The Girl’s Guide to Chin Ups and Pull Ups

Ok girls, this one’s for you. Have you been dreaming about being able to do a pull up or chin up and can’t even seem to be able to pull yourself over the bar?  If so, join the club. Most women of average athletic ability cannot do chin ups and pull ups but that doesn’t mean it’s impossible. In fact, most women can get themselves over the pull up bar…it just takes some practice. So, if you are interested in learning how to use a pull up bar, like the Stud Bar, read on…

The Difference between Chin Ups and Pull Ups

The first thing that you should know about using a chin up bar, which is also called a pull up bar, is that there is actually a difference between chin ups and pull ups. With chin ups, you will be holding onto the chin up bar with your palms towards your face and your hands slightly outside of your shoulder width. When you do a pull up, your palms will face away from you and your hands will be further outside the width of your shoulders. The words chin up bar and pull up bar are phrases used for the same equipment. Start with Chin Ups they are easier to do than strict pull ups.

Doing Your First Pull Up/Chin Up

As a beginner, there is really no reason to focus on one exercise over another.  Eventually, as you get stronger, you will be able to do both. It is recommended that you do whatever is most comfortable for you, i.e. palms towards you or palms away. Either way, you need to find out where you are at with these. Start with a dead hang on the Stud Bar, essentially just holding onto the bar without trying to pull yourself up. A dead hang is actually the first step and a great training exercise as it can help to strengthen your grip.  Try to pull yourself up and see how far you get…some of you may be able to actually get pretty far, others may simply sway or not move at all.  Whatever you do, don’t get frustrated.

Consider adding pull up assist bands to your Stud Bar. These are elastic bands that help to give you an added push when it comes to getting over the bar. The more you use the pull up assist bands, the less you will rely on it.

Exercises to Improve Pull Ups

You will need to train, in most cases, before doing a pull up/chin up and one way to do it is to do lat pull downs. This machine will help to strengthen the same muscles that are used to do pull ups/chin ups. It will also show you the correct form for pull ups. Pushups are also good training for pull ups/chin ups, as are deadlifts with a barbell.

If you stick to it, before you know it, with the combination of lifting and using a pull up assist, you will easily be able to do a chin up or pull up on your Stud Bar.