PULL-UP AND CHIN-UP

Body-weight exercises like the pull-up and chin-up usually prove difficult for women to do, so I've included them. Pull-ups emphasize the lats, since you do them with an overhand grip and the hands wide apart. Because you do chin-ups with an underhand grip and the arms closer together, they also involve the biceps to a great extent. Beginners can use an assistive machine to help perform partial range of movement (ROM) pull-ups and chin-ups. As you become more advanced you can decrease assistance, increase ROM, and slow down the eccentric phase of the movement by adding in stops.

1. Jump up to grasp a pull-up bar with an overhand grip (palms down) slightly wider than shoulder-width for pull-ups, and with an underhand grip (palms up) shoulder-width apart for chin-ups. The closer the hands are, the more the biceps involvement.
2. Start from a full hanging position to work the back muscles throughout a full ROM.
3. Retract the scapulas, arch the back slightly, focus on the lats, and pull the body up, trying to touch the chest to the bar.
4. Slowly lower yourself back down in the eccentric phase.