Issue 039

July 2008

In this series of articles I will cover a selection of exercises I consider to be essential inclusions in any fighter’s strength and conditioning program. These exercises will develop a high level of general preparedness, which will carry over into stronger, more explosive movements in the sport.

Introducing the chin-up

The first thing to do is to clarify what a chin-up is! A chin-up is a vertical pull of the body through space, holding onto a fixed bar overhead. The grip for a chin-up is a palms facing grip (supinated grip) – if the palms were facing away (pronated grip) the movement would be called a pull-up. 

For a complete repetition to count the athlete must pull from a dead hang with arms fully extended until the chin is level with or past the bar. There is also a variation called a sternum chin-up, which involves pulling yourself even higher and touching the sternum to the bar. 

The chin-up in fighting

The chin-up is a very basic movement, but has many applications in MMA. The main purpose is to strengthen the latissimus dorsi (lats) and biceps, which are muscles that pull objects towards you. Therefore, the first application of a chin-up into a fight would be the ability to pull your opponent towards you in a clinch situation. 

The top position of a chin-up is almost exactly the position you would apply in a Thai ‘plum’ clinch. You may remember from many of Anderson Silva’s fights that if a Thai clinch is strongly locked on, it can be almost impossible to escape from. If training for this purpose, I often have athletes do one and a half reps on chin-ups, where after every repetition they lower themselves to halfway and then pull back to the bar. Another option for strengthening this ‘locked’ position of the clinch is to use an isometric (holding) contraction at the top position of the chin-up, which can often be loaded with more weight than the athlete can pull through a full range.

The chin-up can also help in a Greco-roman clinch, especially when the athlete has underhooks and has to keep their opponent tight without being able to lock the hands together. Of course, during the chin-up training the grip will also be worked, and there are many ways to increase the difficulty on the grip.

Chin-up variations

• Chin-ups with band assistance (if unable to do sufficient repetitions with bodyweight)
• Chin-ups with weighted belt / dumbbell between legs (to increase difficulty)
• Chin-ups gripping a towel or rope looped over the bar (to increase grip work)
• Chin-ups touching each side of the neck to the bar (off-centred movement)
• Chin-ups with a hold at the top position (to increase strength in  the top position)
• Chin-ups with legs in ‘L-sit’ position (killer variation to strengthen the abs and stabilizers)
• Chin-ups holding a sandbag between the legs (guard-specific movement added)
• Chin-ups throwing.the legs to the sides of the bar (added shoulder stabilisation and ab work)

ASK ALEX

Our resident strength and conditioning expert, Alex, answers your training-related queries.

Q: I have been training for the last year or so, but I am still unsure of what kind of diet I should have. So far, I have cereal for breakfast, two baguettes for lunch, and steaks or pasta (or something along those lines) for dinner. This is a typical days eating, though sometimes it may vary. In between meals, I snack on various things. Is this diet ok?

Panikos Kleanthous, Luton

A: It’s hard to say from that brief snapshot, and you definitely shouldn’t be eating the same thing every day! I would advise to cut down on the processed carbs (baguettes, pasta, cereal) and probably the level of carbs overall. The ‘various things’ you snack on should also have a source of protein in them. Also try and minimize unhealthy fats, especially trans fats (as found in margarine / spreads).

Q: I’m finding that my feet, ankles and calves feel battered after a judo session and I spend a lot of the time when going for throws on the verge of cramp in my calves. Any tips for getting around this?

Andy, Salisbury

A: If the calves are weak, the best thing I ever did for that was sled sprints. Seated calf raises may also help. For a combination of the two I also like one-leg standing calf raises done barefoot, which will work all of the above, plus balance. You may also benefit from training the musculature of the foot itself with various exercises (see the book ‘Training For Warriors’ for more information on this).