This is a cool
pull-up challenge that's going to give even
a strong chinner a run for their money. From
a muscle-tension standpoint, you're also going
to have multiple times through the exercise
(every rep) where you're supporting your entire
bodyweight on one arm.
So
not only is it a nice challenge, it's a very
cool way to simultaneously vary how the pull-up
hits your lats by constantly switching your
grip while giving it points of single-arm
support to really ratchet up the tension.
And
yeah, you'll look a bit strange while you're
doing it but what else is new when it's coming
from me... ;)
So
here's what it looks like (you'll need a chin-up
bar for this one obviously - you'll also need
to be strong enough to do at least 5 to 10
chin-ups in order to perform it, too).
Start
over on the left side of the bar and use an
underhand grip with your left and an overhand
grip with your right.
Now
pull up.
Lower
yourself down but not ALL the way down...keep
some bend in your elbow to maintain constant
tension in the lats.
Because
now you're going to take your left hand off
the bar and spin your body around 180 degrees
and grip it with an overhand grip on the bar
when you're facing the other way. You're only
gripping one-handed briefly but it puts a
big shot of tension on the lat on that gripping
side.
Once
you've got the grip again, get ready to pull
up.
As
you can see after spinning around, I've got
an underhand grip on the right hand and an
overhand grip on the left, which gives that
constant switching of grip.
Spin
yourself another 180 degrees and go again.
Once
you're over as far as you can go on the bar,
then work your way back the other way, spinning
180 degrees and pulling up on each rep.
The
challenge here is to see how many times you
can traverse the bar before either your grip
gives out or you run out of steam on the pull-ups.
One
little as you're doing these...the trick with
getting the spinning down and switching up
the grip on each rep is keep your hands and
wrists in the same orientation as you spin.
Because when you spin, THAT will automatically
change the grip for you...it won't come from
the wrist.
You'll
see that more when you try the exercise than
when I'm explaining it in words here. It's
going to take a bit of practice but once you
get it, this will be a fun chinning challenge
for you...gets your brain in the movement
as you're doing it rather than just mindlessly
doing reps.
It's
a GREAT overall bodyweight back exercise...and
if you're fairly strong with chins, it's going
to give you some nice variety in your back
training.
