Proper pull-up. Pull-ups on the horizontal bar. Everything you need to know! How to do pull-ups, depending on your goals

Pull-ups are a popular exercise for working the muscles of the arms and back, allowing you to improve strength and endurance. Despite all its obviousness, correct technique Pull-ups on a horizontal bar involve a number of nuances on which effectiveness and safety depend. Let's look at everything you need to know to learn how to do pull-ups correctly.

How to do pull-ups correctly: basic rules

Learning how to do pull-ups on a horizontal bar is not that difficult. If you succeed, you will be able to work effectively different groups muscles, in particular the muscles of the back and shoulder girdle. The latissimus, teres, and trapezius muscles work on the back. The chest is fully involved, as well as the biceps, triceps, deltoids, and forearms. Even the press is involved in the work, which acts as a stabilizer, fixing the static position of the torso.

Correct pull-ups on the horizontal bar require the following: nuances:

• You must control your body fully. You need to pull yourself up using the strength of your muscles, without helping yourself by swinging or kicking.
• You need to lift your body smoothly, avoiding jerks and abrupt movements.
• During the exercise you need pull your chin. If a full pull-up is done rather than a partial pull-up, it should rise above the bar.
• After pulling up, there is no need to sharply lower your body down. You must do everything smoothly. The descent should take the same amount of time as the ascent.
• Very important correct breathing when doing pull-ups on the horizontal bar, the basics of which we will look at below.
• Hold the bar firmly.
• The body should not hang crookedly. It should be straight, like a string. A slight arch in the back is allowed.

It's just general rules, and for each type of pull-up there are a number of recommendations. Next, let's look at what types of pull-ups there are.

Pull-ups on the horizontal bar: types of grips

Almost all types of pull-ups require a standard hang as the starting position. The back is slightly arched, the legs are tucked and crossed. The following grip options are available:

• Straight narrow grip. Hands are slightly less than shoulder-width apart (narrow grip). When pulling up, try to touch the bar with your lower thoracic region. Let your gaze fall on your fingers.
• Straight medium grip. The hands are at a distance of shoulder width from each other. The shoulder blades should point towards each other when lifting. At the peak, you need to touch the bar with your upper chest. To increase the effectiveness of the exercise when descending, try to extend your arms completely.
• Reverse medium grip. Performed in the same way as the previous exercise, however, your shoulders should be pulled back and not raised when starting.
• Neutral grip. Pull up neutral grip It’s worth it already when you have already mastered other techniques, since the grip will change during execution. For example, during the first approach, the left hand will be in front, then the right one. You need to touch the crossbar bottom breasts You must firmly grasp the horizontal bar and place your fists one in front of the other. As you rise up, arch your back slightly.
• Wide grip chest pull-ups. With this type of exercise, the work occurs through the back muscles, not the biceps. You need to grab the bar from above with your thumbs, and spread your arms wide. When pulling up, the upper part of the chest should touch the bar, the elbows should be directed downward, and the eyes should look above the horizontal bar.
• Wide grip head pull-ups. This is a fairly effective, but at the same time very traumatic technique, so before you start doing the exercise, be sure to warm up and stretch your muscles. Grasp the bar with a wide grip and lower your elbows down. When pulling up, tilt your body forward slightly, trying to maintain a horizontal position. Thanks to this exercise, the round muscles of the back are perfectly worked out, which are almost not used in other types of exercises.

Of all the types of pull-ups, the exercise with a wide grip is considered the most difficult. Therefore, first, it is recommended to master a straight medium grip, and only then other types of exercises.

Wanting to learn how to properly do pull-ups, many athletes want to achieve multiple repetitions of the exercise. But you need to understand that gradualism is important with everything. The longer and more often you exercise, the more your body gets used to the stress. If you realize that you can no longer do more reps, reduce the frequency of training. You can’t exercise every day, because the muscles need time to recover, and during the resting process they also increase. Optimal frequency training - three times a week. It is recommended to do pull-ups in three sets with the maximum possible number of repetitions.

How to learn to do pull-ups on the horizontal bar: the correct technique

Before you learn how to do a pull-up correctly, you need to learn how to hang from a bar. For at least a week, do this for a few minutes. This is important so that your palms get used to the load and do not slip. When you are sure that your grip is strong and reliable, you can begin to perform the exercise itself.

Now about the pull-up technique. Firmly grasp the bar using a straight, medium grip. Gradually begin to pull your body towards the bar. The elbows should move slightly to the sides. To prevent your body from swaying, tense your abdominal muscles. At the maximum point, the chin should be higher than the horizontal bar. Now smoothly and gradually straighten your arms, slowly lowering your body.

Common mistakes beginners make when doing pull-ups

You know how to do pull-ups on the horizontal bar for beginners, and you can start training. However, it is worth considering common mistakes that beginners often make in their first lessons.

