Hand-Over-Hand Chin-Ups
By Nick Nilsson

This one is a GREAT chin-up exercise that will blow your lats and your biceps up like crazy! I won't go into detail about how chin-ups are one of the best back exercises you can do and how bodyweight exercises generally activate more muscle fibers, making them superior to machine exercises (and many free weight exercises)...of course, I guess I just DID go into detail there!

Anyway, to perform this chin-up variation, you should be able to do at least 8 to 10 regular chin-ups. It's a tough exercise and requires some base chinning strength to perform properly and get the most out of it. But if you've hit a plateau with regular chins, you're going to LOVE this one.

For this one, you'll just need a chin-up bar. I'm using the bar that goes across the frame of my power rack and that works just fine. It doesn't have to be a long chin-up bar by any stretch. Even the bar of a Smith machine set to the highest point will probably work.

So first, go to one of the bar and stand perpendicular under it (NOT like you normally would directly under the bar).

Take a staggered grip on the bar (like a baseball bat grip).

Now pull yourself up to one side of the bar - the side you'll want to pull to is the same as the hand that is FURTHEST from you. Basically, if your left hand is furthest away, pull up on the left side of the bar.

Now lower yourself down PART WAY...NOT the whole way. You should have some bend in your elbows. At this point, most your furthest hand over in front of your nearest hand (hence the hand-over-hand name!).

The key here is to be sure you've got a bend in the elbows and tension on the lats. Because when you take one hand off, you're basically putting your entire bodyweight (just for a moment) on the one lat. VERY big time tension here.

Once you've placed the hand, pull youself up to the OTHER side.

Lower yourself down, step your hand forward on the bar again.

Now pull up to the other side again.

Continue along the bar until you run out of bar then go back the way you came, moving your hands FORWARD this time so you're walking the other direction on the bar.

Keep going forward and backward along the bar until you can't do any more reps.

It's a BRUTAL back exercise that makes regular chins look like nothing. By the time you're done, your entire back and your biceps will be so swollen full of blood, you won't believe it. The continuous tension and bodyweight combination really makes for a potent back attack!

Nick Nilsson is Vice-President of BetterU, Inc., an internet- based personal training company. He has been training for more than 14 years and has been a personal trainer for more than 8 years. He is the author of the training eBooks "The Best Exercises You've Never Heard Of", "Gluteus to the Maximus" and "Specialization Training". Go to his Web site for more information on these books.

More Nick Nilsson Articles

More Bodybuilding & Fitness Articles