No chin up bar?

[william]

I have recently moved into a new place, and there is no where I can realistically put up a chin up bar with risking my damage deposit, (which is a lot of money!)

So what I was wandering, is there any other exercises that build the same muscle as chin ups/pull ups, but don't require a bar or indeed a hanging motion??

Cheers

W

[Serpent]

Upright rows with a barbell might be a starting point. You could also look into alternatives, like level tree branches outside, door frames, etc.

[Toby]

Well, not exactly the same, but buy yourself a short super-thick rope. Go outside to a tree nearby and throw one end over a e.g. 10' high branch. You can either do pull-ups/chin-ups by putting knots in the end and holding just above the knots, or you can do rope climbing with hands only (no feet). The latter would be harder I'd imagine - never done it myself since I have a crappy power-to-weight ratio and find pull-ups hard enough.

[Oso]

never done it myself since I have a crappy power-to-weight ratio and find pull-ups hard enough.

amen, glad I'm not the only one.

After 4 weeks of doing reduced weight pull-ups, I finally managed one under my own weight last night.


I thought there were some no-drill door mount ones. Not too expensive either.


http://www.egymequipment.com/doorgym1.html

[Ford Prefect]

I was going to recommend the same thing as Oso. I suppose if there are trees available stick with Tober's idea, but you could also just do pull-ups off tree branches too. I've put pull-up bars in all my appartments and never had anything deducted from my security deposit.

[Serpent]

Originally posted by Ford Prefect
I was going to recommend the same thing as Oso. I suppose if there are trees available stick with Tober's idea, but you could also just do pull-ups off tree branches too. I've put pull-up bars in all my appartments and never had anything deducted from my security deposit.

Me too. Polyfilla is your friend!

[Toby]

Oso, a couple of years ago I wasn't into pull-ups (mainly because I couldn't do them ). I did lat pull-downs in the gym instead. I used to do them with a helluva lot of weight, but it didn't translate to pull-up performance. When I started doing pull-ups, I could barely manage one. I'd still do a full set though, with negatives. Sometimes weighted negatives. That was what enabled me to do them. It was easier for me because I can reach my bar with my feet on the ground, so I'd jump to the "up" position and do a slow, forced negative. Now I can do them properly with a nice weight hanging off me.

[norther practitioner]

I'm currently having a rough time squeezing out more than 2..

Would static excersises help this? ie holding myself up there for a while.

[FngSaiYuk]

Not that this helps you much, but it's an example of just looking around for things that can bear your weight to do excercises with-

I've been saving up to get myself a nice power rack w/a chinup bar attachment. In the meanwhile, I've been looking around my house for places to do chinups. Unfortunately the doors and walls aren't good for bearing loads as most of my doors are the sliding pocket type. It just so happens that I drained my pool for the winter so that I could resurface it - lo and behold, my new pullup equipment: the diving board.

Anyways, look around, who knows what could be used for pull ups (happen to have a balcony or open staircase?)

[FngSaiYuk]

Originally posted by norther practitioner
I'm currently having a rough time squeezing out more than 2..

Would static excersises help this? ie holding myself up there for a while.

Try pulldowns - at significantly more than your weight. The additional leverage you get from pull down equipment make the weight a lot easier to pull. Work towards 30% more than your body weight if the machine has one wheel, 45% more if using two wheels and so on.

Make sure you pull down past your chin (for chinups) or your shoulders (for pullups).

Also, there's a tradeoff between total power and power to weight. The less you weigh, the more power to weight you may have, but the more you weigh, you're likely to have more total power. Set a goal and train accordingly.

[Oso]

I've been doing the "Workout #1" from trainforstrength.com and it has a pyramid workout for pull ups

1-2-2-1 for wide, narrow and normal grips

been using a spotter behind me to hold my ankles so I can control the amount of let-off so I can get the full ROM. definitely been working for me.

[norther practitioner]

Thanks again guys..

[Serpent]

To get better at doing pullups, do negatives (even if that means getting on a chair, lowering yourself and repeating. Then, to finish, hold yourself in the up position for as long as possible. Keep doing this and you will soon manage one. When you can do one, do one, then repeat the above. Before long you'll be doing sets of pullups.

[rubthebuddha]

also, once you can do that one, do that one several times throughout the day. treat it like greasing the groove as pavel says, or synaptic facilitation as ford says. make a simple rule -- each time you go pee, do a pullup (do it after you pee, cause it'd suck to tense so hard during the pull that you accidentally squeeze out a wee bit o' wee).

[Serpent]

Nah, that's just proof you're working hard.

My chin up bar is in the doorway to my office. Well, I say my office. What I mean is the spare room, but it's got my computer in there and I use it as a home office.

Anyhoo, every time I enter and leave the room, I bust out a few pullups or chinups. Then, at other times, I do my actual workout and use it then too. You can't do too many - great exercise.

I'm currently doing 4 sets of 8 reps along with other exercises in my BW workouts 2 or 3 times a week. I can do more than that if I decide to. However, I still pump out a few here and there throughout the day anyway.