Chins and pull ups for increased strenght in the benchpress and press

[Jeroen]

Hi Mark,

In startingh strength you mention that chins and pull ups are an important ancillary exercise also for the bench and press. I have started doing chins and pull ups alternately 3 x a week in november but while my chin and pull up reps have gone up slowly and steadily i haven't noticed any carryover for the bench and press.

cheers Jeroen

[Mark Rippetoe]

Sorry. This is obviously my fault. Stop doing them, since they are a waste of time.

[Jeroen]

Ha ha no i like doing them. I was just expecting some extra increase in bench press and press strenght since my my pull up and chin reps got up and up since i started doing them while remaining at the same bodyweight

cheers

[Notrhwoods]

I recently incorporated chins and high rep rows and my bench press really took off. I believe my upper back size got bigger which gave me a better base to push off of. Think about using your new upper back muscle to build a stable base at the bottom of the bench press. Your upper back is an area you may want to try for some hypertrophy (size) because the added mass really helps you in your pressing exercises, not mention it shortens your ROM on the bench press. These high-rep exercises are best done at the end of a workout because they are less strenuous.

[TinyArnold]

Join Date
Feb 2008

&

"... started doing chins and pull ups alternately 3 x a week in november... "

Something is wrong :P