Pull-ups are an excellent strength exercise for the stabilizing muscles of the back, shoulders and arms. Pull-ups often become a mandatory element of training in various strength sports.

Pull-ups are an important step towards human physical perfection.

Many people, when they first approach the bar, cannot do a single pull-up. There's nothing special about it. An ordinary person, often regardless of gender, are unable to perform this exercise. Can this be learned? Of course, if after the first unsuccessful attempt Do not run away from the crossbar at all.

Before starting exercises

Of course, before such exercises a warm-up is necessary. It is best when it touches the whole body, but with an emphasis on the upper muscle part. Swinging your arms, moving your shoulders and elbow joints, twisting your torso, and light stretching exercises will prepare your body. In general, the warm-up takes 15–20 minutes. This entire procedure and its individual exercises will help avoid unexpected injuries.

Beginners should perform all exercises on the horizontal bar with extreme caution and slowly, without sudden jerks.

There is a risk of ligament damage or an awkward landing when jumping. Next, we master the simplest exercises.

Using a stool or some kind of stand, you need to position yourself so that your chin is above the crossbar. A completed pull-up is simulated - it’s as if you’ve already pulled yourself up.

Then you need to release your legs from the support. The hanging position must be maintained for some time, and then begin to slowly lower.

The action is repeated several times, for example, at the initial stage, up to 5 negative pull-ups in one approach. Before each subsequent exercise, take a break of 3–5 minutes.

Before or in parallel with pull-ups, procedures can be carried out to strengthen the necessary muscle groups. For this purpose, use dumbbells, a barbell, a wrist expander or exercise machines. Gymnastics rooms have equipment for beginners. When training at home or on your own, you can use a tourniquet - a tight rubber band.

A long expander is attached to the crossbar to form a large loop (you can also use a tourniquet). To make it easier to pull up, place your feet in a loop and grab the bar with your hands. The expander's ability to elastically deform will provide easier forceful movement when lifting the body.

We are looking for an assistant

If there are no available means nearby, and you are still unable to pull yourself up on your own, you should seek help. For this it is better to get a partner. It is he who will be behind you and, hugging the lower part of your body, will help you pull yourself up.

At first, it is very useful to pull yourself up at least halfway. The main thing is to indicate the desire and upward movement.

The grip technique has 2 components:

1. Position of fingers on the crossbar;
2. Placement of hands at a certain distance.

There are reverse and direct (regular) grips.

• The first of these options is easier and is optimal for beginners, as it allows you to use more developed biceps. With a reverse grip, grab the bar, pointing your palms towards you.
• With a direct (regular) grip, the palms on the bar are positioned away from you.

Depending on the position of the hands on the bar and the distance between them, there are narrow, medium and wide grips.

All of them can be either direct or reverse.

• With a narrow grip, the hands are placed on the bar as close as possible to one another, with the thumbs almost touching. Try to touch the bar with your chest.
• With a medium grip, your hands are on the bar at a distance equal to shoulder width. The bar is touched with the chest and lowered until the arms are completely straightened.
• With a wide grip, the hands move away from each other to the maximum distance; the bar must be touched with the back of the head.

Systemic pull-up program

In order for pull-up exercises to be effective and bring physical benefits, they must be systematic.

It is enough to do the exercises every other day, giving the body a break.
For beginners, it is important to correctly distribute the number of pull-ups in initial week classes.

• On day 1, it will be enough to do 3 sets of one pull-up.
• Every other day (on the 2nd day of classes), the number of pull-ups remains the same, but the number of approaches increases to 4.
• Another day later (3rd day of classes), a 5th is added to 4 sets of 1 pull-up. When implementing it, you need to try to pull yourself up more than 1 time.
• In the second week, systematically do 4 one-time approaches on each day of classes, and on the 5th week, the number of pull-ups is gradually increased.

If at the end of the second week you were able to do at least 3 pull-ups, then in the third week the number of exercises is increased:

• On the 1st day of the third week, do 2 approaches with two pull-ups.
• After them - 2 one-time approaches.
• On the 5th approach, do pull-ups at least 2 times.
• On days 2 and 3, do 4 two-time approaches, in the 5th approach they do pull-ups at least 2 - 3 times.

Fourth week:

• On the 1st and 2nd days of the fourth week, perform 4 two-time approaches, and on the 5th, do pull-ups at least 3 times.

