What other supplements will help me build muscle mass quick!!

[PushAndPull]

I looked at one of those door jam pull up bars at GNC over the weekend. I think it was around $30.00. So they really work? They are really effective? It looked very generic. I guess I could give it a try and if I dont like the results, I could just bring it back for a refund. Yesterday was back day again and I need something bad. I will pick one of these up over the weekend and try it out.

They work great. The only complaint I have is the pull-up width, my natural grip is right where the the bar attaches, so I have to go a little wider than I normally would, not a big deal. The width for the chins and parallel grip is perfect. For the price, you can't beat it.

 

[PanterA]

Any grip no wider than shoulder is fine. Overhand, underhand, neutral - they're all good. Wide grip is harder because it takes some of the force off the lat and places it awkwardly on the rotator cuff. Some folks are fine with these, but there's no benefit to be had from going wide so if you find it harder to do/more painful, ditch them with our blessing.

Wide grip focuses more on the upper tie in part of the lats as well. I hear people saying close grip focuses more on the lower, but personally I just feel it from top to bottom... I find it's best to go all the way down to lock out to realy stretch the lats (I like to keep a lot of lifts in the sweet spot for constant tension, but not chins). I usually hold the stretch for a count or two, and then go all the way back up untill my chin clears the bar, controlling the negative on the way back down.

 

[Built]

That's funny. I do the opposite, keeping tension on the lift and trying NOT to lock it out. I'm not sure but I think it annoys my shoulder when I let myself drop all the way down.

Not convinced about the tie-in thing with wide grips PanterA; seriously I can't think of any good reason to do 'em with a wide grip, unless it just happens to be how your weird personal geometry works out I guess.

 

[PanterA]

Besides the shoulders, that's where I feel wide grip uplldowns is just under the arm pit, and I have heard others say this. I see pics sometimes where guys lats flare out way up high (doing a dbl biceps pose) and I have always felt they most likely do wide grip pullups/downs a lot.

Like I said though, guys also say close grip focuses more on the lower lats, but I feel it top to bottom...

 

[Built]

Everybody's body is angled a little differently. If they work for you, keep 'em going.

As an aside, if your shoulders ever bug you from 'em (or from any movement) - stop immediately and change your grip or do something else. You'll miss your rotator cuffs when they gone.

Trust me on this.

 

[ectomorph141]

They work great. The only complaint I have is the pull-up width, my natural grip is right where the the bar attaches, so I have to go a little wider than I normally would, not a big deal. The width for the chins and parallel grip is perfect. For the price, you can't beat it.

I bought one of those doorway pull up bars yesterday for $30.00 and assembled it. Tonight is Bicep / back so I get to try it out tonight. I tried it a little last night and it seems a little flimsy but I might get used to it. I will need a chair or something under me for sure until I get strong enough to do an entire set on my own.

 

[PushAndPull]

I bought one of those doorway pull up bars yesterday for $30.00 and assembled it. Tonight is Bicep / back so I get to try it out tonight. I tried it a little last night and it seems a little flimsy but I might get used to it. I will need a chair or something under me for sure until I get strong enough to do an entire set on my own.

I never found it flimsy, but it does sink a little from your weight when you first get on. As far as not being able to complete an entire set. How many reps do you consider a set, I think 5 is a good number. If you're still building strength try starting with the easiest variation first. In general (from hardest to easiest) pull-ups, chins, and then parallel grip. The chair is also a good idea to reduce weight, but I would try the parallel grip first and see if you can knock a set out.

 

[ectomorph141]

The one I bought slips together in the middle as a 2 piece main bar. Maybe the one you have is a solid bar. This one slides together then you spin the handle to lock it as 1 bar. Kinda generic so I might upgrade to the next best one depending how I feel about this one.

Yep thats my plan. I used to be able to at least 10-15 per set with the wide grip but that was 7 years ago during my first bulk up. I need to build my back up to that. It will probably take a good month or two until I can do that again.

 

[PushAndPull]

The one I bought slips together in the middle as a 2 piece main bar. Maybe the one you have is a solid bar. This one slides together then you spin the handle to lock it as 1 bar. Kinda generic so I might upgrade to the next best one depending how I feel about this one.

That's probably it, I bought the more expensive on and it's a solid bar, I think it was on sale for $35 at Big 5. I would return that one and spend the extra $5-10 for the upgrade.

 

[ectomorph141]

Yeah I will probably do that. That 2 pices main bar is very flimsy.

 

[ectomorph141]

Well I kinda messed up the opportunity with the new door jam pull up bar last night. I started with biceps. Did standing curls then went to concentration curls. THEN decided to do back. OOPS!!! Should have started with back first. The only reason I started biceps first before was because I didnt have anything around to really work the back with.

So needless to say I ended up doing 3 full sets of 10 on the pull up bar but they were pretty much all assisted because I was so trashed from biceps. Plus I have not been able to properly work my back in a very long time due to my massive back injury last year. Finished it off with some very light deadlifts. So next week starting with back first!!! Oops.

EDIT: I forgot to specify that the bar I bought is called the "Iron Gym Total Fitness Kit" and is a 2 piece design. I think I might look into the P90x pull up bar.

 

[PushAndPull]

Yeah, you definitely want to start with pull-ups, they're not the easiest exercise.
I got the Iron Gym Extreme, I should have told you that in the beginning but I didn't know how lame the cheaper one is, but the extreme version works great, I do weighted pull-ups on it with no problems.

 

[ectomorph141]

I saw that Iron Gym Extreme and noticed it is also a 2 piece design on the main bar. I am almost wondering if I will have to get the P90x bar instead. But if you say the Iron Gym Extreme holds up really well with he 2 piece design then maybe I will try that.

 

[PushAndPull]

Maybe it's the additional pieces that are bolted on, help stablize it.

 

[ectomorph141]

Those additional pieces are on P90x bar too but the P90x bar is a solid bar. I guess if it works then thats all that counts but that split bar is the weak point of that design for sure.
EDIT: I included the google pics to explain the weak point of the Iron Gym bar compared to the P90x.

 

[PushAndPull]

Go for the P90x, as long as it's relatively cheap and works.