I recently did a GST Junkies podcast with Erdi (@lerningtohuiman) on levelling up your chin-ups. In it, we talked about how to level up your chin-ups and pull-ups. Specifically, we spoke about how we help our online students build the strength to get their first chin-up.
You might be surprised to find out that we don't use bands. You can listen to the podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcast, YouTube or Google Play.
This podcast got me thinking more about banded chin-ups, so I decided to do a post on when we should use bands for chin-ups.
I’ve also recorded a video version of this blog post so you can choose to watch or read it.
We should use bands for accommodating training.
As a strength and conditioning coach, I've used resistance bands for accommodating resistance training on squats, deadlifts, bench press and even chin-ups and pull-ups.
Let me explain.
In accommodating training (popularised by world-renowned powerlifting coach Louie Simmons in the 1980s and 1990s), we use resistance bands or chains to increase the load during the concentric phase of the movement.
For example, we attach bands to the bench press so that the band resistance is less as we lower the bar down to the chest. As we press the bar up, the band resistance increases.
We're encouraged to accelerate the speed of the bar as we lift the weight because the resistance increases. More resistance equals more force.
It's a great way to increase both strength and power.
Accommodating resistance is effective because it overloads the top part of an exercise and forces us to accelerate the barbell to lockout.
We can use accommodating resistance in chin-ups and pull-ups by tying the band to a heavy weight on the floor - a heavy kettlebell or dumbbell. We then attach the opposite end of the band to a weight belt.
At the bottom of the chin-up, there is minimal resistance offered by the band. As we chin-up, the resistance increases.
This makes sense because the strongest part of the squat, deadlift bench press, and chin-up is at the top. We use accommodating training to increase the resistance as we move closer to the strongest part of the lift.
2. We shouldn't use bands for longer than 4-6weeks at a time.
Bands are an effective way to increase force production when used correctly. The overuse of bands can cause tendinitis in the joints, so it's crucial to periodise the training program.
It would be best if you weren't using bands for longer than a 4-6week period and possibly only using them 2-3 times per year for the upper body on movements like bench press, chin-ups, biceps curls, and triceps extensions.
3. We should use bands to assist isometric training.
Isometrics are a great way to build strength at a specific point (+ or - 10%).
A lot gymnasts use bands to assist movements like the planche. This allows the gymnasts to practice the planche progression and gradually build strength in the isometric hold.
As strength improves, a lighter band can be used until the gymnast builds the strength to hold the isometric position without any band assistance.
This makes sense because it's an isometric contraction. There is no shifting strength curve in an isometric contraction. The level of strength required to hold an isometric position is fixed according to gravity, the height and the weight of the athlete.
We could use bands to help build strength at a particular point in the chin-up. For example, a beginner might need to build the strength required to hold the top of a chin-up. We could use a band to assist the isometric hold at the top of the chin-up and gradually decrease the band resistance until the person could hold the top of the chin-up unassisted.
4. We shouldn't use bands to assist the concentric chin-up phase.
This one will ruffle a few feathers, but we shouldn't be using bands to assist the concentric phase of chin-ups.
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Banded chin-ups and pull-ups are not an effective way to build strength or teach technique.
For one, they do not match the strength curve. The weakest point of the chin-up isn't at the bottom. And yet, the band supplies the highest level of assistance at the bottom.
The weakest point of chin-ups is when the elbows are bent at 90 degrees.
Without trying to sound like a fitness geek, the fulcrum length is greatest when the elbow is bent at 90 degrees. What does that mean?
If I gave you a 20kg weight plate to hold onto, how would you hold it:
A. With straight arms out in front of you.
B. With bend arms close to your chest.
The answer is B.
Holding the weight close to your body is a lot easier than carrying it with straight arms out in front of the body. This is due to the length of the fulcrum.
When performing chin-ups, the fulcrum length is greatest when the elbows are bent at 90 degrees. At this point, the elbow is furthest from the body.
As we extend the elbow joint past 90 degrees, the elbow moves towards the body.
As we flex the elbow joint to less than 90 degrees, the elbow moves towards the body.
In both cases, the fulcrum length is shorter.
If you've got the strength to do chin-ups, where do you often fail when performing MAX load or MAX reps?
