Your First Chin-Up is Closer Than You Think 💪
I used to believe, “I can’t do a chin-up.” But the moment I asked, “I wonder how long it would take me to get one?” 🤨 — everything changed.
💡 That’s the power of a growth mindset. Instead of shutting down, I got curious. Instead of assuming I couldn’t, I gave myself the chance to try.
And guess what? Fourteen days later, I did my first full chin-up. 🤯
Not going to lie - reaching a goal I'd believed impossible just two weeks earlier made me question what other gains I'd been leaving on the table...not just in the gym but in my life! 😳
Here’s the secret: you don’t need hours in the gym.
The Pareto Principle says that 80% of your results come from just 20% of your vital few, prioritized efforts. For chin-ups, that might mean just 5 minutes, 3x a week, focusing on various chin-up specific support exercises to strengthen and reinforce your vertical pull.
- ✅ Negatives (Eccentrically lowering slowly from the bar) + Bar Hangs – Train control & endurance, build grip + shoulder strength, practice scapular rotation
- ✅ Inverted Rows + Banded/Assisted Reps – Train back and biceps, support your vertical pull with a horizontal pull to build multidirectional, multifaceted strength, and practice the vertical pull pattern with support to gain confidence and learn to engage the back through a full range of motion
- ✅ Hollow Body Hold + RKC Plank – Ask more from the core + practice a tight hollow body position to transfer to your chin-up
You don’t have to be great to start—you just have to start. With consistent effort, your first chin-up is closer than you think!
- 💪 Tag or Forward to a friend who needs this reminder!
- 💌 Save this post or email for the 5-min, 3-day-a-week finisher program I used to get my first chin-up 6 years ago, and that I return to any time I want to re-prioritize chin-ups in my routine, or coach a client with this goal!
#ChinUpChallenge #GrowthMindset #YouGotThis #StrengthTraining #FitnessMindset #8020Rule #ParetoPrinciple #TakeAction #KeepShowingUp