Zeb: Quality information there my man! Thanks for the experienced info…
Way to go Zeb.Now the other guys at my gym will want to start chinning.Dang,and I used to have it all to myself.Excellent post.Thank You
a chin-up contest sounds like fun. i know most of the guys at the gym get competetive when they see people doing chins, and it sorta turns into a little contest of sorts on the spot. maybe i can arrange one at my Y. although i’m not sure i can compete with some of the guys at this point, there’s only one other girl i’ve EVER seen on the bar doing chins. would be interesting. are most contest just a max number of reps without stopping? or are they timed?
seminole chick,
Yes, most are how many that you can perform non-stop.
If you do have a contest make sure that you have a category for women. They are sometimes difficult for women given pre-determined body composition. But, just because they are harder does not mean that they are less effective! In fact, they are just as effective for women.
Break out two categorys. Special prizes (T-Shirt) for anyone man who can do 20 or better, any women who can do 10 or better.
If the entire world chinned it would be a far better place…Okay, now I’m losing it…Time for dinner.
damn ZEB! i can’t follow up the post with any more tidbits on monster pipes on itty bitty bods! but i’ve got a lot of other things to say:
- excellent info on not just chins and pullups, but how over the years you’ve been able to create a program that works for you, that prepares you for competition, and that does not neglect the rest of your body as you maintain a very strong and powerful level of fitness.
- i don’t have any kids, but its good to hear fatherly advice that you can give someone else, regardless of age, about how to think about lifting and how to remember to enjoy the process of getting stronger, bigger, and fitter.
- i will be taking a lot of your advice into consideration especially regarding bf% as i know that is one weakness hindering my chins
excellent stuff! i’m glad you can contribute so much in such detailed. i’m definitely giving you a nod for soldier of the week.
Just copied and pasted this post to my hard drive. I can’t wait to try it out.
Do you think you could apply the same principles to push ups?
spiderman,
I have applied the same training regime to Push-ups with great success!
If you are interested in my routine for Push-ups just PM me. I don’t want to bore the others by going into detail here.
Nice post ZEB,
Do you have a pic of yourself you could post? From your stats it sounds like you’ve got a very impressive physique.
ZEB
I think from the response to this thread you can be assured that you won’t bore anyone with your push-up routine!!
Please post something about push-ups.
Zeb, could you explain to me the difference between chin-up bars that look like this:
/-------\
and this:
I know it’s kind of a stupid question, but does the top one offer more options to the trainee or are they both equal in that regard?
BTW, your article was magnificent!
Thank you very much,
Jonez68
Didn’t read all of this…I did skim through it, though.
For push-ups and chin ups, I simply factor in Chad Waterbury’s 100-reps to Bigger Muscles, ABBH or even his Big Boy Basics. The 100-reps would work very well for push ups.
If knocking out reps is the problem, than put the volume towards sets - 8x3, 6x4 and so on. Pretty simple really.
ZEB,
Thanks for all the good info. this just happens to be one (of many) of my weak areas. I can’t wait to put all of this good stuff to use.
Thanks again,
RichM
jonez68,
I’m sorry but I am not sure what your driving at, sorry.
I will state that there are many ways to pull yourself up to the bar. I have installed, what I call “verticle Chin-up bars” at my house (is that what you are refering to?). These favor the natural drop of your hands by your sides.
I experimented with verticle chin-up bars as you can simply reach up and grab them in a natural form. You do not have to bend your hands either under, in Chin-up fashion, or over, in Pull-up fashion.
I have found that I could do more reps with these bars than I could in strict “Pull-up” mode. However, I did less with these bars than I did in “Chin-up” fashion.
Ultimately, when you have the bicep assisting in the movement you are going to have more reps as a result.
Patricia,
I disagree with your statement: “If knocking out reps is the problem then put the volume toward sets.”
If one is interested in attaining a high amount of reps for one set then “putting the volume toward sets” with less reps is not the answer. I beat people all the time who have trained in this manner. Some feel that if they can perform 6 reps with 60lbs of weight then they will automatically be able to do X amount of reps with no weight. However, I do not think that this is the case. It’s certainly not the best way to train for maximum repetions.(muscle fiber types aside).
You have heard the better coaches state that you need to train “sport specific.” It is no different with various strength sports. You, for example, like to powerlift. From what I have gathered from this forum you are quite successful at it, and you are to be commended. However, how successful would you be if you were to train with a light weight and a rep range of 15 to 20 reps, at the exclusion of your heavier weight and lower reps? You would fail miserably! Not because you are not talented, but because you failed to train properly, or, “sport specific.”
When you have an objective of maximum repetitions, you must train your body to achieve these repetions in practice under similar conditions as your competition demands! If it takes me approximately :60 to perform one set of 30-32 Chin-ups in competition, I need to stay close to that same time and rep frame in my training. Obviously attempting to move forward in maximum reps.
It may take :3 (give or take) to lift a heavy weight for one repetion. If it takes :60 or more to perform a certain amount of high reps in a competition then the training strategies need to be different as well, as they are two distintly different athletic events. Just as one would train differently to perform a 50yd. dash as opposed to a quarter mile run. Both athletes are running but that is where most of the similarity ends.
What we both have in common is the fact that we are usually resting longer than the typical body builder between sets. This enables us both to be strong for the next set. Each set, more or less, simulating our competitive event. In this case it’s your goal, to achieve a higher maximum weight for one rep. It is my goal to achieve a higher amount of repetitions.
In order to gain proficiency in any competition, one needs to train in as similar a fashion as the actual event!
Zeb,
My last post was rather confusing, sorry about that. My fault.
Here is a picture of the bar in question:
You see how the bar bends on either side? What is the reason behind this? Like I said, this is a silly question, but I would like to know the answer.
Thanks again,
Jonez68
jonez68,
As they say “one picture is worth one thousand words.” Now I know what you mean!
I have seen this style of Pull-up bar before, attatched to weight machines and other gym apparatus. Personally, I do not like them. They want you to place your hands below where you end up having to place your chin. This makes the actual Pull-up a little harder as you have to go beyond your hands a couple of inches. This maybe good, as it adds a little more resistance.
However, I don’t like the angle of the wrist when it is in the Chin-up position (palms facing you). I would think that this device would almost put a halt on your Chin-up training because of the poor angle. Unless of course you could grab the bar in the middle somehow, avoiding the awkward slopping angle. with the exception of rope climbing, almost nothing builds better biceps than close grip Chin-ups, if you do them properly. However, I would not want this at the exclusion of normal grip Chin-ups.
If you are looking for something to put in your house I would go with a wall mounted unit with a straight bar protuding from the mounted plate. I have seen these personally and know that they work well. Other types of units that I have seen work are the doorway type. I placed a doorway unit made by Everlast in my sons doorway and he, and I, have used it with not a problem. this is not my favorite bar to train on, but it works.
Whatever you do stick with something that does not put undue pressure on the wrists in either the Pull-up or Chin-up position.
Zeb,
Thanks a lot! You are definitely THE MAN when it comes to chin-ups/pull-ups!
Jonez68
jonez68,
Glad I could help you, now how many Chins are you going to crank out today?
Zeb,
What do you think about the counter weight pull/chin machines?