Pull-up bars – The cheapest way to get in shape quickly is with a pull-up bar
The simplest types of exercise equipment in the world are the free weights and the chin-up bar. However, despite the simple nature of these tools, there is no question of their efficiency and ability to develop upper body strength in a person who works with them easily. The chin-up bar alone can be used for dozens of different exercises.
What are the benefits of using a pull-up bar?
The various exercises that a person can do with a chin-up bar are many and varied. The traditional pull up has several variations that can cause a lot of muscle confusion leading to incredible growth in a relatively short time. The chest, shoulders, biceps and many other muscles are worked with a simple push-up. Other exercises to highlight are those that work the abdominal area and obliques.
What if you can’t pull up?
Pull-ups as part of an exercise regimen also have an indirect way of building muscle strength and endurance. The secret to this is that many people cannot perform a pull-up at their fitness level. To mitigate this, they will have to perform other exercises in an attempt to build their strength to the point where they can do a pull-up.
However, unless the individual can perform at least ten pull-ups, they are not ready to use them as a standard part of their exercise regimen. This means that they will have to perform several other exercises on a daily basis before attempting pull-ups later.
All of these additional exercises work the body in various ways and as a result, the one who wants to improve and perform pull-ups will force himself to build his body gradually so that he can reach the minimum goal of ten reps of pull-ups. . In short, they will get in shape before using a pull-up bar to try and get in shape. Perhaps this is misleading logic at its finest, but the end result is a fitter and often sexier individual before they actually hit the pull-up bar.
The exercises that are most frequently cited to help a person gain the ability to use a pull-up bar correctly are push-ups and the use of free weights. These two exercises will allow you to start performing various pull-up exercises in no time.
Push-ups should be done slowly and without resting between reps. You will begin to do pull-ups at a three-second interval pace. A three second interval pace means that it will take three seconds to get about an inch off the floor. Then it will take three seconds to get up to full push-up height. After that, you will hold that position for three seconds and then repeat the process.
Using free weights in regards to building strength to perform pull-ups requires the use of two separate exercises. To perform the necessary exercises, you will need to find a set of weights that take a slight effort to lift out to the sides and at shoulder level. You will be in a “T” position if you are doing this correctly. Then those weights should be moved up and over your head so that it looks like a closely drawn “Y”. To complete the repetition, move them to shoulder height and then to hips. Take three seconds for each movement and hold them in each position for three seconds.
The next free weight exercise requires you to lean forward with the weights and allow them to seemingly hover over your feet. Then it will take three seconds to bring them closer to your chest. At this point, it will hold them for another three seconds. Then you will lower them slowly, which also takes three seconds. Once they are at arm’s length again, the rep is complete. Hold that position for three seconds and start over.
Be careful not to let your head move below the level of your heart while you are bowed. Keep your back as straight as possible to avoid injury or a feeling of dizziness.
The reason for the three-second intervals in these exercises is that this forces the muscle to work harder. As such, even though you perform fewer reps, you are gaining more strength as your muscles hit the wall much faster. This is a great way to increase size and power. To increase endurance, I would speed up the process a lot and do as many reps as possible in the shortest amount of time. I would suggest thirty second to one minute time frames where you try to perform as many repetitions as possible with proper form.
Every day before starting this regimen you will go to your pull-up bar and try to perform at least one standard pull-up. A standard chin-up will involve having your hands at shoulder height and your palms facing you. To perform a standard pull-up, you will lift yourself up as a single unit until your chin is completely above the bar. Don’t actually put your chin on top of the bar, as you could injure yourself if you get tired.
If you can’t perform a single pull-up after two weeks, an unlikely scenario unless you are incredibly out of shape, then increase the weight on your free weight exercises and do more reps of all exercises. If you can’t perform a pull-up after another two weeks, you may need to start asking someone to help you perform your pull-ups until your muscles learn the movement properly.
If you don’t have someone you trust around you to help you with this, or if you don’t feel like having a partner, then you can go to a gym or buy an assisted chin-up machine. These machines vary your body weight by balancing it during exercise. Unlike a normal workout on a machine, the higher the weight, the less force you will need to get up.
In fact, this type of machine can be used in place of all the other exercises mentioned. However, unless you have a machine of your own, you will only be able to do this at a gym or a friend’s exercise room. The exercises mentioned above can be done anywhere and they work just as well.
Now what?
Now that you can perform ten pull-ups at once, you are ready for the real exercises. Pull-ups come in a wide variety of forms. Closed hand shapes where the hands face inward or outward are a very common variation. Another common is the broad arm. The further apart your arms are, the more effort it takes to lift yourself above the bar.
These are the simplest exercises that can be performed on a chin-up bar. Other exercises include the chin-up bar side crunch and one arm dangling for different lengths of time.
Slow-motion pull-ups develop greater strength and endurance, while fast-motion pull-ups can sometimes be used for muscle shock value. For physical power always work your muscles until they fail and try to perform and at least two more after that. In general, it is believed that the last two or three pull-ups are actually the ones that cause the increase in strength, as this is the point where the muscles tear without damaging themselves too much.