• When doing pull-ups on the horizontal bar, you must engage upper body only. The legs should be calm, no effort is required from them. Beginners often sin with this, trying to climb onto the horizontal bar so that their chest finally rises above it. They swing their legs and give impulse to their joints, thus rising to the top, but this is fundamentally wrong. Pull-ups are only effective if they are done exclusively using the muscles of the arm and back. Moreover, the back works first, when you bring your shoulder blades together and thus provide the necessary tension, and then the arm muscles, through which the body is pulled upward.
• A very common mistake - sudden movements. Newbies are often careless sudden movements, especially going down, or rather, as if falling, down. This is not correct. In order for muscles to build correctly, the muscles must work as hard as possible, and with sudden movements you, on the contrary, free yourself from the load, and also increase the risk of injury. All movements must be smooth and accurate. You need to rise and fall in the same rhythm.
• Another drawback that is often found among those who are just mastering the horizontal bar is straightening the elbows completely, which most often occurs when the body is lowered. Please note that the load on the elbow joints during the exercise is very strong, so you cannot straighten them completely either when ascending or descending - otherwise there is a considerable risk of injuring the elbow joints.
• Don't aim for an intense pace. Fast does not mean good, especially if you have just started training. You can do pull-ups many times in a minute, but the muscles will receive minimal load; accordingly, efficiency is significantly reduced, but the unwanted load on the joints increases. Pulling up do not hurry. Do the exercise slowly, smoothly, consistently, feeling how the muscles of your back, arms, and shoulders tense.
• Improper breathing– also a common mistake. Beginners, who find it difficult to do pull-ups due to lack of experience, often involuntarily hold their breath, breathe quickly, lose the correct rhythm, but this should not be done. Breathe smoothly and measuredly, rising as you exhale and descending as you inhale.
• Another point is neck tension. In any case, the neck muscles will strain when pulling up, however, the main load should not be placed on them. First of all, the back, arms and abs work, and there is no need to transfer their load to the neck. Control your movements so as not to overstrain your neck muscles and cause injury.
• Don't rush into weights. Many athletes who have already mastered standard pull-ups increase the load using special weight vests, belts, and plates. But this can only be done if you are fluent in the technique of pull-ups with own weight.

Basics of proper breathing when doing pull-ups

It is very important to know how to breathe correctly when doing pull-ups on the horizontal bar. Thanks to the right breathing technique you will be less tired when physical activity In addition, your muscles, like the body as a whole, will receive a sufficient amount of oxygen. Breathing should be even and deep, you should not hold it.

When pulling up, the participant must:

• hang down

General provisions for holding competitions in strength gymnastics

Control time for performing the pull-up exercise on a high bar:

• for boys and young men 10-15 years old - 3 min
• for boys 16-17 years old (in children's teams) - 3 minutes or 4 minutes
• for boys 16-17 years old and men 18 years old and older - 4 minutes

Conditions for organizing competitions

• competitions must be held in gyms or in open areas
• participants of one age group must be judged (as a rule) by only one panel of judges
• members of the same age group must (usually) perform together
• Each apparatus must have: tables and chairs (including a chair for the participant), a towel, a plate with the serial number of the apparatus and the refereeing team, chronometers for judges, red and white cards to show the correct execution of the exercise for hearing-impaired participants, magnesium at the crossbar, sandpaper, cloth for wiping the neck of the crossbar, uneven-high benches (stepladder) for preparing the crossbar and taking the starting IP, under the crossbar - to ensure the safety of the participants there should be a mat
• at competitions where, for technical reasons, it is impossible to organize an official training session the day before with testing of equipment and demonstration judging - the specifics of the interpretation of the Rules are brought to the attention of representatives and team coaches at a meeting of representatives, and participants are given the opportunity to try out equipment and magnesium during the warm-up, and become familiar with the features of judging

Pull-up equipment
Standard gymnastic bar:

• neck diameter 28 ± 1 mm
• crossbar height from floor 2750 ± 250 mm

Note: It is possible to use crossbars of other sizes, design features which do not affect the performance of the exercise.

High bar pull-up

Pull-ups on a high bar are performed from the starting position (IP) - hanging with an overhand grip, with arms, torso and legs straightened in a vertical plane, arms shoulder-width apart, feet together. Instructions: The position of “hands shoulder-width apart” is determined in the IP by the distance between the index fingers of the participant’s hands, which should not deviate more than the width of the palm to the smaller or larger side from the width of his shoulders.

At the command of the senior judge on the apparatus “To the apparatus!”, the participant in sports uniform approaches the crossbar and within 1 minute has the right, independently or with the help of a trainer, to prepare the bar of the crossbar, test the crossbar and prepare the hands to perform the exercise. The participant has the right to use magnesium provided by the organizers, to use his own magnesia, subject to timely submission of it for inspection at panel of judges or do pull-ups with clean hands.

1 minute after the call to the crossbar (if the participant is not ready earlier), the senior judge gives the command “Start!”, after which the participant must accept the stationary starting IP and, having heard the command “You can!”, begin performing the exercise. Instruction: a coach (representative) can provide assistance to the participant in accepting the starting IP.

When pulling up, the participant must:

• from the starting position, pull yourself up in a continuous movement, raising your chin above the bar
• hang down
• stop the rocking yourself
• fix the starting position visible to the judge for 0.5 seconds
• after hearing the counting judge begin to count, continue moving

Note: the permissible sway of the feet in the IP is 0.5 feet from the vertical position.

