Some things will never change.
Squats, deads, presses, cleans, snatches, pushups, chins and dips will always be the foundation of a good strength training program.
To be explosive you’re never going to be able to beat throwing and jumping.
To be in shape nothing will ever top hill sprints or the Prowler.
One thing that I have changed, however, is the way I coach certain exercises. Chin ups being one of the most noteworthy.
I’ve been down on straight bar chins for quite some time now and haven’t done one myself in years. Over the last few months I have completely eliminated them from my clients programs. What’s funny is I discussed this with another well known strength coach at dinner recently and not too long after he told me he made the same changes to his programs and would never go back.
In my opinion the straight bar chin up places too much stress on the wrists, elbows and shoulders. I’ve seen it and experienced it way too many times and could no longer recommend it in all good conscience. Even if you haven’t experienced it yet chances are good that a steady diet of supinated straight bar chin ups may come back to bite you in the ass… or elbow, eventually.
I’d even say that pull ups (palms facing away from you) on a straight bar should be eliminated as well if you want to be ultra conservative or you have any shoulder problems.
The simple solution is to stick with neutral grip chins/pull ups. If you have one of the best racks in the world from EliteFTS, the monkey bar chin attachment at the top gives you five different grip options to choose from. That should keep you busy for a while.
Another great option is the EZ bar or zig zag style chin up bar. That should be a staple in every gym and should replace the straight bar on the top of all power racks and on all wall mounted chin up bars. Chin ups or pull ups on the EZ bar are far less stressful than the straight bar.
The best option is chin ups on rings. With rings you can use any grip you want. You can start pronated and finish supinated or you can keep a neutral grip the entire time. It’s up to you and can be dictated by what feels safest and most natural for your body.
When you’re on a fixed bar you can’t move naturally and that’s what leads to problems. That’s why for a lot of individuals with shoulder issues, including myself, pushups on rings feel better than pushups on the ground; because you can move more freely and naturally.
If you choose to start doing your chins on rings you should be forewarned that a ten rep max may quickly become 3-4 rep max. This is normal so don’t be frustrated. One quick solution would to attach a band to each ring and put your feet in them while doing your set. When your strength comes up get rid of the bands. The other solution is to just do a bunch of low rep sets until you are strong enough to rep out on the rings like you can on the bar. When you do that you will end up far stronger and have more well developed stabilizer muscles than if you had just stuck with the straight bar the whole time.
Now, if all you have access to is a straight bar it’s not the end of the world. First of all I would do more pull ups than chin ups and I would choose the least stressful grip width. You can also do parallel grip chins by getting sideways under the bar and gripping it with one hand over the other or by placing a V-grip cable attachment over it.
But in my mind it’s worth the investment to find a gym or rack with neutral grip chin up bars or grab yourself a pair of rings.
You’ll pay far less for them than you will for the doctor’s bills later on down the line.
One final note I should make is that the amount of chins you do should be evened out with an equal amount of rowing motion exercises for the upper back. If you don’t do that you will end up with internally rotated shoulders and a host of other problems you’d probably want to avoid.
For the rings I use personally and highly recommend click HERE.
Related posts:How to Improve Your Chin UpsHow to Improve on Chin UpsJen’s New Chin Up PR (And How We Did It)Top 10 Ways to Improve Your Pull UpsShould You Always Use a Full Range of Motion: Part 2
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