Chin Up Challenge -- Week 1
The Challenge
Complete the most unassisted chin ups.
I challenge all of you who currently cannot complete a single unassisted chin up to see who can do the most unassisted chin ups by March 22, 2008. It is important that you currently cannot complete a single unassisted chin up.
How do you get involved?
Leave a comment letting me know you want to be involved. I will post an entry outlining my plan for how to accomplish some unassisted chin ups and in that entry will be the list of people interested in joining the challenge.
What is involved?
Starting on Sunday, December 23, 2007 (80 days from the end of the challenge), I will begin a weekly post regarding the challenge. Each of you should provide me (via email) your current progress regarding chin ups. I will post this every Sunday for all the world to see.
Participants:
Tea [visit her blog]
Lynda [visit her blog]
Suzette [visit her blog]
Lilla [visit her blog]
Jeff
Michael [You are here]
Progress:
Tea — ?? Need an update please
Lynda — ?? Need an update please
Suzette — Suzette is figuring out how to get the training in to do the chin ups.
Lilla — ?? Need an update please
Jeff — Wide Grip Pullups: 110 pound assistance - 1 set of 15,12,10,8,6 reps with 1 minute rest for 51 total reps
Hammer Grip Chins: 110 pound assistance - 3 set of 15 reps with 1 minute rest for 45 total reps
Michael — Doing 5 sets of 5 chin ups with 120 pounds assistance
Michael, I have not "started" the workouts for the chin ups. Per your answer to my question regarding using the lat pulldown machine I have yet to devise a plan to work on this. I am considering buying a pull up bar to put up in a doorway at home and getting a band to use as an assist.otherwise i do not know how i will do the workouts as my gym does not have an assisted pull up machine. so for an update, I have not been able to do even one chin up. the best i can do is a closegrip underhand pull down with 110 lbs.
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Suzette, I've seen people in my gym progress from the lat pull down machine to the chin up bar. They work their way up the stack until they feel strong enough to try a pull up, then gradually they work the chin up bar in to their routine along with Lat pull downs. It works the same muscles and seems like a natural transition when I see it. So I believe you will have success in the challenge even without the chin up machine. Although your body is not moving up and down, Michael's plan of 5 sets of 5 chins would work just as well with the lat pull down machine. Even Charles Poliquin's form description seems like a match for the lat pull down machine. I'll even go one step further and say you may be able to do a better chin up because you can pull the bar way down past your chin. The chin up machine has split handles instead of a bar. I'm about 5' 7" and my gym's chin up machines may be bottoming out before my chin actually clears. I'll probably throw in the Lat Pull Down machine once in awhile to make sure I'm actually making good progress. Michael, do you agree?
Last Sunday I put an old chin up bar in my kitchen doorway so we can do the chin up challenge. My plan is to use a technique called Pavel's Ladder but I haven't switched to it yet because I had my regular gym routine that includes pulls and chins. My wife, who also can't do a chin up (but really wants to) has joined me and is using the Pavel's Ladder technique. I'll give more detail later if it starts to work for us but it basically requires that you hit the chin up bar every time you walk by it. As for starting the challenge, I'll go ahead and give all the extra detail this first week but in the future I'll shorthand it like Mike's so my comment isn't so ridiculously long.
Sun 12-23-07 to Sat 12-29-07 Jeff McBride Chin Up Challenge report.
As part of my regular workout called Lift 2:
Wide Grip Pullups: 110 pound assistance - 1 set of 15,12,10,8,6 reps with 1 minute rest for 51 total reps
Hammer Grip Chins: 110 pound assistance - 3 set of 15 reps with 1 minute rest for 45 total reps
Chin Up Challenge extra workout:
3 days of attempts: 0 chinups
2 days of No Attempt
1 day jump up chins on chin up bar: 3 sets of 5
Jeff McChinchallenged
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I think that lat pulldowns will help, but I don't know that it is a 1 to 1 thing. I've been doing lat pull downs for a long time. I started at 80 pounds x 10 and now I think I'm up to about 150 x 10, but I still could not do an unassisted chin up if my life depended on it. The chin up works (and depends upon) many more stabilizer muscles than the lat pull down does. Suzette, what about doing negatives? You get up on a stool or chair and put yourself into position and then slowly lower yourself down. Or how about having someone in the gym assist you? You don't need the weight assist machine if you have someone helping you. Honestly, all of these things will help with the chin ups in the end, but I just don't believe lat pull downs alone will cut it. Time to get creative
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