When doing pull-ups, the participant is prohibited from:

• apply adhesives, including rosin, to the palms or fingerboard
• push off the floor and touch other objects
• make “jerks”, “swings”, waves with your legs, torso and head
• bend your arms alternately
• hang by one hand
• apply overlays
• release the grip with your palm open
• intercepting your hands along or across the bar of the bar with your palm open
• stop when performing the next pull-up

Directions:
1. “The creaking of palms” on the bar of the crossbar when pulling up is not a distinctive sign of the application of adhesives to the palms or bar;
2. Moving along the bar of the bar without opening your palms is not considered a mistake;
3. A smooth deviation of the head in any direction from the vertical is not a mistake.

A smooth change in the relative position of the participant's body parts during the exercise, which does not lead to an easier pull-up by force, is not an error.

The participant has the right:

• use support or the help of a coach to accept the starting IP
• change the grip position on the bar of the bar without opening your palms
• perform pull-ups with acceleration or deceleration

Each correctly performed pull-up is marked with the command “Yes!” given by the senior judge at the moment the chin is raised above the bar. After the participant fixes the IP (for 0.5 seconds), the counting judge immediately announces the next count of the completed pull-up. The beginning of the announcement of the score is also permission to continue the exercise.

Instruction: The counting judge has the right to delay the count if he is convinced that the participant has not recorded the IP for 0.5 seconds.

If a participant violates the rules for performing an exercise, the senior judge immediately commands “No!” and briefly names the error, and the judge-counter, after the participant arrives at the IP and fixes it for 0.5 seconds, announces the previous score. In case of an “Interception!” error, which is detected by an open palm, the participant is not counted for one more correctly performed pull-up. The timekeeper informs about the expiration of the preparation time for performing the exercise with the commands “30 seconds have passed!”, “A minute!”. If the participant stops performing the exercise independently (by jumping) or on the command “Finish!”, the timekeeper stops the stopwatch and announces the time for completing the exercise.

The timekeeper, on the command “maybe”, turns on the stopwatch and reports the current time of the exercise every minute. At the last minute of the control time, the timekeeper informs “1 minute left”, “30 seconds left”, “15 seconds left”, “5, 4, 3, 2, 1, Time!” with the stopwatch stopping at the moment of the command “Time!”. Simultaneously with the command “Time!” the senior judge commands “Finished!” and loudly calls the number of counted pull-ups.

Instruction: If a participant does not record the last correctly executed movement before the start of the next count, this movement is not counted towards him.

At first-level competitions, the senior judge on the apparatus, immediately after completing the exercise, is obliged to check by palpation and wiping the bar of the crossbar and the participant’s hands with undiluted alcohol for the absence or presence of adhesives, then, and the secretary - to make a mark in the protocol. Having discovered signs of the use of an adhesive substance, the senior judge on the apparatus must immediately invite the chairman of the review committee and the deputy chief judge for strength gymnastics to re-check the participant’s hands and the bar of the crossbar. In case of equality of votes, the decision is made in favor of the participant. Establishing the fact of using an adhesive substance is grounds for disqualifying a participant from this competition.

Instruction: if the participant did not have time to fix the IP after a correctly executed movement before the start of the command “Stop!” - this movement does not count towards him.

In this article we will talk about one of the most difficult exercises, from a technical point of view, I will talk about pull-ups.

This exercise is very controversial, but in essence very simple. Pull-up is work or struggle against your own weight and the force of gravity of the earth. It can also be made more difficult by hanging additional weight from the body.

I’ll say right away that this exercise is not suitable for everyone, and it may be worth paying attention to alternative options. No matter how much you would like to pull yourself up to the bar, there are times when, due to anatomical, physiological, or maybe biomechanical reasons, this exercise may simply be too much for you to do. Pull-ups can be learned and you will do pull-ups, but it will not always be exactly the exercise that you need and that will give the desired result.

There are many types of this exercise, using different machines and different grips. But it is worth distinguishing between only two types of pull-ups:

1. Military pull-ups - the main goal is to throw your chin over the bar. They usually look terrible, like convulsions. In essence, this is work on the crossbar aimed at the maximum number of repetitions.
2. Pull-ups for training and working out the back muscles

There is a huge gap between these two types of pull-ups. In the sense that pulling up by quantity implies neglect correct technique performing the exercise. Military pull-ups or counting pull-ups are not technically compatible with back exercises. In them, the main work is performed by neuromuscular innervation, wave-like contraction of muscles on the body in order to give a force impulse, and inertial movements. This technique with training latissimus muscles has no back or trapezius muscles. They get involved in the work, but they don’t train as we need, that is, to develop these muscle groups.

Limiting factors when doing pull-ups

For many, banal things are contraindications to pull-ups:

1. Excess weight

Excess weight is a limitation in doing pull-ups, especially for people who have never done pull-ups and decided to learn. If your body fat percentage is more than 20% and you cannot do pull-ups normally, then you should avoid the horizontal bar until you lose excess fat weight. This is caused by the strength balance between body weight and the strength capabilities of the muscles of the back and arms. In this exercise, the body is also the weight. I think you have noticed more than once that thin people can often do 10 pull-ups without preparation. It’s simple, the heavier a person becomes, the more difficult it is for him to do pull-ups. Excess weight is a burden. As Arnold Schwarzenegger said: “Fat doesn’t stretch.” I do not recommend training on the horizontal bar with overweight if only because there is a risk of damaging the shoulder joints, which are not yet ready for such loads.

