Exercise 101: Supine Band-Bar Chin-up
Performing a bodyweight chin-up is challenging.
Regular gym-goers often struggle with it due to a lack of upper-body strength.
And I’d say it’s not an exercise people often perform with good technique.
People swing their legs to generate momentum or extend their neck in attempts to get their head to the bar during a chin-up – all of which makes for poor execution.
I’d say many people aren’t qualified to be performing a bodyweight chin-up; however, that doesn’t mean we can’t perform variations of the chin-up that may allow us to build up to a bodyweight chin-up.
Enter THE SUPINE BAND-BAR CHIN-UP
I recently saw strength and conditioning coach, Tony Gentilcore using a similar variation of this chin-up.
And I’m in love with it.
I’ve been using the Supine Band-Bar Chin-up with a few of my clients who lack the upper-body strength to perform a bodyweight chin-up. And the feedback and results have been great!
Why do I love this variation?
Let me explain.
1. It’s an effective way to teach the chin-up without having to perform a bodyweight chin-up: Considering one is laying flat – they’re only competing with resistance from the band. From this position – you can teach one proper grip position and neck position – as well as train the vertical pulling motion seen with a bodyweight chin-up.
2. It’s spine-friendly: Considering I work with many people that have low back pain – the supine band-bar chin-up is a great variation for the person with back pain who cannot perform a regular chin-up or a seated close-grip pull-down. Note: People with flexion based low back pain often have trouble with sitting making the supine band-bar chin-up a better alternative to the seated close-grip pull-down.
3. It’s equipment-friendly: You don’t need much equipment to perform this, and the set-up is simple. People that lack resources or don’t have access to a commercial gym – only need a resistance band and bar to perform this chin-up variation.
Coaching Cues for the Supine Band-Bar Chin-up
- Engage the core. Think about showing off a six-pack. And keep the low back flat to the floor – avoid arching.
- Grip the bar TIGHT.
- Keep the chin-tucked and avoid extending the neck.
- Add multiple bands or use a thicker band to increase the difficulty.
Salute,
Remi
Thumbnail Image Licensed from “Romariolen/depositphotos.com”
