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Do you wish you had bigger biceps?
Some people turn to lifting heavy weights. Over time, however, this method can put tremendous strain on your wrists, low back and other areas. I remember getting frustrated in the gym many years ago because as soon as I began to lift the easy curl bar my right wrist would start screaming in pain. After doing a set of curls my wrist would hurt so bad I couldn’t do much else except complain about how much I hated lifting weights.
When I switched over to body weight exercises I incorporated the chin up into my routine and fell in love. Most people say the chin up is effective for building your biceps but only to a certain point. Yet if you adjust how you do your chin ups you can continue to build size over the long haul. I’ll show you how.
If what you’re interested in is developing your whole body and not just your biceps, you can start here.
How It All Began…
My love affair with the chin up actually started when I was much younger. I used to have chin up contests with my dad every week. I’d usually make him go first so I would have a clear number to shoot for.
We laid some ground rules before the contest started. On the “down” part of the chin up you had to go at least to parallel. On the “up” part you had to get your chin above the bar… otherwise it didn’t count.
During the contest we would crank out more and more until the lactic acid built up in our arms and we would collapse to the floor. I enjoyed these contests so much because I saw it as a way of showing my dad how strong I was. Now I realize that it was more than just a contest. It was a bonding experience. It brought us closer together. The chin up contest was “our thing” and to this day it brings a smile to my face.
OTHER GREAT SOA ARTICLES:
We have not had a contest in quite some time but those early days set in motion my belief in the power of the chin up. It can build up your biceps and bring your family closer.
What’s not to love?
Yet getting bigger biceps with chin ups is not just about cranking out more and more reps. There are some specific methods that you need to apply to your routine in order to get bigger.
I created a “1 Month Bigger Bicep Chin Up Plan” that you can download and follow. You’ll find it at the end of the article.
5 Ways to Build Bicep Mass with The Chin Up
1. Go Slowly
Speed has a huge effect on how you tear muscle tissue. When you perform an exercise as fast as you can, as with the plyometric, you are concentrating your efforts on training the nervous system. The motor units are firing faster so you can perform the movement quicker. This helps with agility & speed for basketball players and reflexive quickness for martial arts but does very little for developing muscle mass. The time under tension needs to be longer with each set and going slower is the key.
How long should each rep take? It should take 3-5 seconds for the “up” portion and 3-5 seconds for the “down” portion. When you count how many seconds it takes to perform each rep it will help you keep the necessary time under tension.
2. Incorporate Eccentric Chin Ups
Eccentrics is the portion of the movement when your muscle is elongating. It is by far one of the best ways of tearing muscle tissue. The eccentric portion of the chin up is during the down part. In order to do an effective eccentric chin up just focus on the eccentric portion of the movement. That means that you will use a chair or other item to step up so that your chin is above the bar… then lower slowly for the eccentric part. When you get to the floor step up again. The goal is fatigue the muscle on just the eccentric part, not the concentric part.
The best time to implement eccentric chin ups is when your muscle is already pre-fatigued. In the bicep training program below I’ll show you exactly what I mean.
3. Stay In An 8-12 Rep Range For Each Set
You MUST, MUST, MUST stay in the right rep range. The sweet spot is between 8-12 reps. When you stay in a rep range less than that you are targeting muscular strength. When you are in a rep range higher than that you are targeting muscular endurance. 8-12 is the perfect range for hypertrophy or growth.
So how do you make sure that you totally fatigue within this rep range? You must always be modifying your form so that you are forced to stop in this range.
For example, say you are a beginner chin up dude and can only do a few chin ups. Don’t think in your head, “I can’t do 8 reps so I guess I’ll start off with 4 and eventually work my way up.” No! If you want to build some nice looking guns don’t do that. Do half the set of chin ups without support and do the other half with your feet on a chair. That way, you’re muscles will fatigue within the right rep range for growth to occur.
The same thing applies to when you are in your 7th or 8th set. Don’t stop at 4 reps and say, “Well, its my last set… of course I won’t be able to do as many.” Put your feet on the chair for some of the last reps so that you totally fatigue within the 8-12 rep range.
What if I can crank out 20-25 chin ups in a row? How do I fatigue in an 8-12 rep range?
