Gaining muscle mass on the horizontal bar and push-ups


Make your body perfect ( 14 votes, average: 3.71 out of 5)

Many people wonder how to pump up their muscles on the horizontal bar without leaving home. The answer is simple: for this you need to adhere to the following order. A healthy lifestyle has become a real cult for many people. But most people mistakenly believe that just eating right and everything will be fine.

  • It is impossible to do tricks on the horizontal bar for beginners; you need to work for a long time to achieve good results.

But to have a beautiful body and good physical shape, healthy eating is not enough. And if you justify your non-going to the gym by the fact that you don’t have time, you yourself are going against all the traditions of a healthy lifestyle, the full observance of which only can give you a good figure and good health.


How to pump up muscles on the horizontal bar

To keep your muscles toned, daily physical activity is simply necessary. Working out in a fitness center or gym is not suitable for everyone - some are on a budget, others do not like to depend on going there. But this is not a reason to give up sports activities; trainers will help you figure out how to build muscles on the horizontal bar for your body composition. An option that is available to everyone in this case is a horizontal bar. It is easy to place and install in the apartment. If you are afraid of not being able to cope, then you will probably be reassured that each horizontal bar comes with installation instructions.

But finally, the horizontal bar is installed, it’s time to start the exercises directly. Below you can find recommendations that will help you pump up your muscles correctly, that is, without getting injured, but at the same time achieving the necessary physical shape.

Make your body perfect

There is a persistent misconception that exercises on the horizontal bar allow you to work only certain muscle groups, and that these exercises are monotonous. This belief is wrong - you can easily perform original and varied tricks and exercises on it, and you can change the load by changing the width of your arms and different ways of gripping the horizontal bar with your hands. Moreover, the wider your arms are, the more tense the muscles of your back, chest and arms are.

How to pump up your pectoral muscles on the horizontal bar

Surely everyone knows the pull-up on the bar. Despite the simplicity, not everything is as simple as it might seem. If the result is important to you, then the exercise should be performed smoothly, without allowing any jerks. Hands shoulder-width apart, palms facing towards you. Let's pull ourselves up. Exhale as you lower, inhale as you pull up. Breathing is measured, the exercise itself is slow and smooth.

Then we change the grip - with all five hands on top we grab the bar. When pulling up, we place our head behind the horizontal bar. In both this and the previous case, we do only an odd number of approaches. If you want to build muscles, then the minimum number of approaches is three. There is no maximum here, and each athlete, to the extent of his training, determines it himself.

Simple program

All training is carried out at home, so there may not be a special time limit. But for greater efficiency, it is still advisable to adhere to a certain schedule and load the body at a certain time. The home study program itself looks like this:

  1. Monday. Do four sets of 7-8 reps with your arms wide. In this exercise, try to lift your body up to your chest. Then place your hands with a medium grip, turn your palms away from you and do 3-4 sets of 7-8 repetitions. Finally, do a hanging abdominal exercise - 3*7.
  2. Tuesday. Place your hands on the horizontal bar as wide as possible and do pull-ups behind your head. As in the previous case, there should be four sets of 7-8 repetitions. After this, switch to a medium grip (with your palms facing you) and also do four sets of 7-8 repetitions. Finally, pay attention to your abs. In the latter case, do 2-3 sets of 7-9 repetitions. At the same time, orient yourself in such a way as to increase the number of approaches over time.
  3. Wednesday. On this day you should take a break and pay attention to your business. Even if you are at home all day, it is better not to approach the horizontal bar (you should rest your hands).
  4. Thursday. Here you completely duplicate the program that was made on Monday.
  5. Friday. Now repeat the exercises in the same cycle that you need to do on Tuesday.

The program described above is called “two plus two” and is the simplest. Work until you can do the required number of repetitions in each approach. At the initial stage, while the arms are still weakened, there may be issues with full pull-up. Do not despair. Until all muscles are strengthened and qualitatively developed, it will be enough to simply try to lift the body (strain your arms) for the attempt to be counted.

The time to implement this program is about two to three weeks. If there are no visible successes at home yet, you can work in this mode for a few more weeks. Then move on to the more complex program presented below.

How to pump up your shoulders on the horizontal bar

With a narrow and straight grip, the entire shoulder body is trained, the serratus muscles are activated, and the force also affects the lower latissimus muscle. On the horizontal bar, your hands should be placed at a minimum distance from each other. When pulling up, you should bend your back, and in this position try to reach the bar.

Medium reverse grip pull-ups are useful for the biceps muscle. After this, we pull ourselves up, freezing in the middle position. In this position, you need to fix your body and bring your hands together, trying to bring your collarbones together as close as possible.

The best exercises and example of training on the court

Now let’s look more specifically at what a proper training program on the horizontal bar and uneven bars should look like to gain muscle mass. To begin with, it is important to consider periodization. It is necessary to work out each muscle group separately, or design workouts so as to involve 1-2 muscle groups. Generally, the most obvious combination for a horizontal bar and parallel bars is back/chest training, but this is not the only possible option. You can also use:

  • Biceps/triceps/shoulders;
  • Back + arms;
  • Chest + arms.

You can also always add abdominal exercises to any workout. It is best to perform hanging leg raises. This is an exercise that will be available to everyone who can do pull-ups on a horizontal bar and perfectly works the abdominal muscles. In addition to raising your toes to the bar, you can perform concentrated leg bends to the sides. This will additionally load the obliques and strengthen the forearms. For those who cannot pull themselves up normally and hang on the horizontal bar for a long time, you can use safety loops.


Bars are one of the best exercise machines for developing the chest and triceps. At the same time, by performing push-ups on uneven bars with weights, you can progress indefinitely, without any restrictions.

It is important to be able to distinguish between techniques, which will determine which muscle group the load will fall on.