2. Physiology and anatomy

Another determining factor whether you are able to do a technically perfect pull-up or not is your anatomy, your biomechanics (roughly speaking, the location of the shoulder joints relative to the chest), the convexity or depression of the chest, which directly depends on the condition of your back. That is, pull-ups are affected by the condition of the spine. If you have not taken care of your posture since childhood and have even become a little hunchbacked, then this imposes a limitation on the range of movement and contraction of the latissimus dorsi and trapezius muscles. This hump at the back will no longer allow the chest to expand normally, because it is already quite rigid. In this case, the pull-ups can only be partially correct.

3. Mobility of the shoulder joint

Shoulder mobility plays an important role in pull-ups. But if there are problems with mobility, then they can be corrected.

4. Capable of independently learning pull-ups

The ability to help yourself in learning pull-ups plays a role. That is, a person weighing 60 kg can independently learn to do pull-ups on a horizontal bar, according to the diagram below. But a person weighing 80 kg or more already needs the help of a partner. I will tell you below how to properly assist with pull-ups.

How to learn to do pull-ups

To learn how to do pull-ups, you first need to lose weight, that is, lose excess weight to make the task easier for our muscles.

How should you learn to do pull-ups? We just take it and start doing pull-ups on the horizontal bar (if we don’t have excess weight). There is no need to chase results, there is no need to try to create quantity - do quality.

The simplest program to learn how to do pull-ups on the bar

Approach the horizontal bar and try to do one pull-up with perfect technique and sit down to rest. Then again once with the correct technique and this can be done ad infinitum. And you can do this for 10-20-30 approaches until your arms start to get tired. And over time, you will be able to do 2 times in a set, then 3, and so you can learn to do pull-ups.

How to properly help your partner learn to do pull-ups

When you weigh 80 kg or more, you need help or use a gravitron, a weight-bearing simulator that helps us partially reduce body weight, it pushes us up and helps us pull ourselves up. But if it's not there.

The easiest way is to hire an assistant. You can often see in the hall when an assistant tries to help a person pull himself up and begins to push the one who is studying in the back. And this is a grave mistake.

Why can’t you help pull yourself up by leaning on your back?

When you push into the back of someone who is doing a pull-up, you confuse their nervous system. When the person has already prepared, tensed his muscles and began to pull the horizontal bar towards him, you begin to push him in the back. At this moment, the brain automatically removes part of the impulse from the back, that is, it begins to work less intensely. Because external interference begins, which should not exist. Roughly speaking, we are distracted from the exercise, although we do not want this. The legs are not used during pull-ups, and so they can be used to help pull yourself up to the bar.

What muscles work when doing a pull-up?

Active in pulling up is only top part body - torso. During pull-ups, only the muscles of the upper body work:

• Back
• Pectoral muscles
• Shoulders

The legs do not work in this exercise, and you step like weights that pull us down.

Correct pull-up technique for working your back muscles

Pull-ups are the same vertical row, but here it’s not the handle that comes towards us, but we pull ourselves up to the horizontal bar. And the basic rule is that the load vector must pass through the chest. Not along, but through the chest. How to achieve this?

A mental principle can help you. Someone mentally reaches for the horizontal bar, that is, tries to pull their body towards the crossbar, while someone mentally pulls the horizontal bar towards themselves. If you imagine, hanging on the horizontal bar, these two moments in turn, then you will notice a difference in the actual mood for pulling up. This method helps to set up the correct motivation of the nervous system to perform the exercise. Therefore, you need to choose your own way of imagining what exactly you are doing, pulling yourself up to the horizontal bar or pulling the horizontal bar towards you.

Head position in pull-ups

In order for the back and arms to receive the maximum possible neuromuscular impulse, all unused muscles must be disconnected from the efforts of the nervous system. The position of the head in this exercise depends on the condition of the neck. When doing pull-ups, you need to relax your neck as much as possible so that your head leans back. You should not look at the horizontal bar while doing pull-ups. And you need to throw your head back and look at the ceiling.

Leg position for pull-ups

You don’t need to move your legs forward or keep them straight. The legs need to be bent at the knees back and crossed to create a rigid structure.

When we pull ourselves up, we do not pull our chin toward the horizontal bar, but rather pull our chest toward the horizontal bar or pull the horizontal bar toward our chest (it all depends on which imaginative option you have chosen for yourself). During pull-ups, you need to protrude your chest as much as possible in the direction of the horizontal bar (this is very important).

The perfect pull-up is not at all like the usual pulling of the chin over the bar.

Perfect Pull-Ups should look like a vertical pull in the block. You should end up bringing the bar to the bottom or top pectoral muscles. It all depends on the grip you choose: reverse or forward grip. That is, you need to try thoracic region pull the torso to the horizontal bar, and the rest of the body should just hang.

What to do if it never works out well?

We use a strength method called “rest-pause,” which will help increase your own strength resources even between approaches within the same workout.

We do one pull-up, even with an assistant, and rest while standing on the floor, not hanging, for 10 seconds. Then we hang on the horizontal bar again, pull ourselves up once again with the help of an assistant, and rest again. And thus we do 6-8 repetitions. Several cycles of such pull-ups over 1-2 months and you will be able to do pull-ups on your own. Just keep in mind that this is possible if your weight is normal and there is no excess fat mass, that is, no more than 15%. Then this will guarantee you results, and if you have a lot of fat, then you need to lose weight.

