How To Do Vince Gironda Chin Ups

Posted by: Ron

Most people are doing half chin-ups barely getting the top of their heads above the bar, let alone their chins

Pull up high enough until your chest touches the bar! Those are proper chin-ups

Vince Gironda was a big advocate of a chinning as I am. He was also very particular about what he considered real chins. His words:

"If you can't pull your chest up to the bar, you are not getting full contraction of the lats."

You've likely read in muscle magazines that the wider you grip the bar, the wider your lats are going to be. That is partly true. The part that is true is that you will work different fibers of the lats and at the same time, you're pulling on your shoulders. So the mistake most trainees make is hold the bar too wide before they're able to fully contract their lats.

You may be asking:

How do full chin-ups look when the lats are fully contracted?

The fully contracted position of the chin is when

your triceps are touching your lats
your elbows are pulled back to the sides
your chest is high up touching the bar (3 inches below the clavicles (collar bones)
your thoracic spine (upper back) is arched

Anything less than that is half a pull up.

According to Vince, and I also agree, half chins produce no results and you must contract your lats completely to get the best results. Don Howorth was one of the few who always did full chins. His development spoke volumes of proper chins.

What if I lack the strength to do full chin-ups?

If you need to work on your strength, you can do singles. That is, do one rep, then rest for a few seconds or even a minute before attempting your next rep. In time your strength will build up. If that's still too difficult, you can stand on a bench, jump up until the bar touches 3 inches below your clavicles, hold yourself in that position, contracting your lats, for as long as possible, then slowly lower yourself. Rest and repeat.

You can also set a bar up in a squat rack so the bar is about 3 inches below your clavicles and use that as your chinning bar. Keep your grip relatively narrow at first, position yourself to the fully contracted position described above, then slowly lift your feet off the ground, hold as long as you can, then slowly lower yourself.

These negatives will quickly build up your strength.

Concentrate on the top of the movement at first as that is the greatest pitfall in chins.

Can you touch your sternum to the bar when you chin? What tips can you share?

For more information go to The Training and Diet Secrets of Vince Gironda

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