As a general rule, keeping your torso hanging level and perpendicular to the floor is a technique for developing triceps. To shift the load to your chest, you need to further lean your torso forward and move your legs back a little. If you use additional weight when performing an exercise, this can place increased stress on your shoulders. It's easy to avoid - you just need to move your legs forward a little. In this style it is more difficult to maintain balance, but the load will be on the chest and not on the shoulders. The second and, perhaps, the main exercise for developing muscle mass on the horizontal bar is pull-ups. Many athletes believe that this is the main exercise for developing the entire upper body and shoulder girdle, which is why it is actively used even in bodybuilding. Moreover, this is almost the most functional exercise. There are many different variations of pull-ups, which differ in the width and type of grip, speed of execution and other conditions. As a rule, the following options are usually distinguished: By type of grip:

  • Straight (palms facing forward);
  • Reverse (palms turned towards you);
  • Different grip (one hand in the forward direction, the other in the opposite direction);
  • False grip.

By grip width:

  • Narrow grip;
  • Shoulder width apart;
  • Wide grip.


By amplitude and type of movement:

  • Raising the chin to the bar;
  • Carrying your head beyond the crossbar (as high as possible);
  • Chest pull-ups (Girondes);
  • Half Moon;
  • Pull-ups with rope or towel;
  • One arm pull-ups.

By style:

  • Slow and concentrated;
  • Delayed (in a negative vase);
  • Express (by quantity);
  • Butterfly and kipping.

If you want to know how to gain weight on the horizontal bar, then remember one rule - you need to alternate the load.

A bias towards one execution option, style or type of grip will certainly lead to rapid adaptation and the muscles will no longer fully respond to the load. Moreover, by changing grips, styles and types of pull-ups, you can evenly load any muscle in the body, which makes pull-ups a truly universal exercise.


By performing exercises on the horizontal bar and parallel bars, using the entire arsenal of possibilities in all movements, you can easily develop mass in the muscles of your back, abdomen, chest, shoulders and arms. The only exception is the legs, which will have to be trained separately. However, if you do a series of quick 10-20 second sprints before or during your workout, this will avoid the need to train with a barbell. If you want a unique training template that will serve as a base, then you can use a standard program. It consists of two workouts that alternate every other day (or every day, but after every 4 days you need to give 2-3 days of rest).

  1. Chest/back/abs;
  2. Biceps/triceps/abs.


It is better to add leg training to arm work. The first workout is much more voluminous, so for high-quality recovery it is better not to add additional leg exercises to it.

How to pump up your back on the horizontal bar

If you use a medium and straight grip, you can pump up your back muscles. This exercise is a good workout for the forearm flexors and biceps. You should grab the bar so that your hands are shoulder-width apart. You need to hang with your back arched and your legs crossed. When pulling up, you need to bring your shoulder blades as close as possible and try to touch the bar with your chest. When lowering, completely relax your muscles - this will improve the stretch.

When using a medium reverse grip, the latissimus dorsi and biceps muscles are excellently trained. Place your hands shoulder-width apart, palms facing you. At the very beginning of the pull-up, pay special attention to moving your shoulders back and down. At the end of the day, you can visit Moscow's public baths with friends.

The best tablet in the world

Andrea Larosa trains 4-5 times a week. If you need to learn a new exercise or hone a technique, the Italian adds another training day. Moreover, from this moment on, training now takes place twice a day.

To the question: “What is your favorite exercise?”, Andrea answers with a smile: “I love all exercises.” Maybe he loves everything, but the planche (horizon) is considered truly his crowning glory. It was this exercise that Larosa trained for a whole year, and then performed with it at various competitions. The athlete achieved high results in performing this element and rightfully bears the title “king of the plancha.”

Moreover, Andrea performs the planche in different forms: on one hand, on the hands, on the fingers and on the fists. Looks fascinating:

By the way, the world champion shares simple exercises for studying this element:

How to pump up a trapezoid on a horizontal bar

For the trapeze, you need to use a wide grip with your arms facing you. The thumbs grip the bar from above, the grip width is equal to that of the bench press. You need to pull yourself up, trying to bring your shoulder blades together and trying to reach the bar with your chest. Don't strain your biceps! You need to arch your back and direct your gaze to the ceiling. When your chest touches the bar, freeze for a short time.

At the same time, the upper and middle part of the latissimus muscles are also trained, and the paired round muscles are also trained. The grip also needs to be done as on a bench press. You need to do pull-ups without arching your back; at this time, your legs should be kept in line with your body. It should be remembered that in this exercise you need to keep your elbows pointing straight down.

We pump up the back muscles on the horizontal bar - video

The most important exercise for loading is the classic pull-up. There is no need to reinvent the wheel here. You need to do pull-ups, following the classic scheme, which involves several approaches without various jerks, smoothly. At the same time, it is necessary to monitor the speed of raising and lowering the body - the lower the speed, the stronger the muscles work. Remember that breathing should coincide with the lifting and lowering movements.

  • If you don’t know how to pump up your back on the horizontal bar, this is not a problem, do the next exercise correctly. The grip of the hands should be straight, arms parallel to the position of the shoulders. The greatest effect can be achieved if your legs are crossed, your back is slightly arched, and when you reach maximum height during the pull-up, your shoulder blades are squeezed together.

How to pump up triceps on the horizontal bar

By using a neutral grip, the athlete will be able to strengthen the triceps. You need to hang on the bar so that one fist is in front of the other. When exiting, you need to tilt your head to both sides. The next time you perform the exercise, change the position of your hands.

This list contains all the simplest and most effective ways to train muscles using a regular horizontal bar. Despite its simplicity, the horizontal bar is an excellent exercise machine with which you can achieve an excellent sculpted figure with trained muscles.

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