Thank you so much for your amazing blog posts. They are informational and at the same time inspiring to me!
In many ways you have helped me by just being there.

However, if it's not too much to ask, I would like a little bit more advice on chin ups.
I've started doing chin ups and started by using your low reps high volume style training 3 times a week for the past 2 months.
My starting max reps were only 6 reps, but at the current moment, I can only push out 7 max reps.

I am quite certain that I am using good form during each rep, but why is it that I cannot seem to drastically increase my max reps?

So I backed off and started doing pull-ups and dips. Exercises I used to do a lot when I was in my early 20s (nearly 20 years ago) but had mostly done very sporadically as 'finishing' exercises at best. I was very pleasantly surprised how many muscles are taxed with pull-ups (and to a slightly lesser degree with dips). Even though I had been exercising quite regularly, I was surprised to see some of my muscles start to fill out again from doing 'ladders' with these exercises. I realized that there is a lot of 'time under tension' with a pull-up (and of course, your entire bw as resistance). And very little momentum compared to some of the kettlebell exercises & that there was a lot of utility to bringing these two exercises back into the routine!

The other thing I noticed from doing the pullups regularly and keeping the volume up with 'ladders' is that as you keep doing the exercise, you start to get better and better at engaging the large muscles of the back and even the pecs into the exercise and your arms no longer become the weak link for the exercise. As I started to notice this – the reps started to climb right up!

I think the key is that they are getting bulkier (added muscle but with equal or more gains in fat) as they are eating or drinking excess calories to maximize hypertrophy. Inevitably this leads to a bigger but softer look. With pro bodybuilders, this is fine because they will (and know how to) lean out for competition, but for regular folks, they just end up – as you said before – bigger versions of themselves.

Start off at the top of the bar and perform negatives instead. (a chin down?) Negatives are easier but remember you're trying to build yourself up to being able to do a full pull up, so don't just drop like a rock (ow my sockets…). Go slowly and controlled. You can also do this for other exercises like tricep dips.

There's my good deed done for the week (:

I couldn't even do them in the Army!

Thanks Rusty!

I'm still going to recommend that you do them last. Your friend is probably saying that your back will be strongest if you work it first. I have never found that working the chest first makes me lift lighter when I get to the back lifts.

I like the idea of leaving the gym in good posture. If the last thing that you do is pull your shoulders back, then that is going to enforce better posture than pulling them back for 20-30 minutes…and then pulling them forward right after by hitting chest right after.

Just my two cents,

Rusty

As i know, we are recommended to do back after chest, so that the rear delt and rhomboids will pull back our pecs in odrer not to get hunched. And that's what i do.
But recently, my friend told me to do pull up first then do chest muslce. He said that the back will be more dominant then. It does not make sense to me.
Is it true, or my friend just don't what he's talking about ?

My neck is a bit hunched forward. Any idea what should I do? My neck is a bit long too.

Thanks Rusty.

One of the reasons I chose this split is that smaller muscles like biceps and triceps recover quicker than big muscles like chest and back. By doing the split like this your biceps get worked directly on shoulders and arms day…then they get worked indirectly on back and chest day. The same thing happens with triceps.

Your arms are getting worked on a more frequent basis than your bigger muscles. It works out very well!

Rusty

Which and how many days do you think I should do pull ups and chin ups, since they both rely heavily on both your back and biceps?

Thanks for the help Rusty!

Thanks for the compliment…and tell your friend "thanks". You are doing the right things, it just doesn't happen overnight. Make sure you put in a decent amount of time doing seated low pulley rows. Do the narrow grip, medium grip, and wide grip. Maybe you want to specialize in this for the next year or so. That will definitely help.

Rusty

My friend told me about your site, it's excellent.

Slight problem here, My rear delt is hunched. It's like the shoulder blades are pulling towards front.
I've been doing rear delts and also rowing as well so that they could pull back. I'm even doing chest and back in one day so it could the work. But It's not really showing any obvious results.
What should I do, I'm desperate, I've also strecth proper my pecs but still.

What should I do Rusty. Thank you.

I'm glad you have experienced a "mental shift". I changed my way of thinking about working out almost 9 years ago now. I am not impressed by bodybuilders at all anymore. I am much more impressed by the physiques and physical accomplishments of "special forces" in the military, high level masters of martial arts, middle weights in boxing, gymnasts, etc.

In a military engagement, big bulky guys are toast. They simply aren't quick enough to head for cover, climb over and under things, can't run for long periods of time, etc. I don't plan on being in a battle any time soon, but it does give you a better perspective when you workout to realize that you are better equipped in a life or death situation.

Cheers,

Rusty

I am a long-armed guy like yourself. Pull ups are tough when you have such a large range, but they are worth the effort. I also notice that my abs get a bit sharper when I do a lot of chin ups in my workout. They are a really solid exercise.

Rusty

3 months ago when I was 198 pounds (90kg) and quite weak i hated these exercises and would sometimes do them on the assisted wide grip chin machine (palms facing away) needing at least 85 pounds of assistance by the machine.

Now i'm at 173.5 pounds and relatively a lot stronger and it's great that I can actually do 4 reps unassisted on the wide grip chins (palms away) or 6 reps unassited with shoulder width pull ups (palms towards). I now love these exercises and my functional strength is a lot better than most of the'big guys' at our gym. They are also starting to give me that V shape i've always wanted, and given that i've gotten my waist down to 30" (from about 34") it doesn't take much muscle or much shoulder width to get a decent V i've realised.

Hulbs