If at the end of the fourth week you manage to do at least 6 pull-ups, then you should move on to increased loads in the fifth week:

• On the 1st day of the fifth week, do 4 sets of three pull-ups; on the 5th set, try to do more than 3 pull-ups.
• On the 2nd day of the fifth week - 7 two-time approaches, on the 8th approach they do pull-ups at least 4 times.
• The program of the 3rd day differs only in 8 approaches, in which you need to pull yourself up at least 5 times.
• The day after lesson 3 of the fifth week, you need to do pull-ups at least 9 times.

Achieving this result allows you to move on to the sixth week program:

• On the 1st day they work according to the following scheme: 1st approach – 4 pull-ups; 2nd – 5; 3rd – 4; 4th – 3; 5th – at least 7 times.
• Scheme of classes for the 2nd day of the sixth week: 1st and 2nd approaches - 2 pull-ups; 3rd and 4th – 3; from 5th to 8th – 2; 9th – at least 8 times.
• Classes on the 3rd day of the sixth week are carried out according to the following scheme: 1st and 2nd approaches - 2 pull-ups each; from 3rd to 7th – 3; 8th – at least 9 times.
• At the end of the sixth week you need to do 12 pull-ups.

Types of pull-ups

1) Angle pull-up.

Expressive development pectoral muscles and the press is very conducive to pulling up at an angle. To do this, you need to raise and stretch your legs, giving your body an angle of approximately 90 degrees. In this position, they pull themselves up, placing their chin above the bar.

2) One-arm pull-ups.

This species has a special technique. With one hand you need to grab the bar and hang on it. The other hand is then placed on the wrist of the first for better control of the movement. There may be options: the second hand can be held on the biceps, forearm, shoulder, torso. You can choose one that is comfortable from these positions, or you can alternate them. Try not to swing on the bar to avoid injury. With 3–4 approaches daily, after a few days many begin to do one-arm pull-ups.

3) Pull-ups with weights.

This type of exercise is started only after completing a systematic program and a fully developed pull-up technique. Then physical development can be strengthened by applying additional weight loads. For this purpose, a weighted belt or special structures are used that regulate the addition of weights to the legs. The increase in additional loads should occur gradually. After a cycle of 6 to 12 exercises, the weights can be increased to ensure progress in strength development.

Pull-ups – universal exercises. When you pull up, you work with your own weight. As a rule, when you decide to start doing pull-ups, the question arises: what muscles work during them? To get an answer to this, you need to understand how to do pull-ups correctly, what types and techniques of pull-ups exist.

Exercises on the horizontal bar are a complex type of training. Pull-ups are a cyclic exercise, and are based on repeating the same action a certain number of times. The complex consists of a cycle of exercises repeated in a similar sequence. This exercise works all the muscle groups of the upper body together. Each cycle is divided into several phases. So:

• Starting position - placing your hands on top of the horizontal bar, clasp the crossbar with your fingers, hang on it with straight arms
• Lifting the body
• Hanging on bent arms
• Lower to starting position

Starting position: arms (hands) on the bar, body straightened, heels brought together, toes pointed. The load is predominantly placed on the shoulder girdle and arms, the muscles of which strive to hold the body in this position. This phase takes the longest compared to the others. There is a recovery from the previous pull-up. If you unsuccessfully pulled yourself up and hung, swaying, use the efforts of your leg muscles or core to fix a static position. If your arm gets tired, shift your weight to the other for a while.

Keep in mind that breathing becomes deeper during exercise as it greater endurance muscles need more oxygen.

The next phase is lifting the body. With the effort of the muscles, the elbow and shoulder joints are bent and then extended, while the body tilts slightly back, and the legs and hips protrude forward to maintain balance. The load is placed on the biceps brachii muscle. The force with which it works is determined by the width of the grip. The lift is performed while exhaling, occasionally while holding your breath.

After this phase, hang with bent arms on the crossbar. By by and large, based on the rational technique of performing pull-ups, this phase should not exist. However, when performing exercises on the crossbar, it is still present, although it takes up the maximum short time. When hanging with bent arms, the muscular frame of the body is maximally tense, and breathing is very difficult.

In conclusion - return to the starting position. When lowering the body, the same muscles that lift it work, but in the opposite mode. In essence, they slow down a body that falls down under the force of gravity. The slower this “fall” occurs, the greater the load on the muscles. If you hang suddenly, you can simply slide off the horizontal bar.

