The bottom 1/3 of the range of motion of the chin-up is the strongest, so this technically goes against the actual strength curve of the exercise. This is fine for us here because our goal is to hammer the TOP portion of the chin-up, using an explosive movement for the first part of the exercise to power our way to the top, where the band resistance gets stronger and stronger.
The bands will decelerate you as you pull up, forcing you to use a very powerful movement.
You'll be doing chin-ups using a pair of bands crossed over your shoulders for an extended drop set, where you'll be gradually decreasing the band resistance that you'll be working against.
First, you'll need a power rack and a pair of bands.
If you need bands, click here for my recommended source (use coupon code RBTFITSTEP for 10% any of the band packages on that page).
Hitch the bands onto the safety rails of the power rack. I'm using a pair of small bands here...you don't need heavy resistance. Start with the rails set low then cross the bands over your shoulders. This will keep them in place nicely.
Now you're ready to start.
Grip the bar and do a powerful chin-up, coming up as high as you can against the band resistance.
Get as many reps as you can. I got two, but even if you get one, that's fine. Because this is a power-oriented technique, low-reps is desirable, as long as you put maximum effort into each rep.
Very likely, even as you decrease the resistance, you'll still end up getting just one or two reps at each setting.
When you finish the first set, kneel down and raise the level of the safety rails by one notch.
This will be much easier if you have a rack like I do where you can easily slide the rails up. You can leave the bands on and just change rail position.
If you have a rack type where you have to slide the rails completely out and put them back in, this method won't be as practical for you.
That being said, it CAN be done...it will just take a little more time between reps because you'll have to remove the bands from the rails. This will give you more time between drops, which will allow you to get more reps. So it is doable...just not quite as easy to accomplish.
Once you've raised the rail height, you've slightly decreased the amount of band resistance that you'll get as you come to the top. Perform a rep or two (however many you can get with good form).
Now raise the rails again...and do a rep(s)...and raise the rails...and do a rep(s)...and repeat. You'll be gradually decreasing the band resistance as you keep raising the rail height.
These pics are about halfway up.
Keep going until you have barely any band resistance at the top.
Once you get there, remove the bands completely and finish with one (or as many as you can get) just bodyweight rep.
This method is all about power. You will get some degree of muscle pump, but the real goal is power development in the lats and biceps. We're not looking for muscle tension...we're looking for explosion out of the bottom and getting into the top position as powerfully as you can.
One extended set of this is all you need...more is not necessary or beneficial as those power-oriented fibers and your nervous system will be fully worked in this movement pattern.
Once you have recovered from this, you'll notice that you can power into that top position much more easily than before.
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