Chin Pull: all about this exercise + video of execution

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The sumo kettlebell chin row is an exercise you can use to add variety to your CrossFit workouts. Essentially, this exercise is a derivative of the sumo-style deadlift and close-grip pull-down.

In terms of biomechanics, such a deadlift is most reminiscent of a barbell clean (as well as weights or dumbbells) in any way - the principle of operation is almost the same.

What muscles does the chin pull work?

I have already said that the chin row is aimed at working the deltoid muscles.

This is a small muscle mass that is located in the upper part of the brachialis muscle. Consists of 3 heads:

Front.
From the name you can immediately understand where it is located. In front, above the pectoral muscles. Their main function is to raise your arm in front of you. And internal rotation. That is, turning the shoulder so that it is higher than the hand.
Average. This is the central muscle. She is responsible for raising her arms to her sides. The movement resembles the flapping of a bird's wing.
Rear. For most athletes, it is this head that lags behind in development. Therefore, this exercise will help shape it. Its function is to move the arms back. And external rotation. That is, turning the shoulder so that it is lower than the hand.

And of course, another muscle that we can influence is:

Trapezoid.
In particular, on its upper part. Indeed, when raising the elbows above shoulder levels, the deltoids lose almost all the load. But the trapezoid gets it. This is exactly what happens with a narrow grip.

And of course, the muscles are assistants. These include:

Biceps. Responsible for bending the elbow.
Forearm muscles. Helps to hold weight with weights in hands.
Abdominal and lower back muscles. Keep our back straight. And they help you take the desired body position.

Knowing the functions of the target muscles, we can slightly modify the exercise. Mix the accent between the heads of the deltas. What I mean?

How to Lose Weight Fast with 300 Kettlebell Swings

Are you looking for an easy way to lose weight quickly at home? If so, then let me tell you a story. This is a story about training with a kettlebell, namely about performing three hundred swings every day, without exception.

Daily training in the form of kettlebell swings (it doesn't matter with two arms or one, with breaks or not, but for a total of 300 repetitions) will help you achieve a couple of useful goals. First of all, this is metabolic resistance training, which will “melt” the metabolic furnace, and leave it burning fat for a long time even after exercises with a kettlebell. In short, it is a highly effective way to burn fat and you will get better results than the traditional cardio workouts that everyone knows. Kettlebell swings for weight loss are a great exercise!

Secondly, the swing is a wonderful and powerful movement for tightening and shaping the glutes, mobilizing the hamstrings, and strengthening the lower back. If done correctly, this exercise will help you immediately increase strength, flexibility and performance.

300 reps will be the magic number, not too much, not too little, but just right. Men use a 24 kg kettlebell, and women use a 16 kg kettlebell. If you are a beginner, get a trainer, the swing is not something you have to learn on your own.

How to properly perform the kettlebell swing exercise? I don't recommend doing everything at once. Instead, break it up into sets of 10, 20, or maybe 50 reps and do them periodically throughout the day. I'd like to give you an idea: leave the weights in the busiest part of the house, say the kitchen, and perform a set as you walk by.

Your main goal is 300 kettlebell swings a day, and I'm sure it's simple enough to do regularly. But this begs the question. What else can you do in addition to this? In fact, absolutely everything you want. These 300 daily swings can be thought of as a hot sauce that can enhance almost any dish, making it better.

Recommendations for implementation

As you already understand, the delta muscles work in three planes. Lifting forward and to the sides, as well as pulling back. But there are some more functions.

Shoulder rotation during lifting

If we hold the hand below the elbow when lifting, then the entire load will go to the anterior and middle delta. But once we add external rotation to the movement. That is, when lifting we will twist our shoulder back. Then the rear delta will also connect. And we will be able to immediately influence three heads.

Body tilt

During normal execution, the middle deltoid and slightly the rear deltoid receive more load. That is, we are talking about traction with a flat body. But if we want to turn this exercise into a good tool for forming the rear delt. Then you should lean forward a little. And immediately we will see the difference. Now the arms are raised not to the side, but back. Performing the main functions of the rear deltas.

Body position relative to the projectile

This technique cannot be used with every weight. And it is not used very often, since there are many other exercises for the shoulders. Such as: DUMBBELL SWINGS ON AN INCLINE or SIDEWAY FLOW. And athletes give preference to them. But still, for general development, it will be useful to know. If we get close to the burden. Our movement will occur due to the middle deltas. Since the elbows will diverge to the sides above the body. If we move back a little. Then part of the load will transfer to the front heads. But the main thing here is not to overdo it. After all, if we move too far away, the exercise will turn into swinging in front of us.

Grip width

I have already mentioned this indirectly. With a wide grip, we will lift the weight using the deltoid muscles. Since with such a position of the hands it is more difficult to raise the shoulders up to engage the trapezius. And with a narrow grip, this is easier to do. Therefore, it is used if they want to develop the upper trapezius muscles.

As you can see, this exercise can be used for any need. But for some reason he rarely uses the chin pull now. Giving preference to presses, swings and exercise machines.

Challenges in research using weights

Over the past year, there has been a ton of research done using kettlebells. However, in my opinion, these studies are practically useless.

