[happytobeamomof2]

Hi Ladies,

So I complained that I cannot do a chin up to my bf last night. He says "they are easy, with all the w/o you do, why can't you?" (we've only been dating 4 months and he never knew me when i was heavy)

I think he was trying to motivate me to be able to do it. I don't think they are 'easy" and it is something that I have been trying to do for 15 years! (although only recently have i been active about it). My trainer suggested that I try it with my palms facing me and my arms about shoulder width apart

I installed a bar last night in my basement to 'practice' on. I can hold myself up for a few seconds so I am wondering:

1. Can you do a chin up?
2. Was it 'natural' for you or a huge struggle?
3. Any tips to help me reach my goal?

Thanks!

[paperclippy]

LOL, sounds like your BF needs a lesson about the differences between male and female anatomy! Chin-ups and pull-ups are not "easy" for women in general, because we do not naturally have nearly as much upper body strength as men do.

I can't do one, and I never have been able to, but then again I've never really been able to do a push-up either and my arms are very weak in general. That said, I think the ways they generally recommend to learn to do a chin up are:
1) underhand grip lat pull-downs
2) negative chin-up, where you start at the top by jumping and slowly lower yourself down and try to increase the time it takes to lower yourself
3) hang from the bar to develop strength

[Meg]

Pffft to your BF! Very few women can do unassisted pullups because we lack the necessary upper body strength. They're tough for us!

Doing an unassisted pullup was one of my biggest fitness goals and it took a long, long time to get there. No way was it easy for me!

I used an assisted pullup machine on the gym and gradually reduced the amount of assistance needed until I could do a sets of 10 at 40# of assistance. At that point, I was able to do one on my own. Even now I only can do about four unassisted.

Keep in mind that pullups are easier the less we weigh. It's a lot easier to pull up 115 pounds than 135, and a lot easier to pull up 135 than 165. Sometimes it takes a combination of muscle strengthening and weight loss to be able to do pull ups without assistance.

Do you have access to an assisted pullup machine?

[happytobeamomof2]

ha ha... it is the first time he has been kinda 'rude' about something since we started dating... i am going to talk to him about it tonight actually...

i probably should have mentioned that - I have been doing assisted ones for about 8 months now and can do about 5 with 45# assist (lowest amnt the machine allows)...

thanks for the advice, i will try going in the opposite direction and see if that helps

i sooooo want this !!! it will be HUGE for me!!! once i do one, i will do at least one every day forever !!!

[ennay]

No they are HARD. The best I have ever able to manage was about 20 lbs of assist on the assisted machine and that was when weight lifting was my life.

I will make a run at it again when I am back down in weight.

[mkroyer]

i wasnt able to do one until my Body fat went below about 18%..... then they just happend naturally.....

[happytobeamomof2]

I sooo appreciate this ladies!!!

Here are a couple articles I found that I am going to send to the BF

Article:
As I said, many women cannot even do one chin up. I have read in fitness magazines for years that the average number of chin ups a woman can do is 0.
While this may seem a little discouraging I can assure you it is a good thing. The reason for this is that it means the back muscles are underdeveloped and as soon as you start working them out they will grow and respond. You may find a lot of back complaints go away and the rest of your body will look and feel more stable. Work hard on your back.
Article:
For some women, it's a myth, a fable told by others. They have heard of some women doing it, but have never actually seen it done, and certainly haven't been able to do it themselves.
The pull-up isn't merely an exercise or a movement, it's the ultimate in female empowerment. Put a woman in front of a bunch of strong men and have her squat, run, and jump. The dudes may make some appreciative comments, but that's about it. However, put that same woman on a pull-up bar and let her start knocking out rep after perfect rep, and I assure you that every man in that room will stare in a mixture of awe, admiration, and (most deliciously of all) envy. I've seen it happen, and let me tell ya, it's a beautiful thing. The pull-up is the Great Equalizer: it evens the playing field, bridging the chasm between the boys and the girls.
Sad to think that many women will never be able to knock out those perfect reps, never be the object of male awe and envy, because the pull-up is, for many women, one of the toughest exercises to conquer. You, on the other hand, are one of the lucky ones, because you're reading this article. For you, those ten perfect pull-ups are definitely within your grasp.

World Record *unofficial for chin ups in a minute: Male - 51, Female 35

I do think that I have a mental block about doing it though... i honestly think i will break down and cry when i finally do one that i am happy with ! ha ha ha

[Tomato]

Yeah, I would say Pfft to your BF, too.
Tell him butterflies are easy as well, or ask him to hold a butterfly for a while and we will see how 'easy' it is for him. Some exercises are easier for women because we can open up our hips more than men can (butterfly being just one example). Same with chin ups being easy, that is, easy for men.

I find that on the gravitron (the assisted pull up machine) it is the easiest for me with parallel bars. The more the angle changes (the more it goes towards linear) the more difficult for me.

[Eliana]

When I was a kid I loved chin ups and could out do the boys!! That was a LONG time ago, right about the time the boys started developing muscles.

My husband doesn't get it either. He makes fun of my push-ups and I'm quite proud of them! LOL! It's all in fun though. He loves nothing better than to show off by doing a push-up over me, which is kind of cool, actually.

I've just started doing assisted pull-ups. I can do 20 with 120 pound assist right now. I look forward to the day I can do a 40 lb assist!! More weight loss...

[ALEKS]

what is a butterfly?

1. Can you do a chin up? Sort of
2. Was it 'natural' for you or a huge struggle? struggle
3. Any tips to help me reach my goal? Here is a couple:

1. You know those rings gymnasts use? That's what i learned on. You lie in a semi prone position with your hands through the rings, arms straight down. Heels on the floor...so your body looks kind of like an up ramp if that makese sense. Pull yourself up using your arms/shoulders/upper back. Do those...increase by 1 everyday...or every other day etc. In the beginning I could only do 1...now I can easily do 10!

2. a chinup with a bar....(I'm assuming what you have?) try this. Put a BOSU BALL under the bar. Hands on bar palms towards you. Jump on the bosu ball and pull yourself up...don't stop. As soon as you're up lower down and jump right away. Harder than it sounds/looks. The bosu ball shouldn't put you at a height above your head. It should be so that when you're standing on the bosu and gripping the bar, your arms are around 90 degrees. It's great cardio too!

These are the things i do at my gym!

[ennay]

There is something to that article though. Not as dramatically but perfect pushups get respect too. When girls knock out the perfect military pushup men notice.

Dips are the other thing I would love to be able to do unassisted but I have a hard time with that angle on my rotator cuff so I usually avoid them.

Pullups and dips are a life goal though. Someday.

[happytobeamomof2]

aleks - thanks! those are cool suggestions on getting there!

ennay - i never thought about my push ups... i do some pretty hard ones now too - i remember the day i started push ups and couldnt do one on my toes (military)... now i do these things called 'spidermans' where your knee comes to your elbow as you go down and back to military when you push up (alternating knee/elbow)....and i even did 10 with my hands both on medicine balls and my feet elevated on a weight bench onces!

thanks... you helped remind me just how far i've come in the last 18 months!!!

[Tomato]

Originally Posted by ALEKS

what is a butterfly?

Aleks,

here is a clicky to a video.
Please be patient - it loads for a while and then there is a silly Venus commercial at the beginning. I don't have sound so I don't have a clue what the lady says but that's the exercise.

[Bright Angel]

Originally Posted by happytobeamomof2

Can you do a chin up?

My personal answer is:
"I can't do it, and have no desire to."

[Asherdoodles87]

I tried a while back even though I am still really heavy. I just wanted to see if I could do one. I got to about half way and couldn't do it. I hope I can one day, though.