Athletes today are experiencing more and more pressure and competition to succeed. With more coaches, trainers, camps, combines and general population entering the sporting arena there are many more challenges from competition. This competition is good in the fact that training knowledge and teaching has gone to all time levels. Many years ago there were usually just leagues or school teams to join and athletes simply tried out or signed up and participated. Today athletes may spend 9 months in preparation before even starting to participate in their sport.

One of the many tools for preparation in an athlete’s toolbox is weight training also known as resistance training. Resistance training can be a great way to get bigger and stronger or just stronger. These traits can translate into better speed, jumping ability, and over all explosiveness.

In weight lifting there are certain exercises that provide more value for the time spent than others. For example exercises that move the body through space are the best in my opinion for maximizing time spent in the weight room.

Some examples of these exercises are dips, push-ups, squats, dead lifts and chin up variations. These exercises are superior because they force the body to do many things at once like being balanced, recruiting small stabilizing muscles to stay balanced, increase heart rate quickly and force the body’s nervous system to engage maximally.

This is as opposed to doing exercises on machines. Machines eliminate many of the components that are so beneficial for the athlete looking to build strength quickly with free body weight movements. This is because the machines bars and strong structure provide all the stability for the body. This can be a good thing for people who have poor balance or motor skills to prevent injury but for athletes I don’t think it is as beneficial.

Chin ups and variations of chin-ups are the best way to strengthen and build up the upper back muscles. The latissimus dorsi, rhomboids, subsacpularis, middle region trapezius and many more upper back muscles are maximally recruited when doing chin ups. This leads to superior gains in the shortest amount of time for athletes looking to improve this portion if their weight training.

Chins are an advanced exercise so I advise newer trainees to start a weight program with other upper back pulling movements with lightweight like single arm dumbbell rows. Barbell bent over rows or even lat pull down machines. If these exercises are used with lightweight for a few weeks to even a couple of months that body can become prepared to do actual chins and prevent major soreness.

Another means of preparation is using heavy-duty rubber bands to assist new trainees that cannot move their own body weight on this exercise. Along with using rubber bands it is wise to not go to maximal muscular failure on the first few weeks of training. Move the body through the exercise for 12-15 repetitions but feel like you could perform another 3-5 repetitions. This will prevent major soreness and prepare the body for more intense workouts down the road.

In closing I feel it is always in the best interest of the athlete looking to improve size and or strength quickly to choose compound movements that include the body moving through space. Chins and their variations are a great way to improve upper back strength with weight lifting training.