Grip

Let's start with the fact that people with naturally large biceps and a narrow back have a reverse or parallel narrow grip no need to pull yourself up. Because such a person will still not load his back, and his body weight will be pulled by his biceps. Therefore, a gifted person big hands and a depressed back, you need to pull yourself up with a wide overhand grip.

If everything seems to be fine with your back, but your arms are lagging behind, then you need to use the opposite strategy. To learn how to pull yourself up effectively, you need to use your hands to help your back. This way the arms can develop together with the back, in a balanced way. There is no risk that the arms will take the entire load on themselves and will not allow the back to work, because such a person’s arms are genetically weak.

Interesting to know: pull-ups are one of the best exercises for training your biceps. As proof, look at the gymnasts who perform on the rings and uneven bars, these guys just have colossal arms.

Pull-ups with weights

When you have already learned and it becomes a question of making this exercise heavier, you can use additional weight. When doing pull-ups with weights, it is better to hang the weight from behind, so that the weight does not throw off your balance. When using the correct pull-up technique (where the chest is pulled up to the bar, not the chin), the weight suspended in front will greatly interfere. He will put pressure on his legs and try to twist his body into a vertical position. Therefore, it is better to hang weights for pull-ups from behind, so it will hang parallel to your legs and will not interfere with your workout.

Some nuances in pull-ups

When you use a block to vertical thrust to the chest, in order to learn how to pull yourself up, you need to reach the working weight in it, which will be equal to 80-90% of your body weight. This will lay a good foundation so that you can begin to improve later.

The more the athlete weighs, the more the pull-ups move to the side strength exercises. Some may think that an athlete with more muscles should do more pull-ups. But the entire mass of his body is made up not only of muscle groups that take part in pull-ups. And also muscles that act as ballast that needs to be pulled along. Because as body weight increases, the balance in strength potential changes. And the heavier we get, the more powerful pull-ups become for our back. And at some point, this exercise for the athlete goes beyond the category of training with his own weight, because his own weight is already too heavy for this exercise. Because of this excess weight, too many fast fibers begin to be activated and the muscles begin to become very acidic. In such conditions it is very difficult to develop strength endurance. And when the weight exceeds 100 kg, it becomes difficult for a person to pull himself up even more than 10 repetitions. If you chase the number of pull-ups with a large weight, you can injure the shoulder joints and you can say goodbye to pull-ups for a couple of months.

Conclusion: when you already weigh more than 100 kg, you won’t be able to use pull-ups in the pump period, when you need to pump up, when the number of repetitions in the approach went beyond 12-15. That is, pull-ups are best used during strength training.

Another important point in pull-ups

When doing pull-ups, many athletes suffer from shoulder joints that begin to ache and ache. To avoid this, you cannot allow the arms to be pulled out of the shoulder joint at the lowest point (when hanging on the horizontal bar) of the humerus. You cannot let go of your hand from the shoulder joint, that is, your shoulders must be rigid, even at the lowest point. You can relax your pectoral muscles and stretch. Stretching the shoulder joint at the lowest point of amplitude will lead to only one effect - a chronic injury, at least a sprain. Which will then lead to loss of joints and discomfort in other exercises.

Hello guys, good afternoon... There was already an article on the blog about the correctness of pull-ups, but in it I did not talk about various little things that I want to talk about in this article.

We will talk about how to do pull-ups on the horizontal bar and how to swing on the horizontal bar. In general, everything is ABOUT PULL-UPS!

First, I want to talk about pull-ups in general. This is very interesting exercise which can be performed by anyone - both a woman and a man, both young and old - of course, if there is enough strength. Stretching on the horizontal bar has quite simple technique, and even those who have just started playing sports can master it without any problems. This exercise may not seem very difficult at first, but this is only at first glance. Try doing 20 pull-ups!

Pull-ups work all the major muscles of the upper body, which is very good. This is why pull-ups are so popular. Of course, you can work on the bar with your own weight, or you can use additional weight, and in any case you can save money on the gym.

There is nothing complicated about the pull-ups themselves, and to start doing pull-ups, you will need to hang on the bar, clasping it with your thumbs, while your arms should be extended at the elbows. Grip slightly wider than shoulder width. Eat different grips, but for a beginner it doesn't matter, like I already do. Yes, the emphasis changes depending on the grip, but if you are not focused on growth muscle mass, in this period of time, then there is no special sense in changing the grip, in terms of muscle growth.

As I said, many muscles work during pull-ups, let's talk about them.

Pull-ups: what muscles work when doing a pull-up?

When you do a pull-up, many muscle groups are involved, and work occurs in the elbow and shoulder joint. Initially, the muscles of the forearms and hands are used, which help us grab and hang on the bar. The muscles of the hands and forearms are used in Everyday life constantly - when we type on the keyboard, eat, hold on to something, and so on. The biceps, which are also involved in the exercise, are arm flexors. Next, the deltoid muscles and back muscles begin to work.

