How do you guys feel about rack chins? I did them like the guy in the video(but without the weight) on Monday and my lats are sill store. I’m not sure if they’ve ever felt this sore before. I expected some soreness since it’s my first time ever doing them but nothing like this. Feels great.
Never did rack chins.
Just a personal note…but some of this stuff (like that video) looks like people are just trying to come up with different shit.
My lats rarely feel “sore”. I don’t usually use “soreness” alone as much of a guide to anything.
[quote]sam_sneed wrote:
How do you guys feel about rack chins? I did them like the guy in the video(but without the weight) on Monday and my lats are sill store. I’m not sure if they’ve ever felt this sore before. I expected some soreness since it’s my first time ever doing them but nothing like this. Feels great.
Ben Bruno just invents stupid shit so he can write articles on this site. I question anyone who promotes single leg work for safety reasons, but would promote an exercise where you balance a barbell on your crotch.
But more to the point, with rack chins I struggled to contract the lats well. Having said that, when I paused at the top, I did almost cramp up in my rhomboids, so they may be good for that. If they feel good for you then keep at it.
[quote]Professor X wrote:
Never did rack chins.
Just a personal note…but some of this stuff (like that video) looks like people are just trying to come up with different shit.
My lats rarely feel “sore”. I don’t usually use “soreness” alone as much of a guide to anything.[/quote]
A lot of the big DoggCrap guys were doing them last I checked and advocating them. Cephalic_Carnage recommended them back in the day too but I never really tried them till this week. My gym closed down for the month so all I have to work out with at my house is a power rack, free weights and a pull up bar. I’m still recovering from spinal surgery so deadlifts and any rows where my chest is not supported is out of the question.
I personally don’t know if they’re any good or not but do welcome any opinions on them from dudes with large backs such as yourself so thanks for the feedback.
This might be a better video. Dug it up from a thread CC posted in:
[quote]JBL5 wrote:
Ben Bruno just invents stupid shit so he can write articles on this site. I question anyone who promotes single leg work for safety reasons, but would promote an exercise where you balance a barbell on your crotch.
But more to the point, with rack chins I struggled to contract the lats well. Having said that, when I paused at the top, I did almost cramp up in my rhomboids, so they may be good for that. If they feel good for you then keep at it.[/quote]
Thanks. I don’t know who that guy is and didn’t even watch the video with sound. It was one of the first hits so I just copied what he did since it was consistent with what I read on here in the past.
Well, I won’t be balancing any barbells on my crotch.
My lats grew well without it.
I suppose penis pressure may help some people with lat development though. Maybe even increase testosterone due to fear of threat to the balls.
For fear of the fan boy brigade…I guess I should add “jk”.
That seems like a lot of set up for not much return…
[quote]JBL5 wrote:
[quote]sam_sneed wrote:
How do you guys feel about rack chins? I did them like the guy in the video(but without the weight) on Monday and my lats are sill store. I’m not sure if they’ve ever felt this sore before. I expected some soreness since it’s my first time ever doing them but nothing like this. Feels great.
Ben Bruno just invents stupid shit so he can write articles on this site. I question anyone who promotes single leg work for safety reasons, but would promote an exercise where you balance a barbell on your crotch.
But more to the point, with rack chins I struggled to contract the lats well. Having said that, when I paused at the top, I did almost cramp up in my rhomboids, so they may be good for that. If they feel good for you then keep at it.[/quote]
That’s actually a really unfair assessment. I thought the same thing the first time I read one of Bruno’s articles, but once I hurt my lower back deadlifting, I started appreciating his articles way more. The fact is, having several options for unilateral work is extremely valuable. And it’s not like he was balancing an olympic bar; it was an EZ curl bar, which is actually a really good idea, as it requires remarkably little balance.
[quote]Professor X wrote:
Well, I won’t be balancing any barbells on my crotch.
My lats grew well without it.
I suppose penis pressure may help some people with lat development though. Maybe even increase testosterone due to fear of threat to the balls.
For fear of the fan boy brigade…I guess I should add “jk”.
That seems like a lot of set up for not much return…[/quote]
Yeah, I definitely would prefer weighted chins to these. Rack chins just seem like one step along the lines of progression to full chins. Why add weight to rack chins if you can do full chins?
[quote]KingKai25 wrote:
[quote]Professor X wrote:
Well, I won’t be balancing any barbells on my crotch.
My lats grew well without it.
I suppose penis pressure may help some people with lat development though. Maybe even increase testosterone due to fear of threat to the balls.
For fear of the fan boy brigade…I guess I should add “jk”.
That seems like a lot of set up for not much return…[/quote]
Yeah, I definitely would prefer weighted chins to these. Rack chins just seem like one step along the lines of progression to full chins. Why add weight to rack chins if you can do full chins?[/quote]
Exactly…but I see things like this alot lately…some people seem to be looking for that “new thing” so badly they will warp good exercises until they are even less effective.
Why do a rack chin if I can strap a 45lbs around my waist and do regular chin ups? With his legs resting on an object he isn’t even using his full body weight. Th added barbell doesn’t seem to match the weight of his legs even.
So why do it…other than to simply be doing what “those guys” are doing?
