Six months ago I could not do a single chin-up. I got this chin-up bar and went to work. Perseverance developed body strength, and my vanity has pumped up a notch!
I read something that said an average guy in my weight range should be able to do 10-12 chin-ups. There is a chin-up bar at a park I walk my dogs past, and I found I could not even manage one. I was doing 30+ push-ups and set after set of core abdominal exercises on the floor, but chin-ups were out of my range.
I also learned that my ‘frozen’ right shoulder hurt so badly I couldn’t maintain more than 1-2 seconds hanging on the bar with my hands facing out, as for pull-ups. Just trying a pull-up may be laughable for others, I was wincing with pain.
I got a chin-up bar and installed it in the doorway of my home office. I can not walk in or out of my workspace without seeing the bar. This encourages me to use it.
About a week of hanging on the bar and trying to get that first chin-up paid off. A pull-up seemed impossible. I watched some Youtube videos for technique. Strength was my problem, screw form.
Another week went by and I was able to do 3 chin-ups and maybe kind pulled off a second set of two. My daughter, a USA Gymnastics Level-4 competitor started using chin-up competitions with me to get out of chores.
A month into this project I was able to do 2 sets of 10 chin-ups but still could not pull off a single pull-up. My daughter, however, started losing chin-up competitions.
6 weeks of trying and a magical pull-up happened. A day later I got two. A week later I was doing sets of 5. I felt a lot of pride. My ‘frozen’ shoulder no longer hurts nearly as much as it did, and I’ve regained a lot of use. (The frozen shoulder’s cause was diagnosed as “you spend too much time with your arms in typing position at your stand-up desk and need to use them for something else.)
Pride indeed comes before a fall.
In an odd fit while fighting with depression I ridiculously decided to crank out as many sets of 5 pull-ups as I could, because it made me feel good about me. In the middle of my 6th set something in my back gave up. I spent two or three weeks doing no exercise at all, just trying to recover. Lesson learned. Back pain does not help depression.
Time off helped. I am back to more conservatively using the chin-up bar as part of my exercise regimen. When I look in the mirror I am pretty shocked. I am still a very thin guy but I have more muscle definition, My chest, shoulders, and arms look like I am an active adult and do not immediately give away my preference for eSports.
I really enjoy the chin-up bar. It is easy to use, doesn’t take up annoying space, and has made more of a difference in my physical well being than many of the other pieces of equipment I decided to try.
Installing it was a breeze. It is anchored to the frame by two rubber plugs with long screws (I used my own screws, as they were longer than the included set.)
Sunny Health & Fitness Door Way Chin Up and Pull Up Bar via Amazon