Latissimus dorsi muscles. The latissimus muscles play a very important role during the pull-up period. By pulling up to the chest, pulling up to the top of the head and behind the head, we engage the lats. You may not notice it at first, unwittingly transferring the load to other muscles, but by slightly bending your knees and straightening your body, you can truly feel the work of the lats. These muscles are also called “wings”.

Trapezius muscles. An equally important role in pull-ups is played by the trapezoid. This muscle group is superficial and stretches from the bottom of the skull to the center of the back. Our shoulder blades move with their direct help, and they also support our arms.

Forearm extensors and flexors. There are a lot of muscles between the elbows and wrists. The muscles of the forearms include extensors and flexors of the fingers, brachioradialis muscles (which are aimed at bending the arms at the elbows), pronators (responsible for turning the palms down) and supinators (responsible for turning the palms up). It is with the help of these muscles that we grab the bar.

Biceps. Along with the widest ones, this group is also a target group. Bending your elbows and rotating your forearms works your biceps. I think everyone knows what biceps are and where they are located. The biceps are most used when doing pull-ups with an underhand grip.

Triceps. The triceps are located on the back of the humerus and are responsible for straightening our arms. The triceps take up half of the muscle mass that is located on the humerus. The load on the triceps during pull-ups is very small.

Abdominal muscles. We include the rectus abdominis muscles, which consist of six squares, the transverse and oblique abdominal muscles. These muscles are stabilizers during many physical exercise, and, of course, pull-ups. They help support correct posture in a sitting and standing position. The abdominal muscles can be called the foundation, since they are involved in all exercises, and if you have weak abdominal muscles, you will not achieve much.

Deltoid muscles. The deltoid muscles are our shoulders, which consist of three bundles: anterior, middle, posterior. When doing pull-ups, the load is taken on by the rear deltoids.

Rhomboid muscles. These muscles work more in close-grip pull-ups and are located under the trapezius ( trapezius muscle). They have this name because they look like rhombic plates. There are rhomboid minor and major muscles. It is partially responsible for raising the scapula, as well as bringing it to the midline. Also, when the lower part of the muscle contracts, the scapula rotates inward.

Round muscles of the back. The teres muscles are not actually round, but rather flat and slightly oblong. The muscles start from the shoulder blade, to which they are attached at one end, and end on the humerus. There are teres major and minor muscles, and they are most used during wide grip pull-ups to the head and chest.

Chest muscles. I won’t write much about the chest muscles - they work, but the load on them is minimal. Many people simply do not feel the work of breastfeeding.

Since you now know which muscles work when doing a pull-up, you can move on.

How to do pull-ups on the horizontal bar correctly

Before I start talking about how to do pull-ups on a horizontal bar, I want to say something that many people don’t notice, and this is specifically about pull-ups to the chest or to the chin. People are pulled up along different trajectories.

1. In the first case, the athlete, while rising, deviates slightly from the vertical rise, making an arc, and when he reaches the upper phase, he returns.
2. In the second case, the athlete’s body moves strictly vertically, up to the chin or chest.

The first option is a little easier, and many athletes do not notice that they are doing pull-ups this way until they are told. The second option is more complicated, respectively. I’m not going to say that one option is correct and the other is not, they’re just different. They can be compared with different styles squats with a barbell.

To understand how to do pull-ups on the horizontal bar, you need to go to the bar, grab it and pull yourself up. I have already said that if there is no serious nutrition and, in general, mass, then it does not matter how you pull yourself up (except perhaps for the purpose of studying the elements and techniques, in order to become stronger). Just take it as you feel comfortable and pull yourself up, and use other options just for variety.

However, let's figure out how to do pull-ups on the horizontal bar correctly.

How to do pull-ups on the horizontal bar correctly with a medium straight (overhead) grip

The load during this exercise is focused on many back muscles, forearm flexors, biceps and brachialis, which is located under the biceps.

To start performing this exercise, you need to grab the bar with a medium grip (shoulder-width apart). We bend our legs a little at the knees, straighten our body, and during pull-ups we need to try to reach the crossbar with our chest, which can be very difficult at first. When you return to lowest point, you need to completely straighten your arms and start the exercise again. These pull-ups have a greater range of motion, making them more difficult than wide-grip pull-ups.

How to do pull-ups on a horizontal bar with a medium reverse grip

When performing these pull-ups, the main load falls on the latissimus dorsi and, of course, the biceps.

If you want to use your biceps and lats as much as possible, then you should pay attention to this exercise.

There is nothing complicated in execution. Taking hold of the bar with a palms-to-yourself grip, bend your legs slightly and begin to pull yourself up as high as possible, ideally to your chest.

An excellent option both for emphasizing the load on the biceps and for variety.

How to do a wide-grip pull-up on the horizontal bar

This great exercise, especially in order to enlarge the back, expand it. These pull-ups work the upper lats, teres muscles, and trapezius muscles.

To start performing this exercise, you need to take a wide grip (wider than your shoulders), and thus pull yourself up. Do not forget that you need to grasp the crossbar thumb. Your legs should be slightly bent, and when pulling yourself up, try to arch your back as much as possible. You need to pull yourself up until your chest touches the bar. Personally, I most often do pull-ups with a wide grip.