[quote]KingKai25 wrote:
That’s actually a really unfair assessment. I thought the same thing the first time I read one of Bruno’s articles, but once I hurt my lower back deadlifting, I started appreciating his articles way more. The fact is, having several options for unilateral work is extremely valuable. And it’s not like he was balancing an olympic bar; it was an EZ curl bar, which is actually a really good idea, as it requires remarkably little balance.[/quote]
I’m glad that his articles have helped you, and don’t get me wrong, unilateral work definitely has a place. But with that being said, most of the exercises he pimps in his articles seem ridiculous, and I don’t see them catching on among really knowledgeable folks. In contrast, the stuff John Meadows and Christian Thibaudeau invent is creative, but is also utilized by lots of big and strong guys.
[quote]Professor X wrote:
Well, I won’t be balancing any barbells on my crotch.
My lats grew well without it.
I suppose penis pressure may help some people with lat development though. Maybe even increase testosterone due to fear of threat to the balls.
For fear of the fan boy brigade…I guess I should add “jk”.
That seems like a lot of set up for not much return…[/quote]
Seems really odd anyone would want to do this when this is just an awkward set for a Pulldown basically, all while smashing your business. Sounds like no fun to me lol
I’m with you I will stick to other exercises.
I have never tried rack chins before, and though I know a lot of folks in the DC crowd are big on them, I can’t understand mechnically what would make them a better (or even different) option than weighted chins. Maybe they would be better trained unilaterally? That at least seems like something that would be harder to replicate without the rack set up.
[quote]KingKai25 wrote:
[quote]Professor X wrote:
Well, I won’t be balancing any barbells on my crotch.
My lats grew well without it.
I suppose penis pressure may help some people with lat development though. Maybe even increase testosterone due to fear of threat to the balls.
For fear of the fan boy brigade…I guess I should add “jk”.
That seems like a lot of set up for not much return…[/quote]
Yeah, I definitely would prefer weighted chins to these. Rack chins just seem like one step along the lines of progression to full chins. Why add weight to rack chins if you can do full chins?[/quote]
I’m late to this party, but I wanted to add that I’ve tried these “rack chins” too. It’s actually like a hybrid reverse row/chin–not quite like a chin-up because of the slight angle of your body due to whatever you’re resting your feet on. It’s just like everyone keeps saying–change the angle to hit the lats in a different way. Adding weight just compensates for the fact that a reverse row is easier than a chin-up, and this is somewhere in between.
[quote]Diddy Ryder wrote:
When you guys mention lots of volume for a big back, how much is “lots”?[/quote]
I do much more volume than I would advocate anyone who is not used to doing. For back though for a normal person I would say 4 exercise with different grips and angles with 3-5 sets an exercise would be a solid back workout.
[quote]ryanbCXG wrote:
[quote]Diddy Ryder wrote:
When you guys mention lots of volume for a big back, how much is “lots”?[/quote]
I do much more volume than I would advocate anyone who is not used to doing. For back though for a normal person I would say 4 exercise with different grips and angles with 3-5 sets an exercise would be a solid back workout. [/quote]
Do you think deads thrown in at the end (like Meadows recommends) is worthwhile?
Any of you ever try the john meadows stretchers? I do them after 5-6 sets of pull ups and it feels ridiculous by the end of a long set with 1-second pauses on both ends of every rep… Stretchers - YouTube
Ive noticed alot of talk about chins/pulldowns but, and this is strictly annecdotal, I have seen lots of guys who do tons of chins/pulldowns etc but do not have wide backs. Seen guys who do damage on the deadlift who do not have wide backs. NEVER met anybody who can row some serious weight in any fashion with a narrow or small back.
Just an observation, anyone else notice this?
[quote]JBL5 wrote:
[quote]KingKai25 wrote:
That’s actually a really unfair assessment. I thought the same thing the first time I read one of Bruno’s articles, but once I hurt my lower back deadlifting, I started appreciating his articles way more. The fact is, having several options for unilateral work is extremely valuable. And it’s not like he was balancing an olympic bar; it was an EZ curl bar, which is actually a really good idea, as it requires remarkably little balance.[/quote]
I’m glad that his articles have helped you, and don’t get me wrong, unilateral work definitely has a place. But with that being said, most of the exercises he pimps in his articles seem ridiculous, and I don’t see them catching on among really knowledgeable folks. In contrast, the stuff John Meadows and Christian Thibaudeau invent is creative, but is also utilized by lots of big and strong guys.[/quote]
Meadows rows for the win!! Hands down my favorite back exercise since I started doing them.
[quote]JBL5 wrote:
[quote]ryanbCXG wrote:
[quote]Diddy Ryder wrote:
When you guys mention lots of volume for a big back, how much is “lots”?[/quote]
I do much more volume than I would advocate anyone who is not used to doing. For back though for a normal person I would say 4 exercise with different grips and angles with 3-5 sets an exercise would be a solid back workout. [/quote]
Do you think deads thrown in at the end (like Meadows recommends) is worthwhile?[/quote]
That’s actualky how I ended mine today. I’d rather do them at the end when your lats are fried. And really focus on flexing them hard. I actually supersetted wide grip pulldowns and then quick moved and did a set of Deads with a hard flex on each rep. Ouch.
[quote]Waittz wrote:
Ive noticed alot of talk about chins/pulldowns but, and this is strictly annecdotal, I have seen lots of guys who do tons of chins/pulldowns etc but do not have wide backs. Seen guys who do damage on the deadlift who do not have wide backs. NEVER met anybody who can row some serious weight in any fashion with a narrow or small back.
Just an observation, anyone else notice this? [/quote]
For me personally chins are not a mass builder neither are Deads at least how I used to do them I am experimenting messing with from and supersets and location in my workout with these now. Mainly because I like them and I want them to work.
Edit so yes I completely agree