Whip Six Womens Active Running, Triathlon, Cyclist Apparel

One of my favorite exercises to do at the gym are chin-ups (and pull-ups). After realizing last week that it’s been a very long time since I highlighted them, It’s time for a refresher course.

I also want to talk about the importance of balancing weight loss.

Find out how to set a weight loss program that isn’t just burning off lean muscle mass and water.

Lifting Revolution Fitness & Nutrition Show

I can’t say I enjoy doing Chin-ups/Pull-ups per say but I do love the confidence that being able to do a few reps provides. How many women have you ever seen doing pull-ups at your gym? Probably very few.

They are also an amazing compound exercise, meaning that with this one move, you target several different muscles, such as:

Chest: Pectoralis major

Back: Trapezius, rhomboids, latissimus dorsi, and teres major (Upper back)

Shoulders: Posterior deltoids

Abdominal muscles

Arms: Biceps

I think I can say that most women don’t do them because they feel they can never learn. That’s simply not the case. Don’t avoid going after them, as they are one of the BEST exercises you can add to you collection.

The trick is to progress and not to get frustrated, chances are you will not be able to come close to doing one the first time you try. That’s okay!

Start off by introducing some extra back exercises into your regiment, like the lateral pull-up. As you become comfortable with that and are confident that you’re able to focus on which muscles are in control of the exercise, it’s time to move to an assisted machine. Some gyms have an assisted chin-up machine, others don’t. If you don’t use the modified chin-up/bench move in the video.

Each time you workout aim to do 1-2 more reps and with less support. BUT at the start of each workout, give it a go at trying one. With time, you’ll see your strength building up little by little. At the end of your chin-up rep focus on holding 1-2 chin-ups over the bar for as long as possible, again focused on the muscles that are contracted.

With time, you’ll move from needing a lot of support/extra push to needing a little. And before you know it, you’ll be celebrating your 1-rep chin-up.

The Most Efficient Weight Loss Plan

I recently put the stats that I discussed above on the Facebook page and very quickly I received a private message from a young lady who went into a lot of detail about her diet. It was very clean and showed great promise of helping her hit her weight loss goals.

At the end she asked me:

“Since my diet is so clean, even though I am not working out, will I still lose muscle”.

The answer is short and simple: Yes!

The only way to ensure you won’t lose (much) muscle mass is to work your muscles. No matter how amazing your diet is, if you’re not exercising then the sexy, toned defined figure you won’t will not be able to take shape.

The diet initiates the weight loss, but the workout plan gives direction on what type of weight to lose.

Bottom-line: To drop FAT, on top of a good diet, incorporate both strength training and cardio.

If you’re looking for a new program that WILL help you, then get a copy of the Torched In 20 program. I have a lot of confidence in this program. It’s good, it’s really good and it is something I am very proud of. 8 weeks of body weight circuit/interval style training that will help to change up your current workout and get results coming! Check it out, it’s one of the Pay What Fits… want it for FREE? It’s yours! Just click it and get the details. I know I don’t talk much about my programs often here, but this deserves shout outs.

What do your current workout regiment look like? 

Can you do a chin-up (or a pull-up)? Have you ever tried?

Image source: http://www.masterfile.com/stock-photography/image/671-02102756/Chin-up-exercise-(Part-1-of-2)

Whip Six Feed