How to do a wide-grip pull-up on the horizontal bar

This is an excellent type of pull-up, but it is quite dangerous, and doing pull-ups in this way can easily get injured. Be sure to warm up well before you start doing pull-ups. Some people believe that this type of pull-up is completely useless and similar wide pull-ups to the chest, but this is not entirely true, since during pull-ups behind the head the round muscles work very well. In no other type of pull-up do they receive such a load as in this one. And I’ll immediately refer to Arnold, who pulled himself up by his head. Would he do this if these pull-ups were useless or similar?

When pulling yourself up by your head, you need to move your body a little forward, while the body should be as straight as possible, and your elbows should look down, not back.

How to properly perform pull-ups on a horizontal bar using a narrow straight grip

When you pull yourself up with a narrow straight grip, the latissimus muscles are very well involved, namely their bottom, serratus muscles and biceps.

During the exercise, do not forget to focus on the muscles, and do not try to swing, as there is no point in this. Your goal is to focus the load on certain muscles, so the exercise must be performed efficiently and conscientiously.

You can bend your knees and move them back, but I personally prefer to keep my knees bent in front of me while doing pull-ups.

How to properly exercise on the horizontal bar using a narrow reverse grip

The load during these pull-ups is focused on the biceps and lower lats. You need to reach for your chest. The body should be straight during the exercise, and during pull-ups, the back should be arched as much as possible.

This is a great exercise for biceps, and, of course, don’t forget about middle pull-ups. reverse grip.

But these exercises are not the same thing, since this exercise has a greater impact on outer part biceps, and if you work with a lower middle grip, then the load on the biceps is distributed evenly.

How to properly do pull-ups on the horizontal bar with a neutral grip along the bar

The main load during these pull-ups falls on the lower part of the latissimus dorsi, deltoids and serratus muscles.

To start doing pull-ups, you need to grab the bar so that one fist is in front of the other fist. As you rise up, bend your back and try to reach the bar with your lower pectoral muscles. The head should rise on different sides of the bar, depending on which hand is closer to you and which is further away. While doing pull-ups with this grip, change the position of your hands.

Of course, these are very interesting pull-ups, but they are often uncomfortable due to the fact that the horizontal bar is short. To perform this exercise, you need to look for a horizontal bar with a long crossbar.

How to do partial pull-ups on the horizontal bar with a medium reverse grip

Of all the types of pull-ups with a reverse grip, this option has the greatest impact on the biceps, since it does not use the phase in which the back works.

To start performing this exercise, you need to hang on the bar with a lower middle grip and raise your arms to a 90-degree position. From this position you need to pull yourself up to the bar, trying to bring your collarbones as close as possible.

Of course, this exercise is not suitable for beginners, since beginners first just need to learn how to pull themselves up, and only then think about emphasizing. But nevertheless, you need to know which muscles the load is focused on during certain pull-ups.

Now you know how to properly exercise on the horizontal bar. Exercises on the horizontal bar require full dedication from you and regular training. Since we figured out how to properly exercise on the horizontal bar, let’s talk about how to properly pump up on the horizontal bar.

Literally a few paragraphs.

How to swing on the horizontal bar correctly

Well, now the time has come to talk about how to swing on the horizontal bar correctly. This is a rather interesting topic, because many want to pump up, but not everyone has the opportunity to attend Gym, for one reason or another. In the previous article “” we talked about a fairly famous person, a street athlete, who, by training on the horizontal bar and uneven bars, gained a lot of muscle mass. And, as you know, he trains only with his own weight. In principle, by training even with your own weight, you can pump up, each time making the task more difficult for yourself - but this is not for everyone. Seeing the exercises in Hannibal's arsenal, it's not hard to understand why he looks the way he does. The exercise alone – horizontal push-ups – is worth it. It's just incredible cool exercise– it looks great and is one of the first in terms of heaviness of execution. This exercise uses a lot of muscles in the body, and at the same time gives a good load to the muscles. And of course, this exercise can be made more difficult, due to which muscle mass will continue to grow. But this is not the only exercise that will help you pump up, and which can be made more difficult. It can be performed both on the horizontal bar and on the uneven bars. You can make all the exercises more difficult if you want, so go ahead. Don't just do it for speed and endurance. Do it with quality and concentrate while doing the exercises.

If we talk about pull-ups, about how to swing on a horizontal bar using additional weight, then everything is a little simpler, since using additional weight, muscle mass will grow faster. You can use anything as additional weight - weights, plates hung on a belt, and much more - a weighted vest, a backpack with various rubbish. Using additional weight, you can pump up your muscles only by doing pull-ups on the bar and push-ups on the uneven bars, and at the same time, without performing any other exercises.

Happy training!

Pull-ups have always been considered a difficult strength exercise. The ability to do 8-10 pull-ups is required when joining the armed forces of various countries, including the United States. Tests by physical training always include pull-ups. This is the standard for all power forces. Therefore, many people want to know: ?

How to do pull-ups correctly - basic theory

The inability to do pull-ups is associated with the scattering of one’s attention and the lack of a clear vision of the physiological and anatomical picture of this movement. The exercise is multi-joint and basic, and it is impossible to learn it in a barbaric way. This requires an understanding of the basic theory.

There are only two effective options for pull-ups: for fitness and for quantity (military). The technique of execution is different, as are the goals that these variations of pull-ups pursue. Within the framework of today's topic, we will note only the main differences:

Pull-ups for fitness specifically load the muscles of the back and arms. Emphasis is on stimulation muscle fibers and development strength indicators. The movement is performed purely in full amplitude.

