Exercises with a barbell and dumbbells have long taken their place in the training programs of both novice athletes and experienced bodybuilders. The most common and popular of them is the chin pull. This is not surprising, because such an exercise helps to keep the upper part of the body in good shape and improves overall physical fitness.
Types of grip and features
There are two main options for gripping the bar, which are used for any traction. Each of them acts on a specific muscle group. By changing the grip, you can do the same exercise after working through the entire shoulder girdle, back and chest muscles.
- Narrow grip. The distance between the arms on the bar is half the width of the shoulders. Simply put, try to hold the bar so that your hands are at the level of the protruding bone of the clavicle.
- Wide grip. The distance is equal to the width of the shoulders. In other words, your arms should be parallel to your body.
Which option to choose, a professional trainer will tell you, which can be found in any gym. If you decide to practice at home, watch the video tutorials with the technique of rod traction.
What muscles work?
Thrust to the chin allows you to fully pump over the shoulder girdle and back. The main muscles working during this exercise: lateral deltoid, anterior delta, trapezium, small round, biceps, triceps, supraspinatus, infraspinatus, upper back.
In addition, the muscles supporting the spine, as well as the press and wrists, are strengthened. The joints also develop, and their condition improves if the weight is selected correctly. As you can see, rod traction is a complex exercise. We will talk about each type of grip and the load on certain muscle groups separately.
Narrow chin pull
The main plus of this exercise is the pumping of the middle of the back and trapeziums. A pull to the chin is performed using a narrow grip with a regular or curved bar. In this case, the body should be straight, it is not allowed to make sharp jerks and swing the body. This can lead to sprains and also reduces the effectiveness of the exercise.
The pull to the chin with a narrow grip allows you to raise your elbows as high as possible and achieve maximum relief of the middle part of the back and strengthen the upper part of the lower back and deltas. Do not take this exercise unattended if you have problems with the spine.
Important! Do not make the grip too narrow, as this shifts the load distribution from the trapezoid to the biceps and “wings”.
Wide grip chin pull
A wide grip will help concentrate on pumping the upper back and shoulder girdle. With this exercise, the elbows are spread apart to the shoulder level, which allows you to further work out the “wings”. In addition, such a grip reduces the risk of injury and gain weight and shoulder width.
Often you can see beginners who keep the bar wider than the shoulders. This is an improper positioning of the hands, which can lead to injuries, and the exercise will not produce results.
Rod traction in Smith
Another embodiment of the barbell pull exercise is Smith's machine. This unit is in any, even the simplest gym. Its peculiarity is that the rod is between two guides and always slides in the same plane. Thus, you will not be able to bend your back during a workout.
This type of simulator is also good for the variety of exercises that can be performed with it. Here is the classic squat, and the pull on the chin, and pull on the back, etc. The main thing is to ask experienced athletes or a trainer to follow the technique and choose the appropriate weight.
Recommendations
And finally, I would like to give some recommendations that will help to avoid the most common mistakes and properly build a workout.
- Try to exercise with the strength of your back muscles, not your arms.
- Keep the bar as close to the body as possible, let it slide easily over it.
- Watch the position of the elbows. With a narrow grip, they should rise up, with a wide not higher than the level of the shoulders.
- Try to do the exercise in front of the mirror to monitor the position of the body. It should not lean back or forward.
- The rod should be pulled without jerking, as smoothly and deliberately as when lifting, and when returning to its original position.
- Do 3-4 approaches as many times as possible. The last thrust should be at the limit of strength.
- Take adequate weight so as not to make muscle breaks, but still get a good workout effect.
- Be sure to warm up before exercising with a barbell. Cold muscles are not able to work at full strength.
- Watch your back. It should be flat and straight. Any deflection is fraught with unpleasant consequences such as stretching and a long pause in training with a rollback of results.
- Even if you do not plan to become a professional bodybuilder, include a deadlift exercise in your program. It will help to work out muscles evenly, improve the overall body texture and endurance, and also strengthen the spine and give good posture.