to the bar. Others are more complex, such as the weighted pull ups where one needs to strap some added weights on to their body while they continue on with the exercise. This thing is pretty good to get you started, but if you’re looking for a more solid solution, a permanent mount or a separate standing unit or rack would be better. Don’t get me wrong, a wall mounted pull up bar is good, but you need a solid door frame, and even then the thing might leave marks on the frames – but that’s easily paintable.

Chin-ups and pull-ups are the best functional biceps and upper-back workouts for novices. Pull-ups not only strengthen the back, they balance bench presses and guard against shoulder problems. The pull up bar allows you to do a full upper-body workout without leaving the room. I have a doorway mounted pull up bar, which works perfectly. With so many different training workouts available it can get confusing at times.

A chin up exercises your back and shoulders – a chin up workouts your shoulders. There are tons patterns of work out styles you can use the chin up bar for. Great workout equipment for hardly any money. I loved chinups on this bar. Just walking past it all the time and you just stop and do a few chinups just for fun. If you exercise at home and want to up the ante in your workout then you need to get one. It helps if you’re in pretty good shape, since pull ups are tough.