Welcome to Muscle Building Tips

Chin Up Bars for Ab Workouts

You can use your doorway chin up bar for abdominal exercises. Just hang by your hands and raise your knees to waist level. Raise up and go back down slowly as many times as you can. It's tough, but effective. This is another example of the versatility of chin up bars. You can also use ab loops on your chin up bars for an easier and even more effective abdominal workout.

Negative Chin Ups

Not strong enough for chin ups? That doesn't mean that chin up bars are not for you. You can do negative chin ups and build your strength. For this you have to start in the top position and lower yourself slowly to the floor. (You can lower more weight than you can lift.) Stand on a chair or bench to start, grab the bar and lower yourself until your feet are on the floor, being careful to position the bench so you don't hit your shins on the way down. It's best to have someone there to help you, at least at first.

Using Your Chin Up Bar

Here's how to use your chin up bar. Install it so you can reach it standing with your feet on the floor and your arms extended over your head. To do the exercise, grasp the bar with your hands a little more than shoulder width apart using either an overhand or underhand grip, and pull yourself up slowly and smoothly until your chin is over the bar. Then lower yourself back down. Put your feet on the floor if you want to rest, or bend your knees and continue for multiple chin ups.

Chin Up Benefits

Chin up bars may seem old fashioned and low tech, but they will still give you a great upper back workout. You can work all the muscles of your upper back, incuding latissimus dorsi (lats), rhomboids, and trapezius (traps), with just the chin up exercise. In addition, you work your arms. Use an underhand grip to emphasize biceps and an overhand grip(sometimes called pullups) for other elbow flexors and forearm muscles.

Chin Up Techniques

Here are some technique tips for using chin up bars. The best, and hardest, way to do chin ups is with your arms fully extended. If you can't quite do that but can handle a start position with your elbows slightly bent, do that. You may have to start with a little jump. The same is true of the ending position. If you can't quite get your chin over the bar, the exercise is still productive.When doing multiple repetitions, bend your knees so your feet stay off the floor until your last repetition. This is a hard exercise, so don't do it two days in a row. These tips help get the most out of your doorway chin up bar.

Building Up to Chin-ups

Chin-ups are hard to do. Negative chins is a good way to work up to them. Start in the up position, by jumping or standing on a chair if necessary. Then lower yourself down very slowly. At the gym, look for an assisted chin and dip machine, or do lat pulldowns if they don't have one. Wrist curls strengthen your forearms, as does a low-tech exercise where you hold your arm straight out and crumple up a whole sheet of newspaper, using just your fingers.

Building Up to Chin-ups

Chin-ups are hard to do. Negative chins is a good way to work up to them. Start in the up position, by jumping or standing on a chair if necessary. Then lower yourself down very slowly. At the gym, look for an assisted chin and dip machine, or do lat pulldowns if they don't have one. Wrist curls strengthen your forearms, as does a low-tech exercise where you hold your arm straight out and crumple up a whole sheet of newspaper, using just your fingers.

Chin-up Bar

Set your chin-up bar so you can just grasp it when you stand on the floor and reach as high as you can. Then you can bend you knees just a little when you do your chins so you don't hit your feet on the floor. This is a great exercise to do at home.

Double Chin

Some people get a double chin when they gain weight, and some don't. You can't target your chin for weight loss, but the double chin will go away eventually when you lose weight through calorie control and aerobic exercise.

Chin-up Bar

Set your chin-up bar so you can just grasp it when you stand on the floor and reach as high as you can. Then you can bend you knees just a little when you do your chins so you don't hit your feet on the floor. This is a great exercise to do at home.