Shoulder and back exercises on the turnbuckle

fitness trainer

Exercising on the bar is very effective for developing the muscles of the upper body. When training, we exercise the broadest muscle of the back, the double-headed shoulder muscle, the large pectoral muscle, the round muscle, the forearm muscle, the rhomboid and the posterior deltoid muscle.

On the bar you can do both pulling (various variants of pull-ups with any grip) and pressing exercises (push-ups on a horizontal bar), but the main exercises are still the first ones, which pump your back and arms.

Also training on the bar strengthens tendons and bones, increases the strength and elasticity of ligaments, make the joints of the upper body mobile.

Table of Contents

Back exercises on the bar

The main exercise for the back on the bar is pull-ups. They are extremely effective for pumping the muscles of the back. There are many types of pull-ups that can shift the emphasis of the load to the muscle you need. Pull-ups with a narrow grip more strongly engage the biceps, while a wide grip puts more load on the back muscles.

Pull-ups have their own peculiarities of technique. Of course, you can practice the way you learned, but we suggest paying attention to the recommendations that will help you squeeze the maximum when training on the bar on the back.

Australian pull-ups

This option is ideal for beginner athletes who find it difficult to perform classic pull-ups on the bar.

Technique

Grab the low bar with your hands shoulder-width apart. The body is under the bar, feet are on the ground.
Before pulling up, slightly tense the shoulder blades and lower them down. Push the chest forward.
As you exhale, pull the upper part of the chest to the bar with a powerful movement. Hold for one second.
As you inhale, smoothly lower yourself back to the starting position.
Make sure that the abs were tense, and the body kept a straight line.

Do three approaches of 10 times. Rest between approaches – two minutes.

Classic pull-ups

It is from this variant it is recommended to master pull-ups, and after that – try different types of grip.

Technique

Grab the bar with hands at shoulder width.
Before pulling up, slightly tense the shoulder blades and lower them down. Put your chest forward.
As you exhale, smoothly pull the upper part of the chest to the bar. Hold for one second.
Try to squeeze the bar firmly to better engage the arm muscles.
Make the movement by pulling back the elbows, bring the shoulder blades together.
As you inhale, smoothly lower yourself back to the starting position.

Do two or three approaches of five to seven times. Rest between approaches – two minutes.

Reverse grip pull-ups with a narrow setting of the hands

Technique

Grab the bar with a reverse grip narrower than shoulder width.
Before pulling up, slightly tense your shoulder blades and lower them down. Push the chest forward. As you exhale, smoothly pull your chin to the bar. Hold for one second.
Try to do the exercise by bending the arms at the elbows, tensing the biceps. At the top point, the elbows are parallel to each other and look down.
As you inhale, smoothly lower to the starting position.

Perform two to three approaches of five to seven times. Rest between approaches – two minutes.

Pull-ups with a wide grip

Technique

Grab the bar with hands wider than shoulder width.
Before pulling up, slightly tense the shoulder blades and lower them down. Put your chest forward.
As you exhale, smoothly pull the upper part of the chest to the bar. Make the movement by pulling the elbows down. Hold for one second.
On the inhale smoothly descend to the starting position.

Do two or three approaches for five times. Rest between approaches – two minutes.

Shoulder exercises on the bar

Shoulder muscles consist of three heads – front, middle and back delts. Each head of the deltoid muscle performs a different function. Anterior deltoid – shoulder flexion in front of you, internal rotation. Middle deltoid muscle – shoulder extension to the side. Posterior deltoid muscle – horizontal backward extension of the shoulder, shoulder extension, external rotation.

Perhaps, there are not so many variants of exercises for pumping the shoulders on the bar. The main and only ones are pull-ups and push-ups on the horizontal bar.

In pull-ups, the main load falls on the muscles of the back and biceps, and only then – on the back delta. The bar will strengthen ligaments and tendons and add a lot of strength. Even if you pull up with different grips, the load on the rear delta will be too small for it to increase in size.

In push-ups, the chest muscles, triceps and front delts are the main load. In push-ups on the bars, the anterior delta is not badly engaged, but the load is still too diffuse.

Push-ups on the bar

Technique:

We rest our hands shoulder-width apart on the bar from above.
On the inhale smoothly descend, bending the arms at the elbows to an angle of 90 degrees. The body is straight, stretched in one line.
On the exhalation powerfully push up to the full straightening of the arms, tensing the muscles of the chest and arms.

Do two or three approaches of five times. Rest between approaches – two minutes.

Why pump relief shoulders on the bar will not work?

If your goal is to purposefully increase the delts in volume, then the tourniquet and bars are not the most effective way, because the load is distributed between a large volume of muscles. The best way to pump your shoulders is with a barbell, dumbbells or a weight machine.

The best exercises for pumping deltoids

Front delta: barbell bench press, dumbbell bench press, push-ups, dumbbell raises in front of you.
Middle deltoid: dumbbell bench press, dumbbell chin-up, dumbbell press while sitting or standing.
Rear delts: dumbbell incline extension, crossover incline extension, horizontal crossover extension, butterfly extension.

The back muscles are perfectly pumped on the bar, but for working out the shoulders this apparatus is not the best option. If you have little training experience or you are a beginner, at first you will be able to build up a minimum number of muscles on the shoulders, strengthen ligaments and tendons. But over time, you will have to diversify the load and include in the lesson plan exercises on other equipment.

Contraindications

Shoulder injuries that are not completely healed. When training on the bar, the shoulder joint receives a strong load. When the arm is fully raised up, it reaches its extreme amplitude of motion, and any extreme amplitude is not good for joint health. Add to that a lingering, under-treated injury, and you’re guaranteed to get aggravation, upper body pain, and decreased athletic performance.

Acute back, neck and lower back pain. If they are present, training on the bar will be to your detriment. Sometimes when hanging on the bar, the deflection in the lower back increases, from this it overstretches, which leads to unpleasant sensations and stiffness.