The first thing you need to do, is to decide whether you want your palms to face inwards, or outwards. When you attempt to do chin ups with your palms facing inwards, you are working more on your biceps. If your palms face outwards, you are using more muscles in several muscle groups - your chest, your shoulder, and your Teres muscle.
Next, you will need to decide on the intensity of the chin up routine. The more intense the routine, the shorter the amount of rest time, and the greater the number of repetitions in each set.
Usually, a routine consists of 3 sets. In each set, depending on your needs, you will be completing a series of chin ups. For example, you can try something like 12 in set 1, 8 in set 2, and 4 in set 3. So how do you know how many chin ups to do in a single set? To determine the number of repetitions, try to do just one set of chin ups until you can't pull yourself up anymore. How many did you do? If you did 10 chin ups, you can start with 8 to 10 chin ups for your first set. If you do just 4 chin ups, you can start with 3 to 4 for your fist set.
After each set, give yourself some time to rest. The rest time is needed for the blood to transport oxygen to your muscles. If you shorten the rest time, you increase the intensity of your work out. For instance, if you are training for power and strength, you can start your second set after just 30 seconds. But if you are training for endurance, you can rest for a minute before starting your next set.
The break time also depends on your level of fitness. In the beginning, you may need a full minute rest before starting on the second set. Bit by bit, you may then reduce the rest time to 50 seconds, then 40 seconds, and so on.
As your strength and fitness level increases, you can also try to do more repetitions per set, or you can try spreading your hands wider apart. You will find that it's much harder to do one chin up with your palms further apart. This is because the posture requires you to use more of your upper body strength instead of your arms. If you just starting out, just spread your arms across your shoulder length.
To further increase the intensity of a chin up workout, try strapping weights to your waist or limbs. Then try to repeat the same work out.
The P90X Chin Up Bar is a highly recommended piece of equipment. It's main use is to help develop your shoulders, back and arms. Installing it is actually quite easy. The ingenious design allows nearly all of your weight to be distributed to the outside of the door frame, so only two small brackets are necessary. These brackets mainly support the weight of the bar itself, preventing it from physically sliding down the doorframe, and allowing you to easily remove the bar when not in use.
First follow the included instructions and assemble the P90X Chin Up Bar. Next, you need to locate a suitable doorframe. Choose one that's out of the way from high traffic. You may also want to consider a location that's near your TV where you'll be following along with your P90X workout. The bar fits residential doorway openings (trim required) 24" to 32" wide (supports up to 300 pounds), so be sure to measure your doorway.
Next, you need to install the included brackets for the P90X Chin Up Bar either directly into the top trim or right above, into the wall itself. Be sure to install them on the appropriate side of the doorway?that is the side that the door opens in to.
Now, standing on a stool or step ladder, measure to find the center of the top of your door frame. From there, measure roughly 4" to the left of that point and 4" to the right, and mark each of these locations. This creates 8" of space between the brackets. Next, screw in the 4 supplied screws per bracket and you're done! Now all you have to do is grab your P90X Chin Up Bar and guide the flat top portion through the opening of the doorway and "hook" it firmly on the brackets. Feel free to pump out a few chin ups as your reward!
Both Gen Wright & Brian Dillon are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
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