Military pull-ups are used for a different task - the development of speed-strength characteristics of muscles due to a large number of repetitions and the appropriate execution technique. Such pull-ups are usually called “quantity”, since here the final number of repetitions will be greater than in the fitness version.

Now, knowing the classification of pull-ups, you need to determine which option is right for you. Let us note right away that you cannot chase two birds with one stone. Either you work the muscle segments of your back with perfect form, or you use tricks and nuances to increase the number of repetitions. By combining two goals into one, you risk getting zero productivity, which is what we see in most fitness centers where beginners cannot learn how to do pull-ups for years.

What you need to know about pull-ups?

The stereotype that bodyweight exercises are not purely strength-based exercises breaks down under pressure own weight bodies in pull-ups. Your weight serves as a burden, and its coefficient is often excessively large.

The heavier a person is, the more difficult it is to perform pull-ups. Percentage fat and muscle mass does not play a significant role. It is quite possible to do pull-ups up to 75-80 kg a couple of dozen times, especially with regular training. More body weight leads to a decrease in the total number of repetitions in this exercise.

If you don't know how to do pull-ups, the reason most likely lies in excess weight. The presence of fat deposits is a significant obstacle to learning how to do proper pull-ups. First, you will have to lose weight by replacing the exercise with analogues, for example, pulling a vertical cable block to the chest.

Pull-ups on the horizontal bar: correct technique

Because there are two types of pull-ups, there is no single correct technique. Take a look at individual articles that cover this process in detail. Within the framework of this topic, we will list the mistakes inherent in any pull-ups. Avoiding them will teach you how to do pull-ups safely and productively.

Relaxation of muscles at the lowest point

The starting position of hanging on the bar for the vast majority of beginners involves with a serious biomechanical error - complete relaxation of the shoulder girdle. Without special controlled tension, the shoulder bag stretches beyond normal. The humerus goes up, and this injures the ligaments and joints.

Regular repetition of such a mistake will lead to atrophy of the rotator cuffs, and negative conditions– to a habitual dislocation of the shoulder. Readers may object, because effective exercise for the back muscles involves full stretching. That's right, but to stretch the back muscles, it is not necessary to bring the shoulder up through relaxation. This can be done easily and with a tense shoulder girdle. Mentally focus your attention on moving your shoulder blades away from each other.

Risk of injury deltoid muscles and the corresponding joints is not the only drawback of this technical error. The biomechanics of the exercise changes noticeably. Completely relaxed shoulder girdle creates an uncomfortable position for the back muscles.

It is impossible to innervate the posterior delta, teres major and minor muscles 100% in this case, since the position is anatomically inconvenient for muscular system, even taking into account the naturalness of pull-ups for the body. In ancient times, when our ancestors climbed onto ledges or tree branches starting position involved slightly bent arms and shoulder activation. Either by jumping or by using a low obstacle height.

Therefore, when doing pull-ups, you should never relax at the bottom. Stretch your back, but don't overdo it.

Psychological nuances

Central nervous system of a person affects the possible power potential. Muscles and joints do not determine strength in the same way as the central nervous system. Beginners focus their attention in pull-ups on bending their arms at the elbow joints. Mental concentration on this element of technique helps to redirect neuromuscular signals mainly to the muscles of the arms and forearms.

The problem is that the strength and energy resources of your arms are not enough to lift a weight as heavy as you. Pull-ups are an exercise for the back, and it needs to be emphasized. But how?

Standard recommendations: squeeze your shoulder blades together and don’t think about your arms. They help few people, since they do not significantly affect the functioning of the central nervous system. There is a more effective and simpler technique. Think for a second, what are you thinking about while doing them?

Most people think of the torso reaching towards the bar. Try reverse thinking. Imagine yourself pulling the horizontal bar towards chest , as if you were doing a barbell row or a lat pull-down.

This little psychological trick redirects neuromuscular signals to the right targets. muscle groups, in particular on .

Abs and leg muscles

The leg muscles are the main burden. More than half of your body weight is in your legs, which are not involved in pull-ups. Beginners relax them, which automatically leads to loss of innervation of the abdominal muscles. This negatively affects the overall performance of the exercise. The domino principle applies here too. Following the press, the rear and front ones are turned off serratus muscles, and they entail weakening rear deltoid and even biceps.

During pull-ups, tense your abdominal muscles statically. It is advisable to bend your legs at the knees or at least “squeeze” your buttocks to impart innervation.

Style Summary

Pull-ups – best exercise for the back, this is an indisputable fact, but there is also a flip side to the “coin”. They are difficult for most people to do due to excess weight. Incorrect pull-ups lead to injuries, and persistent fanatical training takes away all the restorative resources and strength from the central nervous system.

Focusing on learning to do pull-ups will interfere with the harmonious development of the back, because the load will have to be reduced and attention should be paid only to this process.

Therefore, pull-ups should not be placed on a pedestal. Yes, this is the leader, but there are a number of other strength exercises that are only slightly inferior to the productivity of pull-ups. To summarize, pull-ups are not a movement for everyone, and you shouldn’t bother with them too much, especially in the context of fitness goals and improving physical fitness.