Remember those advertisements that used to be so prominent in the back pages of comic books and other magazines years ago - the ones that offered you the magic secret to enable you to "stop being a 98-pound weakling?" Yes, the ones right next to the amazing seahorses that spawned from a pellet, and the x-ray glasses that held out so much promise to enterprising ten-year old would-be spies! Decades later, the desire to pack on real muscle and build a championship body is stronger than ever, and with advances in our understanding of the way muscles grow, achieving that body is simpler than ever before.
One of the most important exercises to help you attain that goal is the one that your old gym teacher used to make you do in school.
In fact, chin ups build strong muscles in one of the most important muscle groups of your body.
Of course, while there is ample evidence that chin ups build strong muscles, that evidence does not make them any easier to do.
You may remember from your childhood just how difficult many people find them to be.
They require a certain level of basic fitness and strength that many in our society - even among the very young - have not taken the time to develop.
However, there is good news.
Like any other exercise, there are simple ways to gradually work up to a point where you can do proper chin ups.
Given the fact that chin ups build strong muscles like almost no other back exercise, it is worth taking the time to learn how to do these movements properly.
In order to see desired results, you must use the proper grip and learn to focus on the muscles that are being used in the movement.
To begin, make sure that you have a solid chin up bar that will easily support your full body weight.
Your chin ups may be performed with your grip either facing toward you or away, and with your hands placed at varying widths apart from one another.
This is one of the most advantageous aspects of this exercise, and one of the reasons why chin ups build strong muscles - with simple variations of grip and width you are able to place more emphasis on different muscles in the back, chest, and arms.
In the beginning, you may want to do what some call "cheat-chins".
Because it can be difficult to do when you first begin to exercise, you can cheat by placing a stool or other object beneath the bar, and support some of your weight with your legs as you do your chin ups.
Chin ups build strong muscles even when you are not doing them with full body weight.
Beginning your routine with less of your own body weight will provide you with the opportunity to develop the strength you need to eventually perform a full chin up routine with your entire weight.
Eventually you will be able to work up to several sets of eight to ten repetitions, as your strength and endurance improve over time.
Chin ups build strong muscles and can form the foundation of all of your muscle and strength development exercises.
Along with squats and bench press exercises for your legs and chest, they are among the best exercises for increasing both mass and power, and will help you to achieve that "V" shape that is the sign of every championship body!