Form question for chin-ups

[IMUnaware]

Hey,

Ok so I have an Iron Gym pull-up bar at home. Got it about a month and a half ago and I'm loving it. I have a question about form though.

I am a tall guy (6'1") and I need to bend my knees to get into chin-up position. When I do a chin-up, I wind up extending my legs in front of me. This seems to be a natural reaction (I don't consciously do it, my body just does it). I don't HAVE to do it, if I pay attention to my legs I can keep them tucked behind me. My question is: is that bad form? Does it count as kipping or pseudo kipping? Or is it just a balance thing? Should I be avoiding it to prevent myself from getting into bad habits?

Thanks

(PS, I hope to eventually be doing pull-ups, but right now I'm chinning as a way to build up strength. I just got my first set of 4 yesterday)

[This is Seth]

It's not bad form at all. You're probably halfway to a L Sit Chin Up.

[Waldo]

I'm the same way.

I generally cross my legs behind me and bend at the knees. I have the same natural reaction.

It is kipping a little but no big deal, it doesn't offer much help at all, it isn't nearly the same thing as a real purposeful kip.

There are a bunch of different ways to do chins/pulls so it is hard to call something bad form. Were you to do straight leg dead hangs you'd probably be able to do a little less of them but nothing major.

Obviously if you want to approximate true dead hangs as close as possible you'll have to conciously keep your legs tucked behind you or do them while in an L-sit or holding your knees raised. Even straight legged, people will natually kip a little, it is hard not to and no big deal really, unless for some reason you actually have to do strict form dead hang pullups. There is a big difference between a natural kip and a purposeful kip as far as the amount of help you actually get.

[morethanjustamom]

I don't even know how one would have bad form on a chin up or pull up, if they were starting from a dead hang. I mean, it's not like you have anything available to use for leverage...you're just hanging there.

[rtalencar]

I'd suggest going with what feels comfortable, but every once in a while doing them strict. Waldo's right in that a natural kip is tremendously different from a purposeful one, but it's still nice to know how many you can do strict. My $0.02

[IMUnaware]

Cool. I just wanted to make sure that I wasn't developing bad habits I'd have to undo later.

[161803398874989]

A chinup is the most efficient if your centre of mass is directly under the bar. This means that your feet come forward a bit as you come over the bar. So it's good form.

[Anivair]

I do the same thing. I think it's fine.

[WizardTrip]

As all others have said, and just to add one more in, same thing here. 6'3, Iron Gym, start with bent knees that almost touch the ground. Natural reaction is for my legs to go out in front of me. IMO, a purposeful kipping pull-up would shake the Iron Gym off line from the door frames and cause a big painful boom for you, and at my weight, possibly do some harm to the door frame

Good form...carry on

[morethanjustamom]

As all others have said, and just to add one more in, same thing here. 6'3, Iron Gym, start with bent knees that almost touch the ground. Natural reaction is for my legs to go out in front of me. IMO, a purposeful kipping pull-up would shake the Iron Gym off line from the door frames and cause a big painful boom for you, and at my weight, possibly do some harm to the door frame

Good form...carry on

This is why my husband refuses to use our Iron Gym...big boom, him on the floor. And I don't think he was kipping at the time.

[WizardTrip]

This is why my husband refuses to use our Iron Gym...big boom, him on the floor. And I don't think he was kipping at the time.

This is why I try to keep mine as controlled as possible. My Iron Gym has maybe 1.5 inches on both sides holding on because I think my doors are a bit wider than standard. Slow and controlled...

[nickls]

I don't even know how one would have bad form on a chin up or pull up, if they were starting from a dead hang. I mean, it's not like you have anything available to use for leverage...you're just hanging there.

I think the idea is that in a strict dead hang you are supposed to be using only your back and arm muscles, while swinging your legs up would give you some momentum generated by your legs and core.

I find myself moving my legs a bit too, but since I don't plan to enter any pull-up competitions, I've never worried about it too much. For me the bigger form of "cheating" is how far I pull myself up--meaning do I count my max reps as chest-to-the-bar reps or simply chin above the bar.

[morethanjustamom]

This is why I try to keep mine as controlled as possible. My Iron Gym has maybe 1.5 inches on both sides holding on because I think my doors are a bit wider than standard. Slow and controlled...

See, we don't even have that much. He's talked about removing the end caps and adding a little more pipe just to make it more stable in the frame.

[js290]

Hey,

Ok so I have an Iron Gym pull-up bar at home. Got it about a month and a half ago and I'm loving it. I have a question about form though.

I am a tall guy (6'1") and I need to bend my knees to get into chin-up position. When I do a chin-up, I wind up extending my legs in front of me. This seems to be a natural reaction (I don't consciously do it, my body just does it). I don't HAVE to do it, if I pay attention to my legs I can keep them tucked behind me. My question is: is that bad form? Does it count as kipping or pseudo kipping? Or is it just a balance thing? Should I be avoiding it to prevent myself from getting into bad habits?

Thanks

(PS, I hope to eventually be doing pull-ups, but right now I'm chinning as a way to build up strength. I just got my first set of 4 yesterday)

[IMUnaware]

Thanks. Video was very helpful!