The pull up bar has been a mainstay in fitness for decades. This is due to its versatility, simplicity of use and effectiveness. Not many pieces of exercise equipment have stood such a test of time as the pullup bar.
Today if you have a doorway you can engage in a pull up training fitness routine. Adjustable pull up bars that can be custom fit for doorways and entranceways make it an economical and efficient piece of exercise equipment. Once the pull up bar is installed learning to use it will take only a few minutes. No additional equipment is needed although there are some attachments available.
With the pull up bar all a person needs to get a great workout is their own body. Instead of changing weights for various exercises body weight and gravity provide the necessary resistance. The pull up bar can tone and strengthen the chest, arms, shoulders, back, and abdomen muscles quickly and exercises are very easy to perform. Depending on your fitness level you may have to take some time to build up to a decent amount of repetitions. But with a little work and consistency improvements to your fitness level can be made in no time at all.
When using a pull up bar there are a few variations which will affect the amount of resistance placed on the muscles being worked. First are the grips, there are three grips used with the pull up bar:
- the underhand grip
- the hand-over-hand grip
- the overhand grip
Next is the width of the grips, there are two:
- wide
- narrow
The underhand grip with a wide width is not used as it places too much stress on the wrists. The hand-over-hand grip is also not used with a wide width as it places undo stress on the shoulders.
Here are the best combination pull up grips and widths:
- underhand grip - narrow width
- overhand grip - narrow width
- hand-over-hand - narrow grip
- overhand grip - wide width
Besides the resistance the grips and their widths place on muscles there is range of motion, positive and negative resistance.
Range of motion is the amount of distance the particular exercise moves the body. If your arms are completely extended and you raise your chin up to the bar and lower it completely back to full arm extension this is full range. Beginning with the arms at 90 degrees and returning to 90 degrees is half range. Both provide a different level of resistance and challenge to muscles.
Positive resistance is the resistance when body weight and gravity must be negotiated and the muscles contract. Negative resistance is when the muscles are lengthening such as returning to full arm extension. After you raise your body up to the bar (positive resistance) the temptation is to let gravity return you to the starting position (negative resistance) and lose the value of half the exercise. But by lowering your body slowly to the starting position you can capture the negative resistance making the movement twice as effective.
For a comprehensive strength training program incorporating pull ups (with pictures and videos), visit: MAXWORKOUTS
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