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Pull-ups on the horizontal bar are an affordable and effective exercise for the formation of a sports figure, a wide back, developed shoulders, powerful biceps and wrists. But not everyone manages to immediately learn to pull up.
If you, not knowing how to pull yourself up, perform sharp movements, jerks to do the exercise somehow, this can lead to sad consequences. In order not to injure the joints of the hands, it is important to properly prepare for pull-ups, perform a set of exercises to strengthen the shoulder muscle.
Pull-up preparation
These exercises will strengthen all muscle groups involved in pulling up, and generally improve coordination:
- Shoulder involvement – Palms shoulder-width apart, straight grip. Sag on the horizontal bar, fully straighten your arms, bring your shoulder blades together, lower your shoulders. Don’t forget to tighten your abs. Perform: 5 sets of 10 seconds.
- Hold at the top – Direct grip. Grab the horizontal bar and jump to the top of the pull-up. Stay there. Perform: 5 sets of 60 seconds.
- Negative pull-ups – Perform a pull-up with a jump and linger at the top point. Perform: 3 sets of 15 times.
- Australian pull-ups – You will need a low bar, hanging on which you can straighten your arms to the end. Grasp the bar, straighten your legs on the floor so that the body is extended in a line. Pull up, touch the bar with your chest, return to the starting position. The press must be tense. Perform: 5 sets of 10 times.
- Pull-ups with elastic band – Hook the expander on the horizontal bar, stick two legs into the loop and start pulling yourself up. The elastic band will reduce the load, and at first it will be easier for you. Perform: 5 sets, any number of times.
Pull-up process
It is important for a beginner to know how the pull-up process takes place in order to perform all movements correctly, to minimize the load on the joints.
- Correct grip – For starters, you can use the reverse grip, since in this case the entire load falls on the muscles of the back and biceps. This makes pulling up much easier. But when you start to succeed, switch to a direct grip.
- Start position – Hang on the horizontal bar. At first, the shoulders may be so high that they even cover the ears. Lower them, while bringing the shoulder blades together, pull the pelvis forward. The body must be tense. In this state, you need to perform pull-ups and return to the starting position.
- How to climb – From a proper hang, pull your body up on your hands until your chin is above the bar. Hold the back muscles: the shoulder blades should be brought together, the chest is pushed forward a little. Perform lifting smoothly, without jerking, try not to sway. Lifting is carried out in a strictly vertical position.
- How to get down – Go down as smoothly, without sudden movements, falls. The elbow joints should be fully extended. You can perform “incomplete” pull-ups without extending your arms to the end, but the muscles will not receive the maximum load. At the bottom point, do not raise your shoulders, maintain the original position of the body.
- How to relax – After completing the approach, rest 1 or 2 minutes. If you begin to perform the next approach in half a minute, you will not be able to perform the exercise with full strength – you will quickly feel tired. And if you rest more, then there is a risk that the muscles will cool down, and the sensations will be as if you are starting a workout from scratch.
How many times can you pull up for beginners
Start with 5 pull-ups. But if you find it difficult, do as many times as you can. The most important thing in this case is to observe the technique. If there were jerks, sharp falls, stop exercising and rest.
Then do pull-ups. In approaches it can be from 5 to 10 times. Approaches can be up to 5. If on the last approaches you feel very tired, you should not overstrain and train through pain: it is better to do fewer repetitions than to injure joints and muscles. It is better to perform exercises every other day so that the muscles can recover.
What to do if it doesn’t work
The pull-up is considered a difficult exercise, and a novice in the sport is unlikely to be able to perform it correctly the first time. It is especially difficult for girls whose shoulder girdle is weaker than for men. Strengthen your muscles with special exercises for the arms and shoulder girdle, contact a professional trainer who will monitor the technique and give valuable instructions. After all, pull-up errors are much easier to see from the side. Do not set yourself the goal of pulling up 20 times at any cost – first master the technique and begin to perform the exercise smoothly. Pain in the elbow, shoulder joints, spine, neck is an indicator of improper performance.
There are a lot of techniques for teaching the technique of pull-ups on the crossbar: this is an incomplete amplitude, and the use of rubber bands, the help of special simulators, and so on. However, in order to perform this exercise correctly, you must learn to feel the working muscles.
When learning pull-ups, a beginner faces the problem that he does not understand which muscles should be included in the work during pull-ups and does not feel the work of the back. As a result, a habit is developed to lift the body with a jerk due to the muscles of the hands. See also: How to choose a personal trainer?
Universal pull-up technique on the bar
To learn how to pull up correctly, first do two sets of pull-ups of the upper block (average weight, 12-15 reps), then 2-3 sets of pull-ups on the horizontal bar. Include this group of exercises in your back training program and do it 1-2 times a week. In the early stages, when performing the pull of the upper block, count the phases of the movement, and not the repetitions.
- One: with the strength of your hands, you pull the bar down to the middle of the trajectory;
- Two: the back muscles turn on, you reach the weight to the chin, bringing the shoulder blades together;
- Three: Slowly bring the weight back up.
Pull-ups and rows of the upper block
- This technique is an analogue of pull-ups performed on the simulator. Moderate working weight, slow rep speed and attention to proper technique will quickly get results.
- The key details of the technique when performing the pull of the upper block are the position of the hands and the starting position.
- The palms should rest on the top of the bar. We especially note that the thumb should also be on top – this will transfer the load from the hand to the muscles of the back.
- Take the bar with the grip described above as wide as you can, sit on the bench of the simulator, fix your legs. The back is open, the arms are relaxed, the chest is directed upwards, the gaze is in front of you. If it is difficult to hold the weight in the starting position, then it is too big.
Top Draft Technique
- The thrust of the upper block to the chest, like the pull-ups themselves, is divided into several phases. First you need to pull the handle with the strength of the shoulders and triceps, without bending the elbows; then, when the bar is slightly above your head, you should feel the activation of the latissimus dorsi.
- Slowly pull the weight down to the chin, feeling the work of the back muscles, while bringing the shoulder blades together. Lock the position for a second at the bottom point, then gently return the bar to the top point without relaxing your arms or losing control of the weight.
Stretching the back muscles
- The main problem for beginners is that they cannot feel the work of the latissimus dorsi muscles in pull-ups or when pulling the upper block. Lat stretching exercises will make the task easier. Do them in between sets of pull-ups or pull-ups.
- Sit on a bench with your back straight. Slowly lean to the left side, while stretching your right arm up as high as possible. Feel the stretch in your lats and the tension in your lower back. Hold this position for 25-30 seconds, then change hands.
The worst strategy for learning pull-ups from scratch is to blindly imitate motivational pictures from the Internet and try to complete 50 pull-ups at any cost. Weak muscles will not allow this to be done, and the result will only be the consolidation of incorrect technique and back pain. See also: How to overcome the plateau effect?