Chin Ups: The Journey
Back in the day, during my PT qualifications, I was asked to do a chin up and found it incredibly hard - obviously!
It made me realise at the time that there was a lot of knowledge I needed to gain.
I had been watching guys in the gym doing chin ups, and since I only taught my clients moves that I was confident in myself, I was determined to get there.
You can learn to do a seated cable row, but learning to do a chin up is a whole new level of difficulty, especially 10 years ago.
By the time I finalised my PT qualifications, I could manage just about 1 chin up.
I didn't get into the groove until about 2011 after having set myself the goal of being able to do 10 great reps.
I worked on it every day. Turns out I was doing exercises that were ok for training for chins but not optimal. I was training negatives and holds mainly and didn't realise that my other upper body strength training was just as crucial to my success.
Learning about the importance of overall strength training was a turning point for me. In my competitive running days, I never really did much in terms of upper body weights, apart from maybe a bench press.
It was the understanding that building up strength and mobility in the right areas is what makes the difference. Trying to learn how to do chin ups by just trying to chin ups will only get you so far. It's a bit like training for cycling by cycling alone.
My chin up program is the result of over 10 years of training myself and my clients (of all levels), working out the right combination of exercises to build up the strength and help your body understand the whole movement.
It's about upper body strength, grip strength and mobility - but not just that. You also need great mind-muscle connection, the will to persevere and consistency.
Whether it ultimately takes you 2 weeks or 2 years, the starting point is simply wanting to do it.
Check out my online Chin Ups training workout programs and let’s go!