I’m glad you asked. In this case you need to implement a technique called body weight distribution. Shift your weight so that one of your arms is taking more of the load. It might be a 70/30% split. Do this for a few reps. Then once you start fatiguing go back to a 50/50 to make sure that you fatigue within the right rep range.
Here’s the short of it: Do whatever modification it takes so that you totally fatigue within the 8-12 rep range.
4. Rest For Only 60 Seconds
Many people forget the importance of rest between sets. If you are working on skill work such as planches, handstands, etc. than you need to rest for long periods of time like 3-4 minutes. The reason is because you are targeting the nervous system. If you rest for short periods of time than your muscles fatigue and you can’t hit your central nervous system as hard.
When we are focusing on muscle growth you DO want the muscles to fatigue. When you rest for 60 seconds it gives your body enough time to remove some of the waste products of the exercise yet not so much that it fully recovers.
Here’s a quick visual guide to rep ranges and rest periods:
When targeting muscular endurance: Do more than 12 reps: Rest for 15-30 seconds between sets
When targeting muscular growth: Do 8-12 reps: Rest for 60 seconds between sets
When targeting skill work/strength development: Do 6-8 reps (or less): Rest for 3-4 minutes between sets
5. Go For Higher Volume of Sets
You must cause bicep muscle damage in order for it to grow back stronger and bigger. You are not going to do that with just 1 or 2 sets. The best way to do it is with multiple sets. I recommend the magic number of 8 total sets. Each subsequent set helps you bring the muscle to a greater and greater level of fatigue.
The 1 Month Bigger Biceps Chin Up Plan
I created the plan below to help you get bigger biceps using the chin up. The plan incorporates each of the above principles. Pick a split where you have at least one day off in between workout days: Ie – Mon/Wed/Fri or Tues/Thurs/Sat.
You can download a workout sheet here.
Week 1: Ramp Up Week
Day 1:
Chin Ups – 8 Sets – 60 second rest between sets
Day 2:
Chin Ups – 8 Sets – 60 second rest between sets
Day 3:
Chin Ups – 8 Sets – 60 second rest between sets
Week 2: Work It Hard Week
Day 1:
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. Lower yourself down for a 5-10 second count. Get back up to starting position by stepping on to a chair. Do this for 8-12 total reps/ 4 sets).
Day 2:
Chin Ups – 8 Sets – 60 second rest between sets
Eccentric Chin Ups – 4 Sets – 60 second rest between sets (see explanation above)
Day 3:
Chin Ups – 8 Sets – 60 second rest between sets
Eccentric Chin Ups – 4 Sets – 60 second rest between sets (see explanation above)
Week 3: Bicep Destroyer Week
Day 1:
Chin Ups – 8 Sets – 45 second rest between sets
Eccentric Chin Ups – 4 Sets – 45 second rest between sets (see explanation above)
Chin Up Pyramid – 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 8, 6, 4, 2 (Start with two reps. Rest 30 seconds before doing four reps. Continue with six, eight and 10 before attempting to go back down. Make it as far as possible with good form. If you have to use a chair because your muscles are so blasted thats fine.)
Day 2:
Chin Ups – 8 Sets – 45 second rest between sets
Eccentric Chin Ups – 4 Sets – 45 second rest between sets
Chin Up Pyramid – 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 8, 6, 4, 2
Day 3:
Chin Ups – 8 Sets – 45 second rest between sets
Eccentric Chin Ups – 4 Sets – 45 second rest between sets
Chin Up Pyramid – 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 8, 6, 4, 2
Week 4: Active Recovery
Don’t do any major bicep work during this week. You can do some light static holds (hold the chin up bar for 30 seconds) but that is it. Let your biceps fully recover.
Nutrition for Biceps
You MUST, MUST, MUST be eating enough protein and enough calories in order for you to grow your biceps. You can’t work out like a maniac and think you are going to grow. It just doesn’t work that way. Here is a great resource for learning how many calories and protein to consume.
Follow the advice above and you’ll be showing off those guns in no time!
-Todd
Photo: chin up,
The post 5 Chin Up Modifications To Help You Get Bigger Biceps appeared first on Body Weight And Calisthenics Exercises & Workouts.
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