Imagine if you were faced with the emergence of a large number of studies using dumbbells, however, these studies would only use five- and 10-kg dumbbells on adult men. “Stupid, use heavier weights,” you would think. This is exactly the situation I see with kettlebell research - very low weights for the hips!

Meanwhile, a recent study by Lake and Lauder used a 32kg kettlebell and is by far the best work I've seen (showing that swings generate higher momentum than squats) or jump squats). And yet, this is only an exception to the rule.

Besides, 32 kilograms is not that much. I want to see training studies using really heavy kettlebells to evaluate their impact on athletic performance.

I understand that people most often use relatively light kettlebells because they want to perform cleans, snatches, presses, and Turkish get-ups with them. Also, using lighter weights on your swings makes a lot of sense at first.

However, as athletes improve their performance in the kettlebell swing, it is necessary to gradually increase the load. And I know that most gyms don't have very heavy weights, so I encourage you to take action!

Sports equipment manufacturers need to start mass producing truly heavy weights, and athletes, coaches and gym owners need to start buying them. In the meantime, at the end of this article I will still present several options that allow you to perform heavy swings.

Chin Pull Options

Barbell Chin Row

Rows to the chin with a barbell
The barbell is used most often in deadlifts. Most likely it's a matter of habit. Although performing the exercise with a wide stance and using a barbell is quite comfortable. Our elbows are fixed using a bar and because of this, a large number of stabilizer muscles are excluded. But if we are talking about a narrow grip, then you can forget about comfort. Since the same fixation of the hands with the help of the bar will now perform a bad role. Namely, when lifting, our hands will bend at an unnatural angle. And if your joints are not elastic, then you will experience pain every time you lift. But there is a solution to this problem for those who like barbell rows. We are talking about using a curved bar, the so-called EZ, instead of the usual flat bar. It will be more comfortable to hold onto it. When working with a barbell, we can not only change the grip width, but also calmly lean forward. Thus, the emphasis will shift to the rear delta. Well, the most important advantage in using this weight is the time it takes to complete it.

Chin row with dumbbells

Dumbbell Rows
I think for most athletes, the first thing that comes to mind after the barbell is dumbbells. After all, these are two of the most popular bodybuilder training equipment. By working with dumbbells, we can engage a large number of stabilizer muscles. This will trigger their development. But this will make it a little more difficult to focus on the work of the deltoids or trapezius. And since the hands are not fixed by the bar. This means that we automatically eliminate the problem with bending in the elbow joint. We can also lift the dumbbells as far apart as possible, thereby engaging the deltoids. Or close by turning on the trapeze. And of course, due to the absence of a bar, we can increase the amplitude of movement and turn the shoulder back a little when lifting. That is, use rotation and also connect the rear head to the work. And it turns out that the entire delta will work in the exercise.

Chin Pull in Smith

Smith Chin Row
The Smith machine is a machine in which the bar of a barbell moves up and down along two guides. Thanks to this, it is possible to eliminate the work of the stabilizer muscles and target the core muscles. For beginners, this simulator will help you practice your technique. Professionals use the Smith machine only for recovery training. Or when they work on relief. But of course this is a matter of habit. And if you feel that your deltoids or trapezius work better in this simulator, then feel free to work in it. It also gives you the opportunity to move further away from the bar. After all, it is fixed and thanks to this it will not go anywhere. This change in body position shifted the emphasis to the anterior delta. So be sure to experiment with this option.

Chin row on a block machine

Cable Pulldown
This is the last of the variations I would like to talk about. It is also very effective, and at the same time the safest. After all, the crossover blocks are fixed and there is no way they can fall on us. And thanks to the wide variety of handles: cable, curved, straight. Everyone will be able to choose the one they need, and thereby reduce discomfort when performing. This option creates almost the same load as training with free weights. Therefore, you can safely use it in your training. Just to get the effect of such traction, you will need to stand close to the simulator. So that the weight of the blocks pulls, creating a load vertically downwards. Thereby forcing the deltas or trapezoid to work in static tension.

Sumo deadlift or classic? What is the difference?

On the left is a classic deadlift, on the right is a sumo-style deadlift

The sumo-style deadlift has a fairly complex level of execution, and therefore it is worth starting with the classic deadlift, constantly increasing the weight, and only then moving on to the first one. Due to the fact that the sumo deadlift is used in most cases only by experienced athletes working with heavy weights, and most often in powerlifting, since the exercise is aimed exclusively at lifting weight.

An exceptional advantage of the sumo deadlift is that with this type of deadlift, the bar travels the shortest distance, more muscles are used, and it is much easier for tall athletes to lift more weight. The sumo deadlift increases torso flexibility. Thus, this type of exercise allows you to take more weight than the classic one.

The Sumo deadlift differs from the classic deadlift in the positioning of the legs and greater involvement of the thigh and gluteal muscles. When performing the exercise correctly, part of the load is removed from the back, and the legs take it on. You will feel particular tension on the inside of your thigh.

Execution technique

Before you start doing the exercise, choose the option that suits you.

