Chin Up Bar Review

If you are focusing your work out on building muscle strength and muscle mass, then you really should consider integrating a chin up bar into your workout routine if you don’t already. Doing chin ups build strength in a pair of muscles called the “latissimus dorsi.” These are located on the middle back of your torso, below your shoulders, and are often called the “lats” for short.

Working your lats is a good way to not only build muscle strength (and thus acquire all of the other benefits of increased muscle tone in your overall health), but to break up your work out routine by adding a different motion. The more different things you do, the greater your overall fitness will be. Say you focus on sit-ups, bench presses, and push-ups. Adding chin ups will strengthen new muscles and help improve your work out in these other areas, too.

So you know you want to add chin ups to your routine, but you’re not sure how to do them. Here’s a basic primer or chin up technique, with some pointers to help you get started. (As with any workout advice, there are always risks that you might hurt yourself or pull something if you don’t do it quite right, so it’s best to work with a personal trainer to make sure you do it safely if you have any questions.)

Here is the basic form of doing a chin-up.

1. Step up to the chin up bar and extend your arms above your head.
2. Grip the bar with your fingers/palms facing you.
3. Pull yourself up to the chin up bar until you are high enough that your chest touches (or nearly touches) the bar.
4. Relax and lower your body back down until your arms are straight.
5. Repeat.

There are a few different ways of doing a chin up, or things you can do to enhance your workout. It’s easy to try and do all the work with your arms (specifically your biceps), so using a kip can help remind you to use your lats instead of just your arms. This helps the chin up bar do its job and build muscle strength in your work out routine.