Read on for this week’s news…
Oxygen Health & Fitness
Chin Ups
Chin ups work a range of muscles, the major ones including the lats, biceps, rhomboids and your abdominal muscles. One of the best tests of upper body strength, it can be a difficult movement to perform but one worth persevering with.
One way to assist with chin ups is to use a resistance band, the thicker the band the more assistance it provides. The band is looped around the bar and then around one knee, or foot. There is more assistance with putting your foot in the band and less with the knee. If you don’t have access to a resistance band you can still master a chin up by training eccentrically (lowering) by starting at the top of the chin up above the bar and controlling the downward descent.
The safest way to perform chin ups long term and stay injury free is to use a neutral grip (thumbs facing you). The standard close grip (palms facing you) will place too much stress on the wrists, elbows and shoulders. Wide grip chin ups (palms facing away from you) are also tough on the shoulder joints long term. Hence the Neutral Grip recommendation.
How to perform chin ups:
1. Hang from the bar with your arms fully extended.
2. Tighten your lats and your abs, puff out your chest and keep your head still.
3. Grip the bar like you mean it. Grip strength is important in performing a chin up.
4. Imagine pulling your armpits downwards to the floor and your chest upwards into the chin up bar to initiate the movement.
5. Pull yourself up to the bar until your chin is over the bar, keep that chest puffed out then slowly lower to the starting position. Make sure to keep your head still and don’t hyper-extend your neck in trying to clear the chin up bar.
6. Repeat for reps.
Honest reps
Do it the right way, be honest with yourself and you’ll progress faster with less likelihood of injury. There’s no use jumping ahead to the next level of resistance bands or attaching extra weight until you can comfortably complete your desired reps with a full range of motion for every rep.
Low volume technique week
The transition this week to a low volume de-load week is a welcome change for everyone. The girls have pushed hard through Winter with 3 short intense programs. Basically from session 1 it was full volume, full intensity all the way but its important to realise that nobody can train that way all the time. Alternating periods of high and low volume is the best way to structure your strength & conditioning in Kiama.
This week is the start of a new 6 week program that will see Fit Chicks Kiama performing 5 sets of 5 reps on a series of Supersets. However Week 1 of a program is usually a lower volume effort as the girls adjust to new exercises, combinations sets and reps. This also represents a great week to reset technique and perform a strong 3/4 effort with moderate-heavy weights.
Carolyn off to a cracking start
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