It’s never too late: how to learn to do pull-ups on the bar?

Weekends are a great chance to recover from the working week and, of course, to take time to get in shape. Every Saturday we publish videos in Instagram, in which professional instructors show exercises for home and gym. All videos can be viewed in the current “Be in shape” – save posts with your favorite exercises so you don’t lose them.

Today we will pay special attention to pull-ups – an exercise that is so hard for most fitness enthusiasts and not only. Isai Khromov, a fitness trainer of World Class network, tells us about its complexity and how to prepare the body for such loads.

Why is it so hard to pull up on the bar?

The exercise, which looks quite easy, consists in hanging on the arms on the bar and pulling the body up to the bar. Just think: with one hand you need to lift the entire body mass so that your chin is behind the pipe. Of course, it will be difficult to cope with this task, especially for an unprepared person. For example, if your weight is 80 kilograms, you will have to lift all 80 kilograms with your hands, and this is a significant load.

The lighter a person is, the easier it will be for him to pull up with equal strength with a heavier person.

Pull-ups are also complicated because during them not only back muscles, but also biceps, delts and body muscles as stabilizers are actively involved in the work. By strengthening all these groups, you will learn to perform the exercise much faster. And if you already know how to do it, you will be able to improve the result.

Technique and preparatory training

A person who is just beginning to master pull-ups on the crossbar, should not immediately learn a lot of grip and variations of the exercise. Here is one of the main tips for beginners.

Also, while practicing, never let the tension leave your back, as well as your shoulder muscles, muscles around your shoulder blades and collarbone. When hanging, fully extend your arms, but your body should never hang down or your shoulders will end up near your ears. Then most of the load will fall on the relatively weak biceps ligaments – this is not desirable.

To prepare the body for pull-ups, you can do push-ups from the floor or on the bars. However, you should not forget about strength and cardio training. Exercises with additional weight will help develop the muscles of the shoulders and back, and cardio – to lose extra pounds (if any), which prevent pull-ups.

Negative pull-ups

If you are able to pull up only 1-3 times, then you should start training with negative pull-ups – jump on the bar and slowly descend, resisting the weight of your own body. It is necessary to perform 4 sets of 8-10 heavy repetitions with a rest of 3-4 minutes between approaches.

If your result is from 5 to 12 repetitions at a time, and your own weight does not exceed 70-75 kg, you should perform 3 working approaches to the maximum. Between them 3-4 minutes of rest.

5 more exercises that will teach you to do pull-ups

Pull-ups on a low bar in lotus position

Starting position: feet on the floor in lotus position, palms on the bar, straight grip, slightly wider than shoulders.

On the exhalation perform a pull, on the inhalation smoothly descend. Perform 8-12 repetitions in 2-4 approaches.

Horizontal pull-ups on a low bar

Starting position: feet resting on the floor, palms on the bar, straight grip, a little wider than shoulders, body flat.

On the exhalation perform the pull, and on the inhalation return to the starting position. All this time, be sure to keep the body straight. Perform 8-12 repetitions in 2-4 approaches.

Pull-ups on the bar with a fitness rubber band

Starting position: hanging on the bar, grip straight, a little wider than the shoulders, feet fixed in the fitness rubber band.

On the exhalation pull up to the bar to the level of the chin, on the inhalation return to the starting position. Perform 8-12 repetitions in 2-4 approaches.

Hang on the bar – angle of 90 degrees

Starting position: hanging on the bar, palms on the bar, grip straight, a little wider than the shoulders.

At the exit pull up to the bar so that the arms were bent in the elbow joints at an angle of 90 degrees. Keep a static position in hanging on the bar for 15-40 seconds, do not forget about breathing! Perform the exercise in 2-4 approaches.

Strengthening of cortical muscles in static position

Starting position: lying on your back on a fitness mat, arms and legs straight.

As you exhale, simultaneously raise your arms and legs, without raising them high. Hold in this static position for 20-40 seconds and remember about breathing. Perform the exercise in 2-4 approaches.

Such training can be done every other day or two. It all depends on your ability to recover. By the way, adequate sleep and rest are no less important than the training itself, so don’t forget about these components.