FitChicks Insider VIP Newsletter

Welcome to the second edition of the Fitchicks Insider VIP Newsletter.

We all know Fitchicks Club is all about lifting heavy weights but many women still think that lifting heavy will bulk them up. This is just not possible as women lack the testosterone required for bulking up through weight training alone. Women would have to train for years doing 5-6 weights sessions per week, inject hormones and survive on practically a protein only diet in order to hypertrophy their muscles to that extent.

When setting targets for lifting heavy weights the goals are often expressed as a percentage of body weight. Common goals, for example, would be to squat your body weight or to be able to dead lift 150% of your body weight.

One of the hardest goals however is to try and pull your own body weight up towards a bar in the form of a chin up. This is especially hard for women to achieve. But our Fitchicks are doing it. Read on to see how…..

Dave Lambert

Oxygen Health & Fitness

Chin Ups

Women can do chin ups, but they need a lot of practice to master the skill. And it is worth mastering. Chin ups work a multitude of muscles including latissimus dorsi, trapezius, biceps, rhomboids and your abdominal muscles.

Chin ups are hard because you are fighting against your own body weight to perform the movement. To assist with performing the exercise it is helpful to use a chin up band, the thicker the band the more assistance it provides. The band is looped around the bar and then around one foot or one knee. 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 rather than concentrically by starting at the top of the chin up move and controlling the downward descent.

How to perform a chin up correctly:

1. Gripping the bar with either a neutral grip (thumbs facing you) or with palms facing you (depending on the bar you use) hang from the bar with your arms fully extended.

2. Tighten your lats and your abs, puff out your chest and ensure your elbows are pointing towards the ground.

3. Grip the bar like you mean it. Grip strength is important in performing a chin up.

4. Pull yourself up to the bar until your chin is over the bar, puff that chest out even more into the underside of the bar then slowly lower to the starting position. Make sure to keep your head still and don’t hyperextend your neck in trying to clear the chin up bar.

Knees up but avoid swinging

A chin up can be more easily achieved by bringing your knees up when pulling yourself up to the bar but avoid swinging or kicking to get yourself up.

Leanne Williams

Leanne Williams is one of our 6am Kiama Fitchicks and she has been described as the quiet achiever of that group. She works hard at every session and steadily progresses towards her goals. She is not only able to do three sets of 6 chin ups unassisted but does it with a 5kg weight tied around her waist! She does the same number of reps with her tricep dips in the parallel bars, not only is her form perfect she does it again with 5 kg attached. Amazing work Leanne!

Kat Hayward

Kat is a 4pm Fitchick who, like Leanne, has been working steadily towards her goals. Her trainer Traci describes her as “always consistent in workout, comes with a beautiful smile on her face…a pleasure to train.” The transformation in Kat is obvious, she has lost 9kgs in weight and shed cms from her waist and hips. She has already met her targets for this program in leg squats, shoulder press and chest press on the fitball and is expected to meet her target for squats and deadlift by the end of next week. Well done Kat and keep up the great work!

You can’t live without it!

Dave Lambert
Oxygen Health & Fitness
02 4233 2963