When pulling up it is required collaboration not only the upper muscle groups of the body, but also the joints: elbows and shoulders.

The horizontal bar will give a load and make it work effectively:

• Muscles of the midsection, such as the obliques, transverse abdominis, rectus abdominis (abs), and the straightening muscle.
• Deltoid. Superficial muscles of the shoulder, making its contour attractively sloping. Pull-ups involve the posterior deltoid muscle.
• The trapezius is a broad superficial flat muscle that stretches from the back of the neck to the middle of the back and laterally to the shoulder joints. Moves the shoulder blades and supports the arms.
• The teres major is a flat, elongated muscle.
• The latissimus dorsi is superficial, occupying the lower back. They play a big role in pull-ups. Athletes call them “wings.”
• Diamond-shaped - located between the shoulder blades.
• Biceps. Or the biceps muscle - large, clearly visible. It is auxiliary when pulling up, its role is to bend the arms at the elbows and rotate the forearms. Located on the front side of the shoulder.
• The infraspinatus is a triangular flat muscle that is located under the scapula.
• The triceps brachii muscle, also known as the triceps. Attaches to the back of the humerus.

Description of pull-ups

Most professional athletes are convinced that pull-ups are exactly the exercises that are necessary to build a wide back. There are several rules for performing exercises on the horizontal bar, despite the fact that their types and methods vary.

Do not do other exercises before doing pull-ups. This important rule. Start your workout with pull-ups. If you start training the bar after other exercises, the muscles that are used during the pull-up will be fatigued, which are the forearm muscles, latissimus dorsi and biceps. As a result, you will not get the proper load and the desired result. Pull-ups require the use of quite a lot of physical strength, so it is better to perform them on unloaded muscles. To verify this, simply compare the number of pull-ups you can do at the beginning and end of your workout.

Professional athletes are advised not to use wrist straps. By doing pull-ups without them, you can significantly increase the strength of your biceps and strengthen your grip on the bar. It is especially important to do without straps in the first two approaches. It’s okay if you can’t do as many repetitions as you did with wrist straps. Over time, the ability to not only do the same amount will return, but your grip strength will also increase. Of course, for those who cannot pull themselves up without wrist straps, it is simply necessary to use them.

When doing pull-ups, it is best to hold onto the horizontal bar not with your fingers, but with your palm, that is, all fingers, including the thumb, should be on top of the bar. With this grip method, the main load is distributed to the latissimus dorsi muscles, making it easier for the biceps, which are the weak link in this chain. It takes time to master this grip. But once you get used to it, you can see a noticeable effect on your back muscles.

Half pull-ups are not a panacea for those who are unable to do them completely. With such under-pull-ups, the latissimus dorsi muscles only partially contract, which means that there is no point in them as such. That is, if it’s hard for you to do pull-ups, but you want to master this exercise, don’t chase the quantity. Better do it minimum quantity, but full pull-ups. Improve your results over time.

Various pull-up techniques

To find the answer to the question of what muscles are pumped up during pull-ups, you need to understand the types of grips when doing them. After all, depending on its type, different groups are worked out.

This type of grip is divided into two types: narrow forward and narrow reverse. To perform this, you need to grab the crossbar slightly narrower than shoulder width. Try to raise your head and torso as high as possible when performing the exercise. With this version of pull-ups, the lower and upper chest and shoulders are pumped well.

When performing pull-ups with a reverse narrow grip, the hands on the bar are positioned in such a way that the thumbs are turned out, looking in directions opposite to each other. During pull-ups with a reverse grip, those same “wings” are especially involved and trained and the coveted biceps are pumped up.

To perform this type of pull-up, you need to place your arms as far as possible from one another, raise your head up, and bend your back a little. When bending your elbows, your shoulders should be parallel to the bar. The thumbs are on top of the bar of the horizontal bar. It is necessary to stretch upward not with the help of your hands, but by bringing your shoulder blades together. During the peak phase, try to fix the position in which the chest touches the bar. Wide-grip chest pull-ups intensively work the lower latissimus dorsi and paired orbicularis muscles.