It's often at 90 degrees of elbow flexion because it's the most challenging part of the rep.
Note I said often.
We can fail at the bottom or top due to tired muscles or weakness in specific muscles, and it's only sometimes at the 90-degree point.
Banded chin-ups DO NOT match the strength curve; hence, they're not an effective tool for building the strength required to perform chin-ups correctly.
5. We shouldn't use bands for "technique" training.
One of my pet hates is the comment that "bands can be used to practice the technique for chin-ups/muscle-ups/dips/handstand-push-ups, etc..."
It's a lie.
Bands don't teach us the correct technique. I'd argue that bands make out technique worse and often lead to injury.
Let's take the chin-up as an example.
A lot of beginners experience elbow or shoulder pain when performing chin-ups with or without a band. A common cause of this pain is bad technique.
As humans, we love to use our biceps to pull objects towards us. It's easy to contact our biceps and feel them work. So, when it comes to chin-ups, we stick to what we know and try to use our biceps to lift our entire body weight up to the bar.
The biceps muscle originates at the shoulder joint and inserts at the elbow joint. Beginners often experience pain or even injury at the shoulder and elbow joints because they do predominantly bicep-focused chin-ups.
Their poor little biceps are doing all the work.
The biceps are a relatively small muscle when you compare them to the latissimus dorsi, or lats.
As humans, we're not very good at activating our lats, and a lot of beginners struggle to contract or even feel their lats working. And yet, the lats are a critical muscle in both chin-ups and pull-ups.
"The latissimus dorsi assists in depression of the arm with the teres major and pectoralis major. It adducts, extends, and internally rotates the shoulder. When the arms are in a fixed overhead position, the latissimus dorsi pulls the trunk upward and forward." ~ Wikipedia.
In simple terms, the lats are a primary mover in chin-ups. Or they should be.
A vital action of the lats is to depress the shoulders, along with the teres major and pectoralis major - two more muscles most people struggle to contract and feel.
To initiate the chin-up, we must start in a dead hang and then depress the shoulder before bending the elbows. We must activate the lats, teres major, and pec major before pulling with the biceps.
This is the correct technique.
When using a band, we fail to build strength in shoulder depression because the band assistance is too great. At the bottom of the chin-up we have the most tension in the band.
Banded chin-ups fail to build the strength required for shoulder depression; hence, people pull with their biceps and get injured.
It's the wrong technique that leads to elbow and shoulder pain.
How can you learn the correct technique when the band is doing the work for you?
How can you build a connection and awareness of the muscle you need to contract when the band is doing the work for you?
How can you strengthen the muscle to chin up your body weight when the band does the work for you?
You can't.
And that is why bands are a shit tool for teaching technique.
What if you can't do a chin-up?
A lot of online students come to Erdi or me because they've experienced a shoulder or elbow injury from doing band-assisted chin-ups.
They're frustrated because they want to get their first chin-up, but thanks to their injury, they're starting to wonder if it's even possible.
We tell them to throw away the band and help them build chin-up strength the right way.
It takes work, and it takes time.
Training consistency and a well-designed program are what deliver the results.
But it's worth it.
Students progress without pain or injury, and once they accomplish their first chin-up, they quickly move to sets of five or more reps.
There is a time and place to use bands in our training. But using bands for assisted chin-ups isn't one.
If you're a gymnastics skill seeker who wants to build strength, increase flexibility, and unlock gymnastic skills that you never thought possible, you should check out The Sustainable Training Method.
We design individualised online training programs tailored to your specific needs.
We also offer specific skill-based programs like Building Body Weight Strength levels 1,2, and 3.
Building body weight strength progressively takes a beginner from zero chin-ups to multiple reps of chin-ups over three consecutive phases. You can check it out here.
Summary
Banded-assisted chin-ups have become an accepted exercise in a lot of gyms around the world. I get it, people want to feel like they can do a chin-up. But the truth is, using bands to assist in movements like chin-ups is a waste of training time.
Time that could be better spent on building the strength and technique required to perform chin-ups without band assistance.
Bands can be a good tool for accommodating training or for isometric holds.
But other than that, I'd argue that bands shouldn't be used for chin-ups.
Happy chin-up training