Bigger Stronger Leaner

Tip: Don't Reach for the Bar With Your Chin

It's one of the most common technique mistakes with chin-ups. Here's why and how to avoid it.

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Cervical Hyperextension: Stop Doing That

People don't think much about the health of their neck – at least not until they hit their 40s and 50s and realize that they've woken up with numbness and non-functioning muscles in their arms because they've blown a disc.

These issues have a lot to do with people being stuck in a forward head posture at computers. However, you can magnify these problems by doing various exercises in cervical hyperextension when you should be in neutral. One example is the chin-up. You should not be "reaching" for the bar with your chin. If you really think about it, it ought to be called a chest-up.

Bad Chin-Up: Cervical hyperextension

Good Chin-Up: No reaching for the bar with the chin

And by the way, you can't do a good chin-up with a baseball cap on, assuming it's facing forward. This also causes you to have to go into cervical hyperextension to clear the bar.