When pulling up with a wide grip behind the head, the broadest muscles of the middle part, round paired and trapezius actively develop and work. It is performed as follows: with your back arched as much as possible, your hands are fixed on the bar in a wide grip, your elbows are lowered. From the starting position, smoothly and slowly begin to pull yourself up, and at the top point, place your head under the bar of the horizontal bar so that the back of your head touches it. This type of pull-up is quite complicated and dangerous, so it is not recommended for beginners. In the process of performing pull-ups with a wide grip behind the head, the shoulder joint is especially heavily loaded. Based on this, it is extremely necessary for training experienced athletes and not only to properly stretch the muscles of the shoulder girdle in order to avoid injury.

Pull-ups in this way are perfect for those who have just started doing them, since the load when performed with a medium grip is distributed evenly. The reverse medium grip pull-up effectively engages and works the biceps and lats. Their elaboration and development is necessary for subsequent performance of pull-ups in more complex ways described above. The technique is quite simple. Grasp the horizontal bar with your hands, hands shoulder-width apart, turn them so that the palms with the inner side are turned towards you. Start pulling up by moving your shoulders back a little, but your head should be in a strictly horizontal position.

Whatever method of pull-ups you choose, almost all muscles will still work in one way or another during the exercise. And if you decide to pump up your abs while doing pull-ups, raise and lower your legs in the process.

Another method recommended for those who have just started doing pull-ups. The exercise is simple and non-traumatic. By following the execution technique, you can work out the biceps, brachioradialis muscles, and lower part of the broad back muscles well. The bonus will be the development and strengthening of the elbow joint area. The peculiarity of pulling up using the described method is that to perform it you need not one horizontal bar, but two bars at once, which are located in parallel.

There are two ways to perform pull-ups with a parallel grip:

• Grasp the bars with your hands, straighten your torso as much as possible, smoothly and slowly lift your body up, fixing the position at the highest point, and also smoothly lower down
• Place your hands on the bars one after the other. When pulling up, your back should be tilted back as much as possible. Turn your head to the side. Pull yourself up, at the peak point, fix the position in which you need to touch the bar with your lower chest.

There are also more complicated types of pull-ups described, for example, with clap, with rolls, and so on.

Ways to make your pull-ups more effective

If you are determined to achieve maximum results, to pump up certain muscle groups extremely quickly by doing pull-ups on the horizontal bar or bars, follow a few simple but very necessary recommendations.

• You need to pull yourself up as smoothly and slowly as possible, carefully focusing on the sensations in the muscles. To work hard exactly those that you want to develop and train with a specific method of pull-up exercises
• To achieve the best results, give your muscles time to rest and recover from intense training. This means that there is no need to overload them or exhaust them with frequent training. Especially at the initial stage. At a minimum, this approach can very quickly cool the ardor with which you initially began training. Moderation is important in everything, and in sports too.
• The ideal sports schedule would be one in which training is conducted three times a week, with a mandatory interval a day for rest and recovery.
• A rather subjective question regarding the duration of the workout. It is quite difficult to determine its duration if you practice on your own. The only thing you can focus on is your own well-being. If you work out in the gym, the trainer will create a program for you with the duration of classes that will correspond to your gender, age, physical fitness, health, presence or absence of excess weight. If you are working out on your own, do not overload your muscles in pursuit of quick results! This can cause you to injure yourself, damaging your joints or tearing your muscles. The load and duration of training should increase gradually.
• Take rest breaks between sets. The workout should consist of several approaches. For those new to pull-ups, the best thing to do is small quantity repetitions in one approach. It will be more effective more approaches with a small number of pull-ups in each.
• A very important condition for achieving the desired result is nutrition. After all, from what we eat, the body takes building substances for muscle growth. And they need protein. It is precisely this protein-rich food that should be included in the diet.

Thus, by following all these simple rules and recommendations, observing regularity and systematic training, with the help of pull-ups you can achieve well-developed, beautiful muscles back, chest, arms, shoulders and abdominals, making the body strong and harmonious.

Undoubtedly, physical activity necessary for any person to maintain normal functioning. There are quite a lot of physical exercises in the world aimed at strengthening the spine. Pull-ups on the horizontal bar are one of these. All that is needed for this is a regular horizontal bar or crossbar, which can be found not only in gyms, but also on outdoor sports grounds and courtyards. You can hang it in your doorway at home. This will allow you to do exercises on the horizontal bar in free time and will replace going to the outdoor playground if the weather does not allow it or you are simply lazy. Choose at your discretion.

