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The other day <b>Theia</b> posted about planks. So I kind of feel obligated to pimp my favorite upper body bodyweight exercise, the pull up. <img alt="banana.gif" src="http://files.kickrunners.com/smilies/banana.gif"><br><br>
First, to clear up any confusion about terminology and form --<br><br>
Pull ups are done with the palms facing away from the body.<br><br>
Chin ups are done with the palms facing towards the body.<br><br>
Either way, although chin ups tend to be easier to do because the biceps get a more advantageous leveraging position, this is a great upper body exercise that'll work a whole lot of muscle. Grip strength, muscles in your forearms, your biceps, your shoulders, and of course the lats. You'll even find the abdominals get some work as they have to stablize the connection between your upper body and the legs.<br><br>
Damn, that's pretty sweet. A huge chain of muscles gets a workout and as runners, you might like the idea of how it's about you moving your bodyweight. Hey, isn't running kind of like moving your bodyweight on your legs? Whoa, imagine that. Imagine that and you might begin to understand why I think bodyweight exercises are right up a runner's alley.<br><br>
What's not to love?<br><br>
It can be tough if you can't do any. If that's the case, it might be worth seeing if you can perform the negative part of a chin up. You can use a stepping stool to get you in position with your chin up over the bar and see if you can do a controlled lowering of yourself to the ground. Do that for some time and you will build the strength to eventually go in the other direction.<br><br>
If you can't do negatives with control, you can try using a doorframe to help build the strength. Stand in the doorframe, put your hands out to the side to grip the frame and lean back, then pull yourself back up to standing. Try to do those as often as you can during the day.<br><br>
And of course, you can always resort to some weight training methods. Bicep curls and lat pull downs if you have access to a weight machine.<br><br>
------<br><br>
If you all start getting good at doing standard chin ups and pull ups, then bend my ear and I might start yakking about some of the diabolical variations I've been working on so I can hopefully some time in these next few months do my first one arm chin up.
First, to clear up any confusion about terminology and form --<br><br>
Pull ups are done with the palms facing away from the body.<br><br>
Chin ups are done with the palms facing towards the body.<br><br>
Either way, although chin ups tend to be easier to do because the biceps get a more advantageous leveraging position, this is a great upper body exercise that'll work a whole lot of muscle. Grip strength, muscles in your forearms, your biceps, your shoulders, and of course the lats. You'll even find the abdominals get some work as they have to stablize the connection between your upper body and the legs.<br><br>
Damn, that's pretty sweet. A huge chain of muscles gets a workout and as runners, you might like the idea of how it's about you moving your bodyweight. Hey, isn't running kind of like moving your bodyweight on your legs? Whoa, imagine that. Imagine that and you might begin to understand why I think bodyweight exercises are right up a runner's alley.<br><br>
What's not to love?<br><br>
It can be tough if you can't do any. If that's the case, it might be worth seeing if you can perform the negative part of a chin up. You can use a stepping stool to get you in position with your chin up over the bar and see if you can do a controlled lowering of yourself to the ground. Do that for some time and you will build the strength to eventually go in the other direction.<br><br>
If you can't do negatives with control, you can try using a doorframe to help build the strength. Stand in the doorframe, put your hands out to the side to grip the frame and lean back, then pull yourself back up to standing. Try to do those as often as you can during the day.<br><br>
And of course, you can always resort to some weight training methods. Bicep curls and lat pull downs if you have access to a weight machine.<br><br>
------<br><br>
If you all start getting good at doing standard chin ups and pull ups, then bend my ear and I might start yakking about some of the diabolical variations I've been working on so I can hopefully some time in these next few months do my first one arm chin up.