Initial position:

Take the weight of your choice in your hands. If it's a barbell or Smith machine, then place your hands on the bar, choosing the desired grip width. In a block trainer for a narrow grip, a cable handle is usually used. And for a wide one, a long straight handle.
If you plan to use the deltoids in your work, then you need to lower your shoulders down, thereby stretching the trapezius as much as possible.

Important!
Although the exercise is called a barbell row to the chin, with a wide grip we will not pull it to that level. Basically, the lift occurs to the middle of the pectoral muscles.

Performance:

After you have taken the starting position, as you exhale, we begin to pull the weight up. At the same time, if we work on deltoids, we must ensure that the elbows do not rise above the level of the cries.
After a short pause, while inhaling, lower your arms down.

Don't forget that the movement should resemble a deadlift, not a swing. Therefore, choose a weight that provides enough resistance to your muscles.

Sample training program

Most weight lifting exercises are included in the training process either for the purpose of gaining additional volume or to increase strength indicators. Beginners should not immediately lift heavy weights. You should start small. Even experienced lifters are also not recommended to lift the usual weight, since changing emphasis requires adaptation.

If your goal is strength, do 3 sets of 4 reps. This is due to the fact that sumo is not the only pulling exercise, so there is no particular point in striving to give it your all. If the deadlift is done last during training, then you can perform four approaches, but for the final one, take lighter weights and bring it up to twelve repetitions. This loads the muscles to capacity and allows you to completely burn all the remaining energy during the workout.

Those who want to increase muscle size, but not increase strength, should do from eight to twelve repetitions. When the maximum number of repetitions is given without any difficulty, then the weight lifted should be increased. In this case, the number of repetitions is reduced to nine to ten. You need to do three approaches.

Tips for Maximum Productivity

Be sure to warm up at the beginning of your workout and just before you lift. I think it’s no secret that the shoulder joint is most susceptible to injury. And at the same time, he participates in almost every exercise for developing the upper body. Therefore, its safety is very important to us. Take 5-10 minutes to warm up your shoulder muscles and make them more elastic. And before each new exercise, do 1-2 warm-up approaches.
Avoid performing chin pulls at the beginning of a shoulder workout. If you want to develop big and massive shoulders, then you should do heavy compound exercises in the beginning. And after them, finish off the muscles with lighter isolated exercises. Which is the pull to the chin.
Eliminate inertia from the exercise. This is extremely important! I have already talked about how important it is to take care of your shoulders. Therefore, you do not need to relax your deltoids in the upper position so that the weight you choose falls down by inertia.
Choose a multi-repetitive work mode. Isolated exercises are not intended for strength work (at least while you are a beginner). Therefore, it is better to take less weight, but do a little more repetitions. Basically, choose a range from 12-20 times in 3-4 approaches.
Use all execution variations. This will help to load the muscles in a new way. By making your workouts more varied. And it will give you the opportunity to work out all muscle fibers.

Conclusion

The kettlebell row to the chin is a very effective exercise that is suitable for athletes of various sports. With just one kettlebell, you can do a pretty intense workout even at home. Please note that before jerking dynamic exercises, you should thoroughly warm up the muscles, ligaments and prepare the cardiovascular system. For this there is a warm-up and cardio exercises. To prepare for this exercise, you can do sumo squats and standing kettlebell pulls to the chin.

Basic errors during execution

Too much weight

Many people think that the more weight they lift, the bigger their muscles will become. Of course there is a certain connection here. But they forget the most important detail. The weight you work with must be controlled. And if it is too big, then this is out of the question. And instead of big muscles, these athletes will end up with a shoulder injury. So work on your technique first. And only then, as your experience and muscles grow, the working weight increases. But do not forget that this exercise is isolated. Therefore, the burden will always be less than in the same SEATED DUMBBELL PRESS.

Round back during deadlift

Some people confuse a slight tilt of the body with a rounded back. To avoid this, I will try to explain this point. When bending forward, we keep our back straight and our shoulder blades apart. This is done to eliminate the trapezoid from the movement. This way we will only load the rear delts. If we work in a classical style, then our body should be in an even position. By doing this we reduce the pressure load on our spine. But as soon as we round our back, this load becomes uncontrollable. And can lead to displacement of intervertebral discs.

As you can see, the exercise is a bit difficult. But it is extremely effective when it comes to the development of deltas and trapezoids. Before you begin, it would be a good idea to study this material and work on your technique. Pay special attention to mistakes and do not make them. And then your training will bear fruit in the form of good results. And you will never know about injuries.

Good luck to everyone in your training!

Where to start for a beginner

Before starting to practice the technique, exercise the ligaments and joints. Spend 7-10 minutes warming up (running, ). Stretch your glutes, glutes, and back muscles. Rotate your arms to warm up your shoulder joints, and also warm up your hip joint.

Perform the exercise, this will stretch and tone the lumbar extensors, forming a protective “corset” necessary for training with weights.

Choose a minimum kettlebell weight to begin with, work on the quality of your technique, not on your strength.

Remember

In order to perform swings efficiently, not only your back and abs must be strong, but also your legs, buttocks, and deltoids. Therefore, first you need to tone all your muscles in order to feel and correctly distribute the load on them.