Pull up form (Poll)

[MikeD]

Simple question. Do you see a complete rep as your head clearing the bar or your chest touching it?

[atypical1]

You know, I only really worry about getting my head over the bar. I figure they are called "chin ups" for a reason...

james

[nburge]

I count them when I get my head over the bar, but I would love to be able to rep them out slamming my chest into the bar.

[lionize]

With chin ups I get my chest to the bar but with pull ups it's a little harder and I just go for chin above.

[MikeD]

Lawl at someone picking #5.

I always used the head as criteria, and have been able to get about 13-15 chins this way. But I never felt it too much in my back until I cut the reps and started bringing my chest to the bar. Your elbows and humerus go back further, and your back is always active at the top rather strongly. To me, this has become full ROM, and when I can't do it this way for the whole set, I'll stop the set.

Reasons why I like this?
One, you have to do them explosively (not with a kip, just pull fucking hard), and more muscle gets activated. It has be smooth from the bottom however, otherwise your elbows hurt.
Two, if I get my chest to the bar I know I've pulled as far as I could, and there's no question as to whether the rep was complete or not.
Three, and this goes along with one, is that they can't (or at least, not enough of them to make the set worth a damn) be done slowly, so there's no worming and squirming your way up over the bar; each rep demands a lot of concentration and a whole lot of power.

Then again, what the hell do I know. I like doing them this way now, just sharing what I think.

[JasonLB]

Chest to the bar.

[guru]

Chin over the bar. I go by the definition of the exercise.

[JasonLB]

Who gets to decide what the definition of pull-up is?

[holvoetn]

Chin over bar and chest touching hands (not bar, outside of hands are just at shoulder width).

Who gets to decide what the definition of pull-up is?

Common agreement.

A pullup is palms of your hands away from you (overhand).
Chinup is with palms facing you (underhand)
The former is a bit more difficult since it requires more usage of lats (and whatnot) whereas the latter invokes the biceps a tad more (not much, but noticeable).

Or do you refer to the execution of the exercise itself ?

[guru]

Or do you refer to the execution of the exercise itself ?

I think he is referring to the execution. What I meant in my post earlier is the name chin-up meaning get your chin up the bar. Pull up is just a variation of it with palms facing away from you.

[TAYLORCANNON]

I use the handles at the cross cable machine. There about three different arms sticking out each side.
I grab the hammer grip in the middle and pull myself up until my shoulders hit the outer bar, then lower all the way back down. That's where my body feels all the way up is, plus there's no where else to go.

[JasonLB]

Or do you refer to the execution of the exercise itself ?

I think he is referring to the execution. What I meant in my post earlier is the name chin-up meaning get your chin up the bar. Pull up is just a variation of it with palms facing away from you.

Yeah, I was referring to execution. Despite the name -- and not that it really matters -- there are two main reasons I think the chest touching the bar ought to be the standard:

First, the issue of efficacy. If you get your chest up to the bar you accomplish two things: you work your lats through a larger range of motion and you can depress and contract your scaps, both of which are good for a whole host of reasons.

Second, just like with the squat and reaching parallel, people tend to stretch what it means to get the chin over the bar. Someone says he can knock out 20 chins...then you find out he's got his chin sticking straight up in the air and cuts each rep the second the tip of it passes the bar -- that's about a foot less range of motion than someone touching their chest. By using the chest as a standard, there isn't really anyway for someone to get loose with form (at least at the top, anyways).

[ricepower]

Youve combined both pullups & chins into the same question. I lift as high as I can with both, but they are both quite different.

On Chinups I am able to touch chest, so that is what I aim for. Anything less I count as a failed rep. With Pull ups however, my ROM ends with chin over the bar. I cannot get any higher even if I had feet on the ground pushing myself up.

[JasonLB]

That's odd, ricepower. Touching your chest to the bar with pull-ups is much harder than chins, largely because less bicep involvement forces the lower traps to contribute to those last few inches, and, for most people, the lower traps have some catching up to do before they are completely up to the task. But I'm not sure why your structural range of motion would be different between the two -- are you using a pretty wide grip?

[ricepower]

I think you read my post wrong Jason,

I said I touch chest on chins and only manage to get chin over bar on pull-ups.