Quantifying Chin-Ups

[Scott701]

Hi Rip,

I'm doing the vanilla NLP (again after several years of not training) and am wondering what you think of the following method of quantifying chin-ups more precisely.

I am 6'3", 235lbs with a 39" waist. I am eating to gain weight and intend to be 275 by this time next year. I have noticed that bodyweight can fluctuate day-to-day which makes quantification of chin-ups rather imprecise.

My solution: use a weight belt to get "me" up to 250 and weigh-in on a bathroom scale (the same one each time) after S-P-DL on A-Day. (I can do about 1-2 reps of these right now). Perform the reps I can and then add eccentric efforts through 12 reps. Repeat weigh-in after S-B-PC on B-Day, but add reps to the first sets every time and increase the time and control of each eccentric. I would never go above or below 12 reps, but I would continue to increase the density of the first sets until I get to 12x1 @ 255lbs. Then I would add weight and repeat the process for as long as I can.

Thoughts: I realize this may take several weeks/months, and my bodyweight will be changing this whole time. My solution accounts for this with the weigh-in and the removing/adding of weight to achieve the exact weight of 255. (I have fractional plates.) Eating to get big will probably put 1 pound a week on my frame, so 255 will give me ~20weeks to reach 12x1.

Theoretically, I think this could be applied to anyone that can do one dead-hang chin-up at ~110% bodyweight.

Does this seem reasonable?

-Scott

[Mark Rippetoe]

It's an assistance exercise. One of the aspects of an assistance exercise is that it doesn't train like the primary exercises. Stop worrying about it and try to PR something about your chins every couple of weeks.

[Scott701]

Ok. Thanks Rip. You just saved me a lot of pain and suffering. Lunch is on me.