An exercise by the legendary American bodybuilder. What are Vince Gironda pull-ups?

Vince Gironda is a once great American bodybuilder. He became famous and established himself in the history of world sports thanks to the special pull-up technique he developed for training. As a rule, such exercises are created by bodybuilders for bodybuilders because they require serious effort. So for some people this material will be a methodology on how to perform, and for others – a motivation to become better.

top trainer of the World Class fitness studio chain.

“Gironda pull-ups are named in honor of the bodybuilder and trainer of showbiz stars. Performing this exercise requires a lot of physical fitness from the athlete.”

What are Gironda pull-ups?

Unlike the usual pull-ups, these are performed with a reverse grip. In general, such a technique is not welcome in pull-ups, but not in this case, because we reach for the bar not with the chin, but with the chest, and as high as possible. So that the biceps receive the maximum load.

At the same time, the exercise itself is quite difficult, it can only be performed by athletes with developed muscles, because the amplitude increases significantly compared to other types of pull-ups. Pumped up muscles are the so-called base, which allows you to perform complex exercises, without it to do something is unlikely to succeed, on one desire is not far away.

What muscles work when performing Gironda pull-ups?

Despite the fact that the technique of the classic version of the exercise differs from the modernized one, it is still the same pull-ups. So the muscles working are the same as in any other pull-ups. Wide, trapezius, biceps, biceps, deltoid and rhomboid muscles are actively used.

Technique of performing Gironda pull-ups

Before proceeding to the performance, it is mandatory to conduct a warm-up, and yes, it should be done even before pull-ups. The exercise itself is difficult, so the muscles must be toned.

Tehnika

• Take a reverse grip on the bar a little wider than your shoulders.
• On the exhale pull yourself up, lowering the shoulder blades and pushing the chest up to the bar.
• You need to lean back slightly and bring your sternum to touch the bar (in normal pull-ups you need to pull yourself up to your chin).
• As you inhale, slowly return to the starting position.

Who are suitable for Gironde pull-ups?

As we have already said, this exercise is not suitable for everyone, and perhaps not even for every second person. It can only be performed by experienced athletes and bodybuilders with an impressive experience in training. We do not recommend this type of pull-ups to newcomers in the world of sports, no matter how much you want to, because you will not get any benefit from this exercise. Everything should be done evenly: first work on the muscle frame, which will allow you to pull up in this exotic way.

Benefits and harms of Gironda pull-ups

As for the pluses, the most significant, perhaps, is a greater amplitude of movement than in conventional pull-ups, which means only one thing – greater involvement of muscles in the exercise.

Ekaterina Kravchenko: There is no harm from this exercise. Just do not confuse it with the disadvantages, which are already listed above.

What to replace Gironda pull-ups with?

Ekaterina Kravchenko: If you do not manage to pull up, as Vince Gironda willed, do not be upset, everything always has alternatives.

If you are not yet ready to perform exercises of such a level of complexity, it is not necessary to look for similar ones that involve the same muscle groups. You’re reading this material to learn how to do a pull-up like Vince Gironda. So you can try to perform this exercise with a rubber band, fixing it on the bar and standing on it with your feet. The rubber band will push you up, so it will be much easier to do pull-ups. If you work out in the gym, try to find a gravitron exercise machine. It combines both bars and a tourniquet at the same time. It also has a retractable platform that you can stand on to do pull-ups in a simplified format.