New goal for my new year...chin ups!

Nanbo

Nanbo

Cathlete
Every year on my birthday I pick a fitness goal to work on for the "new year". This year my DH is putting a really nice chin-up bar in the lab where I work :D! I'm going to do my best to tackle un-assisted chin-ups. The best part is that no matter what, by the time my next birthday rolls around I will be able to do more chin-ups than I can now (which is zero!) ;)!
 
What a great goal idea to set on your birthday! That chin-up bar at work will be a nice reminder to practice those chin-ups!
Keep up posted when you accomplish your full body chin-up!
 
UPDATE: I started my pull-ups today!!!! I used assist bands (a light and a medium together) and did 3 sets of 6 reps with good form. I am fired up! Soon I will use only the medium band, then only the light band, and then NO band!!! Going to work on my volume with the 2 bands together for a while for now! EMPOWERING :)!!!
 
Nice goal!

One question, are you doing "pull ups" or "chin ups"? Different based on the hand placement. I heard one is harder than the other, but since I can't do even one unassisted of either, I forget which is which! :)
 
fox2star said:
Nice goal!

One question, are you doing "pull ups" or "chin ups"? Different based on the hand placement. I heard one is harder than the other, but since I can't do even one unassisted of either, I forget which is which! :)
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Deb, I'm doing pull-ups right now (palms facing away)...I should edit the title of my original post as I was confused too!....in the future I'll be doing all kinds of variations.
 
I'm just starting with pull-ups, that's hard enough. Oh yeah, I balance that with sets of push ups, because that's a goal too, full chest to the ground push ups & full dead hang pull-ups.
 
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I like neutral grip best (because they're easiest ;) ). Even if you're working on improving your number using the bands, I reckon it's worth throwing in an (attempt at?) unassisted occasionally - they feel a bit different. I really struggle with the top half of the movement - getting my head above the bar - so often I just get myself up there and try to hold as long as possible (I don't need to count very high.....a couple of seconds, most!)
Sounds like you'll have them nailed in no time.
 
About 2 years ago, I bought one of those elastic bands to help me do pull ups. It felt great to do them with the band, but once I attempted a pull up with out it, I realized how human and weak I was. The pull up bar ended up in the attic because it was taking up some valuable real estate in my workout closet. Need to pull it out and join you on this year long challenge!
 
Justinef said:
I like neutral grip best (because they're easiest ;) ). Even if you're working on improving your number using the bands, I reckon it's worth throwing in an (attempt at?) unassisted occasionally - they feel a bit different. I really struggle with the top half of the movement - getting my head above the bar - so often I just get myself up there and try to hold as long as possible (I don't need to count very high.....a couple of seconds, most!)
Sounds like you'll have them nailed in no time.
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My sticking point is getting my head above the bar. I feel so accomplished, doing a pull-up or chin-up. The more muscle you have, the heavier you are, the heavier you are the harder it is. What a pain!!
 
PULL-UP CHALLENGE UPDATE:
Well, I have been faithful to my challenge and started my 3rd week yesterday. Here's how I've been doing:
Using pull-up grip and 2 assist bands (red = medium, black = heavy) and performing 3 sets:

04/06/15 6, 5, 4 = 15
04/08/15 6, 5, 5 = 16
04/10/15 6, 6, 5 = 17
04/13/15 7, 6, 5 = 18
04/15/15 7, 6, 6 = 19
04/17/15 7, 6, 6 = 19
04/20/15 7, 7, 6 = 20

I am encouraged to see improvement each session! My goal is to do 3 sets of 10 reps for at least 2 weeks before using just the black (heavy) band. Then, I'll work my way back up and repeat the whole thing using just the red (medium) band. Then, it's all body weight baby (and grip changes, too!)! Of course, my co-workers think I'm nutty :p !
Is anyone else doing this?
 
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