There’s several lifts in the gym that come to mind when we want to predict values of strength. Some of the more obvious ones are the Squat, Deadlift, Bench Press, Strict Press and all their variants. Then we have more niche lifts that measure power as well as strength. Obvious ones in this category are the Push Press, Clean and Snatch variants. We can even ditch the barbell and look at Kettlebell work or the more specialised strongman style equipment, looking at the Log Press, Atlas Stones, Farmers Walk and so on.
What about two lifts that are more discreet, more refined. Both very basic, its a safe bet that the majority of gym goers have done or at least attempted them, yet should be a staple in any mass building program or hypertrophy phase of a strength program. These two lifts are the Pull Up/Chin Up and the Parallel Bar Dips.
When was the last time you saw anyone in the gym hoisting up a good bit of weight and grinding out rep after rep? You probably see a lot of half arsed attempts at reps with the average gym bro kicking his legs up, curling up like a worm on a hook desperate to get his chin up over the edge. When was the last time you seen a weight belt with a chain attached? I brought one when I was 14 when my mother dragged me to the gym, in order to help drain the testosterone from my adolescent body otherwise I was just a nightmare when I got back from school. I still have it now and as a matter of fact, used it to crank out some heavy weight, high rep dips today.
Lets break down these two old school mighty exercises.
Pull Up/Chin Up
Ah the old favorite. An exercise that immediately conjures images up of Full Metal Jacket style aggressive military instructors barking to get a skinny, or in that films case rather large, recruit to bust out rep after rep, or in that films case just the one solid repetition. Fact of the matter is for most healthy people, Pull Ups are hard. The lift requires you to hang from a dead drop, initiating the pull with your lats, bending at the elbow joint and contracting the biceps in order to get your chin over the bar itself for a complete rep. Fighting gravity at its finest.
The fact is this hard lift is well worth the effort. In terms of spreading the lats and helping to create that desired V taper, there is nothing like it and there’s not many exercises that will give you that benefit while overloading the biceps considerably, forcing them to grow. This exercises will help to bulletproof the core, providing you don’t do that annoying, swinging, kipping motion that’s become popular, build strength in the grip and to a lesser extent build the forearms.
We can manipulate certain areas we want to hit with ease. Grab the V bar from the lat pull down, place it over the bar and you have one of the best mass gainers for the biceps that there is, as an added bonus this will also add thickness to the top of the lats like you would not believe. Extend your grip even wider, as wide as the bar will allow, to hit the lower part of the lats to help enhance that V shape. Want to make it easier? Loop a resistance band round the bottom of your feet to aid you on the concentric phase. Want to make it harder? Do Pull Ups to a controlled tempo, if you’ve got the mental fortitude.
Its already that good and we haven’t even added the benefits of additional weight yet. Get my point?
Dips
When I talk about dips, I am always referring to Parallel Bar Dips. Just to be clear on that. Most people can Bench Dip no problem, even with some significant weight, you put them on a set of parallel bars and watch that situation change.
Straight away before even attempting a repetition the core has been brought into play, stabilizing the body as its held vertical, or slightly forward depending on the desired effect. To complete a rep all you then need to do is once more bend at the elbow joint, allowing the elbows themselves to travel either directly backwards, triceps, or out to the sides, chest. Keep going all the way till the shoulder joint is lower or inline with the elbows, then push down using all that pressing power from the chest and triceps to reverse your direction and take you back to the start point.
Much of the same reasoning and benefits of the Pull Up can be applied to the Dips. Its just working in the opposite direction. Rather than the back and biceps, it’s the chest and triceps, hence why these legendary exercises compliment each other so well. You want to build thick, shirt filling triceps? Dips are one of the few exercises to work all three heads of the triceps, Lateral Head, Long Head, Medial Head, all at once. Want to shape and define that chest? Point the elbows to the sides and concentrate on the upper portion of the movement while slightly leaning forward. A favorite of bodybuilders and physique competitors even to this day. Want to add kilos onto your Bench Press? Many powerlifters credit heavy dips as being their main assistance exercise responsible for big benches and there are plenty of videos floating round the internet of great Chinese weightlifters using weighted dips to great effect.
Rounding It Off
The fitness world is guilty of constantly looking for new exercises, or variations of exercises that are that golden ticket to getting you to reach your goals. I use that word harshly, not guilty, because we need to be innovative to keep driving forward and looking for optimal ways to train. However, in our constant drive we often overlook the basics and as the human body hasn’t changed much in the past few thousand years, maybe it’s best we stick to these tried and tested staples that have repeatedly stood the test of time as being the greatest lifts, or exercises, to grace both strength athletes and physique competitors alike.