A Good Chest Workout With a Pull-up Bar

When you're looking for a way to build up the muscles of your upper body, you can't get much simpler -- or more effective -- than the pull-up. This simple exercise works nearly all the muscles of the upper body, including the pectorals. While installing a fancy pull-up bar in your garage is one way to ensure you include pull-ups into your exercise routine, in a pinch any sturdy horizontal bar will do. Check out ceiling joists, monkey bars or a sturdy garden arbor, just to name a few.

  1. The Test

    • Before you figure out the type of workout to do, you have to determine how many pull-ups you're able to do. Place your hands in a wide overhand grip, slightly wider than shoulder-width apart, on the pull-up bar, and then take a few deep breaths and do as many pull-ups as you can muster. If you're able to do more than one or two, you'll be able to develop a routine that works on improving your technique and adding variations. If you're not able to do one or two, you'll need to master the basic move first. Wherever you start, don't stress -- whether you're mastering the moves or working on technique, you'll still be doing a great upper-body workout.

    Getting There

    • If you can't do a single pull-up just yet, work on getting there by using a pull-up machine. These fancy contraptions, which you'll find at most gyms or fitness centers, displace some of your weight and allow you to lift less to start out. Set the machine at half your weight to start. If you weigh 160 pounds, set the weight bar at 80. Use a wide overhand grip and work on doing two sets of 10 repetitions. Do this two to three times in a week, and then reduce the amount of weight you're displacing by five to 10 pounds the following week. If you started at 80, move to 75, reducing five to 10 pounds every week until you've worked up to displacing almost no weight.

    Pull-ups

    • When you're able to do five to 10 pull-ups without the assistance of the pull-up machine, start varying your workout. Toggle between an overhand pull-up style grip and slightly easier underhand chin-up grip, both of which work the pectoralis minor on the outside portion of the chest, as well as the muscles of the back, arms and legs. If you use a more narrow grip, slightly narrower than shoulder-width apart, you'll more specifically target the muscles of the chest. If your bar has the option, face your palms toward each other to focus on the chest even more. Aim to do one set of 10 pull-ups and then another set of 10 chin-ups. Add a single repetition to each set every week to continue adding intensity, working up to two sets of 15 repetitions.

    Add Weight

    • When you're able to do two sets of 15 repetitions of either chin-ups, pull-ups or both, chances are you've already built a fair amount of muscle in your chest. You can feel good about that, but to continue adding intensity and building muscle, one option is to add weight to your routine. Some people choose to hold a dumbbell between their legs or to strap a weight belt to their waist and add round barbell weights to it. Another option: put on a backback and add one-, five- or 10-pound weights to the inside. Work up to doing two sets of 15 repetitions in the same way you worked up to the other sets.