Recently Max came to us and said that he wanted to learn how to do chin-ups because other boys on the playground could do them but he couldn’t. So with his Dick’s Sporting Good’s gift card from his birthday we got a Chin Up Bar
. Have you ever tried to do a chin-up or pull-up? They are HARD! I can’t do one. My DH can’t do one. And now we have to teach my son how to do one. So here’s what I’ve gathered so far to teach him.
The Difference Between Chin-Ups And Pull-Ups.
Chin-ups: When you grip the bar, your palms are facing you. Chin-ups are considered a bit easier because you are using your biceps more.
Pull-ups: When you grip the bar your palms are facing away from you. Considered harder than chin-ups because you are using your back more.
I found a great video on YouTube by Mark Sisson called Pull-up Progression – Primal Blueprint Fitness. Mark Sisson is one of the founders of the Primal/Paleo movement. His site (Marks Daily Apple.com) has a wealth of health and nutrition information. This page has a lot of free information including a free fitness ebook. I’ve used it as a reference many times the past few years.
Back to the pull-up progression. From the video, Mark tells us that if you use a bench or chair, you can use your legs (as little as possible) to help you do 12 pull-ups. Then you move on to one leg pull-ups in the same manner. He also shows you how to do a reverse pull-up or chin-up which is basically where you start at the top (using a bench) and then slowly lower yourself with out the bench. The video is an excellent illustration of how you can do this.
So I’m going to show Max and my DH this tonight and hopefully we will be on our way to doing a some chin-ups or pull-ups soon!
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