To perform a proper chin-up , make sure you have a sturdy bar that’s high enough … This feature is not available right now. Trying to replicate those stunts solely for their hypertrophy value is not practical and potentially dangerous, especially if you have a structure (long limbs) multiplying the torque on the joints during straight arm work. So, what’s better for biceps – curls or weighted chin-ups? Your whole upper body is working - especially the back muscles. Is the Red Pill Right About “Holding Frame” and Lifting Weights. Pull-ups provide lower lat and trap focus while chin ups are great for biceps, pecs, and upper lats. Grab a chin-up bar using an overhand grip with your hands placed approximately six to eight inches apart. Then, if we look at a study published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, we see that the chin-up uses an extra 8° of range of motion in the elbows when compared against the pull-up, making them even better for bulking up our biceps. Short people were often selected as Olympic weightlifters and gymnasts whereas tall people were sent to the track or the volleyball field. The movement is closer to what you encounter in real life and transfers much better to sports performance. Guess what? I agree with the article, although i would add that torso dominant individual can probably still get most of it bicep development with chinups only. Most people are going to struggle with bodyweight pulls: chin-ups and pull-ups are a totally new movement for most of us. the biceps receive a significant market share in the exercise. Farmers Walks can help develop that along with practicing bracing each lift for squats and deadlifts including warm ups. But first let me tell you what happened today. Wide grip pull ups do work the biceps but the wider grip (shoulder width or more) really accentuates the tension on the muscles in your back and shoulders. If you can do something for 17 hours, there’s very little strength involved. Hence why long muscle bellies are a very desirable genetic trait in bodybuilding. Every sport has a favorable body type. Hang with your arms fully extended, pointing your legs slightly in … I’ll say this, if you can strict curl anywhere between 135 and 185 your biceps will be much bigger than a guy who only does chinups. Summary: Both the chin-up and pull-up will help you grow your biceps, but the chin-up will be a bit better. 3 full body workouts per week are the minimum to achieve this. What is the best? The professors are quick to show you pictures of gymnasts with bodybuilding arms, but rarely tell you the following: 1. Most pro gymnasts are short because that’s an advantage in their craft. Wide grip pull ups are an excellent compound exercise in itself but if you really want to target the biceps for increased strength and muscle then we need to use close grip chin ups. As you become stronger, you can adjust your grip width closer to get a more strenuous workout. Subsequently, the biggest arm flexors i.e. To perform a chin-up, take a closer, underhand (supinated) grip. Chin Ups – 8 Sets – 60 second rest between sets Eccentric Chin Ups – 4 Sets – 60 second rest between sets (Eccentric Chin Up explanation: Start in the up position of a chin up. Required fields are marked *. I think that pull-ups are not as effective as chin-ups because there is not enough work for the biceps since they can't contract as efficiently. For the same reason, bodybuilders who tear their biceps or triceps (e.g., Dorian Yates) often come back with weak arms. I’m tired of hearing the nonsense that curls and isolation exercises are worthless when in reality, adding them to your routine is ideal. Natty Maximization – A New Book By NattyOrNot.com. With chin-ups, you have to move your body around a fixed object (the bar), ensuring an overload on the upper back and the flexor muscles of the upper arms. Another bonus of curls is their ability to hit the biceps hard regardless of your anthropometry. 1. the biceps receive a significant market share in the exercise. The same mechanism is observed in compound exercises – the naturally strong muscle groups do extra work and cover the weakness of their underdeveloped brothers. The underhand grip of the chin-up does put the shoulders and elbows in a position in which the biceps can contribute notably to the movement, so it may feel easier than using a wider grip, overhand pull-up. If you don’t have long muscle bellies, your biceps will probably remain smaller than you want them. Making 10 pound jumps is simply too big for exercises like conventional curls and hammer curls. 2. Learn how your comment data is processed. My lats have always been somewhat developed – even when I wasn’t training. Chin-ups and pull-ups show practically identical lat activation; grip doesn't matter in that regard. They directly hit the biceps and do not leave room for other muscle groups to take over when the exercise is done with proper technique. Long muscle bellies have a higher potential for growth because there is more muscle to hypertrophy in the first place. For example, I’ve been doing pullup/chinup specialization for well over a year now and my performance skyrocketed to the point of doing 165lbs for a 1RM. Chin-ups are better than pull-ups if your focus is building bigger biceps. If you have poor insertions, all the curls and chin-ups in the world won’t give you the full arms of Zef Zakaveli, for example. If you are not built for a sport, you’re swimming against the current and sentencing yourself to mediocrity at best. But you van also just add curls. If you have long biceps with very short, almost invisible, tendons inserting straight into the elbow, you have a very high chance of developing them with almost any exercise that hits the area. According to the 5×5 wizards, weighted chin-ups are the ultimate biceps exercise because they expose the area to brutally heavy weights. In case you cannot do even one Pull up, perform assisted chin ups. Some do more than others and compensate for the underperforming units. Good luck doing a maltese as a basketball player. However, the contribution is not enough to eclipse the work of the lats. Your email address will not be published. Aim to make the isolation work higher-rep, aiming for the 8–20 range, since the compound lifts will give your biceps lots of heavy work. Not in a million years! When done correctly it not only work the lat, biceps and rear delt, but put also a significant strain on chest and triceps. Black and white, minimalist thinking needs to die because it’s misinformation that continues to hurt your gains. Select a curl variation that agrees with your joints, stick to it and don’t overdo it. If you are not built for the sport, you’ll never reach the top. The author shall not be liable or responsible for any loss or damage allegedly arising from any information or suggestions within this blog. Not all team members contribute equally to the end goal. Can’t say I’m surprised, but the minimalists would argue that 165 isn’t enough, just do 185 and everything will be fine. Mix in volume and intensity on curls for the best gains. Chin-ups and Pull-ups are very similar exercises that work the same muscle groups. 4 comments | by Truth Seeker | Short answer: The chin-up is a pull-up variation done with a supinated/underhand grip (palms facing towards you). This makes the chin-up the better exercise in … Subsequently, the biggest arm flexors i.e. So if y… It’s the preferred method of all bodybuilders for a reason, just saying. (For example, the triceps make up … Many gymnasts are significantly smaller than you think. A surprising number of gymnasts do curls as an assistance exercise to condition the muscles and tendons of the arm. Realistically, however, he can’t do much to bring them up as their size and shape are the product of his long tendons and short muscle bellies. Head banger pull ups are an unusual exercise that does wonders for your biceps. It doesn’t make sense, if you want to see how strong your biceps really are, simply do a strict curl. Besides the biceps, the chin-up engages the latissimus dorsi, the traps, the rhomboids, the brachialis, the forearms, the long head of the triceps…etc. I use a 3 step method plus 3 secret strategies for perfect Pull ups.. It is not uncommon to hear people complain about pullups being too difficult. Your personal anthropometry matters too. If you look closely at Zakaveli’s arms, you will see that he has some Sergio Oliva type of insertions. This wouldn’t happen until my early twenties and here I will share my approach of getting really good at chin-ups and pull-ups with you. Poverty arm Genetics as much we would like hanging off of you the promoters of training! 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