Conor McGregor Reveals Pull Up Technique Only ‘Real’ Gym Goers Use

"Only the real" can do this one...

Conor McGregor Reveals Pull Up Technique Only ‘Real’ Gym Goers Use

Image Credit: @thenotoriousmma

Conor McGregor might not be the best role model when it comes to keeping your temper (and he’ll probably never make it as a trolley boy either), but when it comes to fitness he is full of useful insights that can motivate us to do more (or do better) in the gym (from workout style to his surprisingly helpful advice on nailing the perfect pull up).

Speaking of which, this morning he came out with a challenge which will sort the wheat from the weak, taking to Instagram with a video of a type of chin-up which only, in McGregor’s words, you can only do if you’re “real.”

“Only the real can do the wide grip,” McGregor said, accompanied by a video of him doing wide grip pull ups (10, to be precise).

Video: Conor McGregor Does Wide Grip Pull Ups 

Though McGregor (and his McGregor Fast company) might have you think this is because McGregor is “built different,” the reality is any self respecting gym goer should be able to work their way up to doing 10 wide grip chin ups.

What’s more; you don’t need super quick reflexes or gifted genetics to benefit from them. The benefits of wide grip chin ups are numerous and varied. Before we into that though, we should explain how to do the perfect wide grip chin up.

Healthline explains: “The wide-grip pullup is an upper-body strength movement that targets your back, your chest aka pectorals, shoulders, and arms. It also gives your core muscles a pretty fantastic workout. Including wide-grip pullups in your overall fitness routine can help increase your strength in other movements, such as the lat pulldown and shoulder press.”

Sold? Here’s how you do one with the correct technique.

“Start by standing underneath a pullup bar, with your back and spine straight. Reach up and grab the bar with each hand. Your thumbs should be pointing toward each other, and your grip should be wider than your body. When positioned correctly, your arms and torso should form a ‘Y.’ To be more specific, each arm should be 30 to 45 degrees from your body, but no more than a 45-degree angle,” (Healthline).

Next up: “Look straight ahead and pull your body upwards towards the bar. Pause, then lower yourself back down to the original position,” (Healthline). If you find it too hard to even do one, then have a go on a weight assisted machine, putting your knees on the support, and gradually reducing the support weight until you can lift your own bodyweight. Once you are knocking them out with ease, you can make things more challenging by wearing a weight vest, or attatching weight plates to a harness (or attatching them to you in some other safe way).

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Now you know how to do a wide grip pull up, you might like to know their benefits. First of all, they really work your back muscles (including the trapezius, rhomboids, and teres major and minor muscles), which are often neglected. On top (or rather, in front) of that, wide grip pull-ups work your upper chest in a way normal pull ups or chin ups don’t.

Wide grip pull-ups stimulate your pecs and teres minor muscles, helping give you that Greek sculpture look we’re sure you’ve been secretly coveting. Oh and it doesn’t end there. Wide grip pull-ups improve your grip strength in a slightly different way to other chin ups, because they use a pronated grip (your palms face away from you throughout the exercise).

This outward facing grip is great for building muscles in your hands. But if you would like to sewitch things up, for a focused forearm workout you can switch your grip to a underhand grip, and do wide grip chin-ups.

The ball’s in your court. You might not get “McGregor fast” but you should, practicing wide grip chin ups, certainly get stronger.

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