In yesterday’s Total Female Hockey newsletter, I told you the story of a US National Women’s Team player who could do 29 pull-ups. I don’t care who you are - male or female, hockey player or not - that is just plain impressive. So if you want to make it to the elite level of women’s hockey, and you can’t even do one pull-up yet, how do you get to 29?

First off all, the average number of chin-ups (palms face you) or pull-ups (palms face away) for women playing in the national team programs in North America is 10. That’s a lot more manageable than 29, but still a lot if you are starting from zero.

Here are some ways that you can increase your chin-up scores:

1) Perfect Form Counts:
Every time I go to the gym, I see people doing chin-ups completely wrong (if I see anyone doing them at all). The biggest mistake people make is that they don’t lower themselves down into complete extension on each chin-up. This means that each time you lower yourself down, your arms need to be straight. Most people I see at the gym just bring themselves down until their arms are at 90 degrees and go back up. That may pad your chin-up stats in your own head, but those won’t count when you are getting tested at the elite level of women’s hockey. All the way down or it doesn’t count.

2) Learn By Jumping:
One of the most common ways to start building the upper body strength necessary to do chin-ups is by doing “negative” chin-ups. This means that instead of starting from a full hang and pulling yourself up to the bar, you start at the top (by jumping up so that your chin is over the bar) and then slowly lower yourself down until your arms are fully extended under control. I usually start my young players off with 2 sets of 5 “negatives” with a 5 second lower. It is really important not to let your body drop down from the top position quickly - you need to lower under control for 5 seconds (or more) in order to get the strength building effects.

3) Start With One:
If you have never done 1 chin-up or pull-up before, the idea of doing 10 (or 29!) is really daunting. These elite women’s hockey players didn’t just wake up one morning being able to do double-digit chin-ups. It took years and years of work to be able to get there. You need to set a goal of being able to do one chin-up. You may not believe me now, but once you can do 1 chin-up, doing 5 is easy. Do the “negative” chin-ups described above for a month or so, and then give full chin-up from a full hanging position a shot. You might just surprise yourself. If you get your first chin-up, please share your success with everyone you know as well as all of us at Total Female Hockey Club. Doing your first chin-up is a huge accomplishment and should not be taken lightly. I even sent one of my athletes a present when she did her first one.

Remember - Rome wasn’t built in a day. No one can do 10 chin-ups the first time they try. But if you put in the work and dedicate yourself to getting better everyday, you will achieve your fitness goals faster than you ever thought possible.

What’s your chin-up goal? Remember to give yourself a specific deadline and then get to work.

Work Hard. Dream BIG.

~ Coach Kim