So what is it What are the benefits of pulling up on a horizontal bar?? The answer is simple. When doing pull-ups, most muscle groups are used simultaneously. Such as the muscles of the back, shoulders, chest, and arms. Regular exercise on the horizontal bar has a beneficial effect on the formation of an athletic figure, since all muscles work under high load.

What are the benefits of pull-ups on a horizontal bar?

With regular exercises on the horizontal bar, you can form correct posture and also prevent the development of many diseases, for example, scoliosis, kyphosis, lordosis. But it is naive to assume that pull-ups alone can radically change your life. In some cases, it will take more than one month of preparation before you can perform at least a few pull-ups.

The benefits of pull-ups on the horizontal bar for your muscles will depend on the type of pull-ups. Different grip types and widths place stress on different muscle groups.

• Straight-grip pull-up. What pumps: serratus and brachialis muscles, lower latissimus.
• Reverse close grip pull-up. What works: biceps, lower latissimus muscles.
• Pull-up with straight medium grip. What works: biceps, back muscles.
• Reverse medium grip pull-up. What works: biceps, latissimus dorsi.
• Wide grip chest pull-ups. What it pumps: upper lats, trapezius, paired teres muscles.
• Pull-ups with a wide grip behind the head. What it pumps: trapezius, top and middle of the latissimus, paired teres muscles.
• Pull-ups with parallel arms. What pumps: serratus and brachialis muscles, lower latissimus.

Make a diagram or table of pull-ups

To reach effective pull-ups on the horizontal bar Make a plan or table of exercises and follow it. This will motivate you enough and you will see if there is progress. A good program and regular training - and soon you will see the results of your efforts.

Reverse progression method

• Monday. 6 approaches to the horizontal bar (1-5, 2-4, 3-3, 4-2, 5-1, 6-1)
• Tuesday. 6 approaches to the horizontal bar (1-6, 2-5, 3-4, 4-3, 5-2, 6-1)
• Wednesday. 6 approaches to the horizontal bar (1-7, 2-6, 3-5, 4-4. 5-3, 6-2)
• Thursday. 6 approaches to the horizontal bar (1-7, 2-6, 3-5, 4-4, 5-3, 6-3)
• Friday. 6 approaches to the horizontal bar (1-8, 2-7, 3-6, 4-5, 5-4, 6-4)
• Saturday. 6 approaches to the horizontal bar (1-8, 2-7, 3-6, 4-5, 5-5, 6-5)

Do daily pull-ups on the horizontal bar, but leave one day for rest and muscle recovery.

Direct progression method

• Monday. 3 approaches to the horizontal bar (1-5, 2-5, 3-5)
• Tuesday. 3 approaches to the horizontal bar (1-6, 2-6, 3-6)
• Wednesday. 3 approaches to the horizontal bar (1-6, 2-6, 3-6)
• Thursday. 3 approaches to the horizontal bar (1-7, 2-7, 3-7)
• Friday. 3 approaches to the horizontal bar (1-7, 2-7, 3-7)
• Saturday. 3 approaches to the horizontal bar (1-8, 2-8, 3-8)

After completing the six-day pull-up program, take a break for a day to restore the body and consolidate the results.

Pull-up technique

Achieve good pull-up effect on the horizontal bar will help you exactly correct technique performing exercises. You need to pull up smoothly, without jerking, at a pace that is comfortable for you, using exclusively the strength of your own muscles. Don't swing while hanging; you can do this by bending your knees and crossing your legs. Never arch your back when doing pull-ups. Remember to breathe correctly, pull yourself up, exhale, lower yourself - inhale. Gradually you need to increase the number of loads in each approach, because... muscles get used to the load and stop growing muscle mass. Or use a different method: try pull-ups with a backpack or weighted belt. But remember, the heavier the load, the fewer repetitions you need to do.

What are the benefits of doing pull-ups?

Let's summarize.

1. When you do a pull-up, all the muscles in your body are used, and at a high load.
2. Benefits for your spine. Thanks to pull-ups, you can eliminate the initial stages of scoliosis, kyphosis, lordosis. Significantly improve your posture.
3. Availability of the projectile. A horizontal bar or crossbar can be found not only in gyms, but also on outdoor sports grounds and courtyards.
4. Pull-ups on the horizontal bar differ in the method and width of the grip, depending on this, different muscle groups are pumped.
5. Combination of exercises. Pull-ups on the horizontal bar can be performed as with others exercise, and as a basic exercise.

We hope we have answered the question, Are pull-ups beneficial?.