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Chins/pullups used not to do much for me. My lats grew a tad, but nowhere near where I wanted to be. My mistake was that I wasn't really focusing on the motion but just focusing on lifting myself; that is, I was only concerned with completing each rep rather than maximizing the movement's growth potential.
The pullup is one of the motions for which there is a wide range of potential load distribution depending on the mind-body link.
Let's focus for a second on what the latissimus dorsi does. It has two functions:
1) To bring the upper arm in towards the body on the side
2) To bring the upper arm in towards the body from the front
Imagine bringing your elbow down to strike something -- that is the function of the lat.
Performing the movement:
Think of the function of the lat as I just described, and then think of the pullover. Essentially the movement is bringing the arms in towards the body against resistance.
Now, picture a pullup. I personally picture a guy with a really wide grip and not a lot of range do his pulling to the side, kind of like this guy:
http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/LatissimusDorsi/AsPullup.html
I've found personally that this puts a huge strain on my bi's, and my bi's poop out before I feel anything in my lats.
Here's how you do it:
-Take a medium grip, say, shoulder-length, on a BAR, not rubber grips like at a pullup station.
-I advocate doing the positive explosively. My reasoning is that you have more pulling power at the bottom of the movement. If you slow the positive you're much more likely to stall out in the middle of the rep.
-Think of bringing the bar OUT in an arc and finally in towards the top of your chest. Not a circular arc, but more like this: )
-Focus not on your arms, but your ARMPITS. Think about a pullover, and try to do nothing other than bring your arms towards your body. You should feel it more in your armpit area than your biceps.
-On the negatives, focus on flexing your lats as you descend, this should help them take the load.
Give this stuff a try next back day, it may make the different and boost your lat growth. Mine has certainly skyrocketed since I started doing this.
The pullup is one of the motions for which there is a wide range of potential load distribution depending on the mind-body link.
Let's focus for a second on what the latissimus dorsi does. It has two functions:
1) To bring the upper arm in towards the body on the side
2) To bring the upper arm in towards the body from the front
Imagine bringing your elbow down to strike something -- that is the function of the lat.
Performing the movement:
Think of the function of the lat as I just described, and then think of the pullover. Essentially the movement is bringing the arms in towards the body against resistance.
Now, picture a pullup. I personally picture a guy with a really wide grip and not a lot of range do his pulling to the side, kind of like this guy:
http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/LatissimusDorsi/AsPullup.html
I've found personally that this puts a huge strain on my bi's, and my bi's poop out before I feel anything in my lats.
Here's how you do it:
-Take a medium grip, say, shoulder-length, on a BAR, not rubber grips like at a pullup station.
-I advocate doing the positive explosively. My reasoning is that you have more pulling power at the bottom of the movement. If you slow the positive you're much more likely to stall out in the middle of the rep.
-Think of bringing the bar OUT in an arc and finally in towards the top of your chest. Not a circular arc, but more like this: )
-Focus not on your arms, but your ARMPITS. Think about a pullover, and try to do nothing other than bring your arms towards your body. You should feel it more in your armpit area than your biceps.
-On the negatives, focus on flexing your lats as you descend, this should help them take the load.
Give this stuff a try next back day, it may make the different and boost your lat growth. Mine has certainly skyrocketed since I started doing this.
just suggestions
:lol:
