Chinup problem

[yellowmamba]

So this is something that's now happened two workouts in a row. I can't do a chin-up from the bottom position without my shoulder caving in and needing to perform some awkward slight inward twisting motion of my humerus to finish the rep.

I can do a bodyweight press @ 75kg for 8 sets of 2 (Hepburn method) without any pain whatsoever, so I'm not sure if it's a pathology there. I also like to finish off my workouts with 3 sets to failure of chinups/pullups.

Any ideas? I know this is terribly vague but I'm really having trouble putting into words exactly what happened. I asked my training partner to look and he said the reps were fine, and couldn't really notice too much twisting of my humerus. The thing is the reps felt really strange, so I stopped after one set of 12. I would have asked Mr RIP himself but he would have just flamed me from not being specific enough. Hopefully some of you can offer some help with the limited information I'm giving.

[Mainstream]

by "shoulder caving in"...all I know is that i have experienced pain in the shoulders from pull up, etc...and I have found that youcan experiment with different grips and hand spacing and width..there are also different bars..some chin up bars look like ez curls bars or tricep bars...you can even place a row handle over the bar, so that your hands are parallel to each other..there is probably at least 50 different varieties of chin up and pull ups...surely one of them you could be comfortable with

[yellowmamba]

by "shoulder caving in"...all I know is that i have experienced pain in the shoulders from pull up, etc...and I have found that youcan experiment with different grips and hand spacing and width..there are also different bars..some chin up bars look like ez curls bars or tricep bars...you can even place a row handle over the bar, so that your hands are parallel to each other..there is probably at least 50 different varieties of chin up and pull ups...surely one of them you could be comfortable with

Yeh, sorry it is a bit vague. I meant my elbow, actually, not my shoulder. My left elbow would cave towards the middle almost immediately from the dead-hang position. It results in a rather awkward feeling in my shoulder, but definitely not soreness or pain.

[gtl]

weak mid/low traps? try some i, t, y's maybe

also, check out

http://exercisesforinjuries.com/shou...humeral-glide/

http://robertsontrainingsystems.com/...g-the-chin-up/

[Luke S]

Try doing slow eccentrics (10+ seconds) with the elbows in a solid position through the whole motion (including transitioning to deadhang). This will enhance motor unit recruitment and will solidify the motor patern. See if it helps.

[FatButWeak]

Chinups are a newer movememnt for me. I did not grow up doing them, so I have found myself a little prone to injuring myself when doing them. I have found that going to failure on chinups is a good way for me to injure myself.

To help heal your injury, try doing partials. All the way up, but just go down to a point that is just higher than where the pain starts. If you can, try doing them from a platform that allows you to deload, or stand for a second. That way each one chinup begins from a dead stop, but since you are doing partials, not a dead hang. I think that a lot of chinup injuries can occur at the bottom inch of the movememnt where the body has to quickly reverse itself. This stress can be a good training stress, but not if it is causing damage.