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I did 1 chin-up

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Replies

  • dbmata
    dbmata Posts: 12,950 Member
    You are awesome! I'm 38 too and haven't managed to do one (ever) yet. I've been trying both resistance bands and reverse chin-ups. Any tips?

    Do assisted pull ups (1 foot on a chair) to take away some of the weight. I did that for months until I was strong enough to do them without.

    I say 'reverse' - you say 'one foot up on a chair' =D cheers though :)

    A reverse would be where you jump up as close to a chin as you can and then let yourself down slowly under control, no?

    Those are excellent to help bring on that second chin up. Good conditioning and strength building.
  • yogicarl
    yogicarl Posts: 1,260 Member
    Feels good doesn't it - well done and all the best for more.

    I would just add - you can use resistance bands as assistance bands - between the pull-up bar and either drop your knee into the band or step into it and use it to take a bit of your own bodyweight so you can get more reps in. Then when the assitance gives in - do a couple more by stepping on a chair and doing the negative part of the movement.
  • tennisdude2004
    tennisdude2004 Posts: 5,609 Member
    I finally did one. It was ugly. I was hanging crooked, but I did it. I feel so happy and accomplished. Since I was a little kid, I couldn't do a single chin up. I remember in school we had to do chin ups and I failed. I went to camp and we had to do chin ups and I failed. I'm 38 years old and I finally did one. After losing about 30 lbs and working out now for about 6 months, I did it.

    Just wanted to share it. Effort, patience and drive is what's needed to accomplish just about anything in life.

    Mega high five dude!!!!

    More power to your elbow!
  • clackamas1911
    clackamas1911 Posts: 13
    Congrats!
  • jimmmer
    jimmmer Posts: 3,515 Member
    There's something psychologically very powerful about doing chins. Mastering your bodyweight in a difficult compound movement.

    Awesome victory OP!

    Keep going: next step (and next victory) is to add some reps...
  • phatguerilla
    phatguerilla Posts: 188 Member
    You are awesome! I'm 38 too and haven't managed to do one (ever) yet. I've been trying both resistance bands and reverse chin-ups. Any tips?

    I posted a thread about this a few weeks ago: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1307995-tips-to-improve-chin-ups-without-negatives-or-bands

    I'm doing multiple low rep sets now.

    well done op! weight training in general is a great feeling, but hitting a goal like this which you couldn't do in the past (but probably always wanted to, like me) is even better.
  • BenjaminMFP88
    BenjaminMFP88 Posts: 660 Member
    Grats man. I was in the same boat. In highschool I was able to do 20-30 but a few years later and I couldn't get a single one. I actually resorted to watching all sorts of youtube videos and after a few short weeks, I was able to get 5-6. I still want to get more but I'm just happy with the few I can do. Just a thought, but doing negative pull up's/chin ups and bent over rows I think are magic when it comes to building the necessary muscle to do pull ups/chin ups.
  • ClareB1174
    ClareB1174 Posts: 38 Member
    It's one more than I have ever done, so I'm impressed.

    Well done :-)

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