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Chinese Pullups


Coach Sommer
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Kipping pull-ups, or Chinese pull-ups as I refer to them (as for many years this exercise has been a staple exercise in the Chinese developmental program for their young ones), are useful tool for easily increasing total amount of repetitions as well as developing elasticity in the shoulder girdle. They are also beneficial is developing a sense of rhythm and coordination. But most importantly, Chinese Pullups are an important initial first step in preparing the shoulder girdle to safely handle the stresses involved with high level plyometric-type elements. For example during a giant on the still rings, the shoulders will be exposed to forces of 7-10 times bodyweight in a micro-burst at the bottom-most portion of the swing :shock:.

Someone who already understands the mechanics of the movement can start from a hang, however I have found that it is usually easiest for beginners to begin from the top of the pull-up. To get the most benefit from a kipping motion on pull-ups I recommend utilizing the following technique:

1) Begin from a static hold at the top of the pull-up.

2) Drop as quickly as possible to the bottom of the pull-up. While the body is dropping press the shoulders (feel the arm pits STRETCH) forward and the hips backward. This will result in the body somewhat resembling a stretched out letter C with the hands on the bar, the shoulders slightly in front of the hands and the hips slightly behind the hands.

3) Bounce powerfully out of the bottom position. Use the momentum from the bounce to propel yourself back up to the bar, strongly reversing your body position on the way up. Do not attempt to stop precisely at the top of the bar, but allow the body to go as high as it wishes. Your may find that your hands are also hopping slightly off the bar at the top if your kip has been explosive enough. Finish with hands on the bar, shoulders slightly behind the hands and the hips slightly in front of the hands.

4) Do not pause at the top, but immediately use your speed and momentum to bounce down into another repetition.

5) This movement is self regulating. If you are not using the swing of the hips and shoulders in coordination the movement will become awkward and out of control and you will be unable to proceed to the next repetition.

6) Pay close attention to your hands. Several high rep sets of these can result in some spectacular blisters if you are not used to this kind of work.

If you find that the descent into the Chinese Pull-up is too powerful for you to comfortably handle, I would recommend that you simply spend some time practicing hanging tap swings. For practical fitness purposes, the hanging tap swing will be the portion of the Chinese Pullup where the body alternates powerfully between an arch and a hollow position. Begin a turn by slowly moving between the two positions and then gradually increasing the speed and power of the position reversals as the set progresses. Remember to focus on full extension of the shoulder girdle during each of the positions. If you find that you are swinging back and forth like a pendulum, rather than remaining relatively stationary; you are under-extending one side of the hanging tap swing in comparison to the other. Stop the set and begin again.

A favorite giant set of mine (all performed without coming off of the bar) is to perform deadhang pull-ups, immediately followed by Chinese Pull-ups and finishing with hanging tap swings. This would all constitute one set. An interesting variation to include in this giant set is to perform it while only hanging by the fingers with an open hand and no thumb on the bar 8).

Do not overindulge on Chinese Pullups; especially initially. The plyometric at the bottom of the movement, combined with the extended ROM can quickly exceed the current physical capacity of the new trainee. However included in prudent doses into your conditioning, Chinese Pull-ups will have a dramatic effect on your pulling and shoulder girdle strength.

Yours in Fitness,

Coach Sommer

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These sound like a lot of fun. If the gymnasium's actually open I'll give um a try. Seconds snow day in a row in town :(

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AS for the force, on a high bar can be even higher. They tested Petkovšek on a high bar (when he was younger) and calculated 13G force :shock:

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Blair, and others,

Their are a TON of videos on the XFit website that show and explain kipping pull ups quite well. Also, it will show variations in keeping pull ups as well as the wildly popular, butterfly kip, AFT Kip, circular kip (all the same concept). Google Mike G and butterfly kip, he does it quite well. And, for sheer reps and speed this form is unmatched(I think Mike G is out of Crossfit Philly).

In any event, this style of pull ups helped me greatly, and XFit. When I first started I couldnt do one dead hang pull up. Now, I can max at almost 40 kipping pull ups (and that was after doing 'Angie.')

Sinc, -g.

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Yeah, I am more than familiar with CrossFit and kipping but I cannot really connect kipping pullups using the horizontal Eva kip. I've become somewhat proficient at the butterfly and it's my preferred kipping method. I also tried this on rings and my shoulders don't like it-at all. I understand the Eva kip well but my body just doesn't do it well but I think it's because I try to go to fast as well. I figured I'd rather go fast using the butterfly so my grip doesn't fail. Awhile back and I could do the frog kip as it just happened once but I probably enjoy the BFK because it is also the most fun! :D

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I believe Mike G is from Atlanta.

http://media.crossfit.com/cf-video/CrossFit_DutchPullupComparison.wmv

This is a video of Dutch Lowy demonstrating the "gymnastic" kip versus the "butterfly" kip. I think the jury is still out on whether or not the butterfly has the fastest cycle rate. A friend of mine tested his butterfly versus his gymnastic and found the gymnastic to be faster. As of now, my frog kip is probably faster than my butterfly kip, at least in the short run.

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I still think BFK is faster than gymnastics but it probably depends on the person doing it and their technique. I could see frog being faster than BFK but I'm not sure as many reps could be done with it since I think there is less motion to help. BFK is really challenging metabolically though.

Again this is moot for me since I'll be there all day using a gymnastics mini tap/wiggle swing ( arch->hollow ).

I'm still working on getting the chest to bar ROM by doing wide arm pullups though I work these with a hollow body and not an arch. I intend to eventually work the BFK with an undergrip as it's easier to hit chest to bar with undergrip than over as well as doing it with a horizontal/gymnastics kip. This isn't so much an issue when you go wider than shoulder width.

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  • 1 year later...
AS for the force, on a high bar can be even higher. They tested Petkovšek on a high bar (when he was younger) and calculated 13G force :shock:

Funny story regarding this: Kasper Fardan of the club I'm in now (he's retired now), known for the move "Fardan" which is a triple piked back salto dismount from highbar, snapped one of the bars in my gym in two once while doing giants. This was before I came to the club though.

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