There are plenty of exercise variations that you can do to improve the state of your upper body. You can do bench press routines for your chest, bicep curls, and for the shoulders, you can make do with dumbbell routines.
Among all exercises, though, the pull-up has yet to be recognized by many as a great form of exercise. The pull-up is a method that can immensely improve your core muscles and at the same time, increase strength for your lats (latissimi dorsi muscles).
However, keep in mind that the pull-up is not an easy-breezy exercise; it requires plenty of strength to pull up an individual’s whole body. This is the reason why it takes a while to progress and acquire the number of repetitions that a person can do on a pull-up bar.
Be realistic; you will not be able to overcome a hundred reps in the beginning. However, if you push through and do this awesome exercise on the regular, you can develop your reps and get that upper body you want.
Here are some suggestions on how to use a pull-up bar.
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Pull-Up Basics
There are two kinds of pull-ups—the overgrip pull-ups and the chin-ups.
Also known as wide grip pull-ups, the overgrip pull-up is done by hanging on a bar with the hands exceeding a shoulder width away from each other. Pull till the bar arrives at chin level, and then stop. Repeat the entire procedure.
As for the chin-ups, this is done by going over the same procedure as the pull-up. However, this exercise differs from the pull-up through the style of gripping.
The palms of the individual should be facing himself. Use similar movements as the pull-ups.
Each exercise has its own set of benefits. The overgrip kind targets the individual’s upper laterals. Chin-ups target the lower lateral area, the biceps and the middle of the back.
Going through these exercises regularly will contribute in improving your capability to do pull-ups so you can prep yourself up for more advanced techniques.
A Few Sample Exercises
Now that you know the basics, you can now get into some beginner exercises. Follow the following examples to get you jumpstarted in using pull-up bars.
Reverse Push-up
Begin with a bar raised around 3 feet off of the ground surface. Lie down beneath the bar and clutch it a shoulder width apart making use of an overhand grip.
Maintain the straightness of your arms and keep the shoulders beneath the bar. Extend the legs to make the heels touch the floor. Contract your core and buttocks and do not allow the latter to hang down.
In case the position proves to be a challenge for you, bend your knees moderately to where you will be capable of maintaining the position in a comfortable manner. Following this, breathe out and drag your chest to the bar while keeping a tight core and flat back.
Do several sets with five neat reps. Remember to maintain a tight body and pull to the chest and not the chin. As soon as you feel at ease with this exercise, you can then advance to the next drill.
Jump Pull-up Hold
Next, you can train yourself with pull holds. This routine is a bit complicated. The individual jumps up and holds himself in the pull-up’s top position.
You have to guarantee that the chin is beyond the bar at a top position then pull yourself down bit by bit, as much as you can handle. As soon as you are at ease with this routine, you can try pulling your chest to the bar before pausing at the top position.
Chair Support Chin-up
You can follow those exercises up with the chair support chin-up. Position a chair beneath the bar so that it stands moderately behind and not under it.
Stand on the chair and grasp the bar with an underhand grip. Pull yourself down to make the arms stay straight, with the legs bowed on the chair. Follow it up by tightening your core and drag up towards the bar.
Push yourself against the chair using your toes or legs as you are hauling with your arms. Keep in mind that it will be difficult pulling yourself up, but it’s the job of your legs to do that.
As soon as you can allow the chin to go over the bar, pull yourself down bit by bit the way it’s done with the jump holds.
Do three sets with 3-5 repetitions while decreasing little by little the quantity of support you can provide your legs with every session.
If you can do two regular pull-ups and chin-ups, you can now progress to increasing your reps. There are in fact lots of different routines for achieving this.
If you can manage three chin-ups, you can concentrate on undergoing four reps for the proceeding workouts. Following that, you can supplement your routine with one more rep so you can focus on accomplishing five repetitions for the next two sessions and so forth.
This will depend on your prowess though but do take enough time to work until you can undertake ten reps gradually.
When you can accomplish ten clean reps of chin-ups/pull-ups, you can now add weight to those exercises. You can start with a 5-pound weight belt and start slowly but surely, eventually increasing the weight that you are working on.
This article focuses on beginners who have yet to master the routines and improve their take on said exercises until they can accomplish a good number of repetitions. Those routines mentioned above will help improve your strength so you can finally take on using those exercises.
Investing in a quality pull-up bar will do you a lot of good, and it will help maintain strength and a tight upper body. It is an excellent piece of gym equipment that can be used at home and is recommended by a lot of trainers.
This equipment is a worthy investment that could reap long-term benefits for your health and body.