1. If you can’t do chins, you are either hurt, fat or weak - And none of these three things are good. There's a reason why Joe DeFranco believes that chinning strength is a great indicator of speed and the above are why. There is no reason why a big man can’t do chins, so don’t use that as an excuse.
2. Do chins with a variety of grips, all the time - Don’t just stick to one or two different grips. Use underhand, overhand, parallel grip, wide, medium, and narrow. Use ropes, softballs (Glenn B. style) and towels for grip strength. Don’t be afraid to chin using nontraditional chin bars (chin off random pieces of equipment or structures) – be strong in all ways, on all things. And please, don’t use straps.
3. Do a set of chins between every pressing set - You don’t have to do a ton of reps between each set, but doing this will greatly increase your chin volume without taking any extra time or energy from your workouts. Even doing a set of one or two reps between your pressing sets will go a long way in improving your back strength.
4. Use a variety of different tempos - Don’t be afraid to use a little body English when doing chins, but don’t be afraid to cut down on the reps and do them strict. Just don’t turn the exercise into an Olympic lift.
5. Use them as a warm-up and a workout - I always start every upper body day with chins. What this does is help traction my shoulders and get a great stretch; this is a great way to prepare your body for the pressing work ahead and get some extra volume in. These don’t have to be for max reps as this is a warm-up.
That is all. For more on programming your training.
