Starting Position:
Reach up and grabthe bar with a firm overhand grip.Your handsshould be roughly twice your shoulder widthapart.Straighten your arms and let your bodyhang from the bar.Bend your knees and crossyour feet at the ankles.
The Exercise:
Slowly pull your body upto the bar so that the top of your chest nearlytouches the bar and your chin is over the bar.Try to keep your body straight,without archingor “swinging.”Asyou move upwards,focus onpulling your elbows down at an angle towardyour rib cage.Once your lats have completelycontracted at the top,slowly lower your bodyto the starting position.
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Back
A
lot of people don’t like totrain their backs because theycan’t really see the musclesbeing worked. It’s an “out-of-sight,out-of-mind” thing.But the back is the key area youcan train to significantly change theproportions of your entire body, sopeople notice even when you’re fullyclothed. A well-developed back is atleast as visible under your clothes asa strong chest, and definitely morevisible under most clothes than say, yourbiceps. Strong lats (the large muscles of the back or “latissimus dorsi”) help createthat classic V-shape; the wider yourback and shoulders, the smaller yourwaist appears.Another good reason to devote seriousattention to the muscles behind you isthat they greatly assist with developingthe muscles in front. Want maximumresults from squatting, curling orpressing exercises? All of these requirea strong back. Back strength alsopromotes proper body mechanics (andprevents injury) as you bend, twistand lift throughout the day.With all this in mind, isn’t it time topay a little more attention to your back?
IT
’
STIMETOPAYMOREATTENTIONTOYOURBACK
This is a very versatile exercise,and onewhich you can do anywhere you can find astraight bar that will hold your weight.Because of the difficulty of the exercise,and the fact that the weight can’t bereduced,it’s best to perform this exercisefirst in your workout.
TIP
yet perform many reps of thisexercise on your own,enlist thehelp of a spotter.
IF YOU CAN’T…
TIP
the position and width of yourgrip to target different musclesin your back.
YOU CAN VARY…
START/FINISHMID-POINT
1
pull-ups
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