Push Up & Chin Up Bars

What is a Pull Up Bar?

A pull up bar, or chin up bar as some may refer to it, is a simple but versatile exercise machine that can be installed in doorways, hallways, and many other places around the home. Some pull up bars are mounted using screws and other hardware while others are portable and can simply be wedged securely in a door frame. There are also pull up stations which are larger machines typically for home gyms that may also include a dip bar. They provide a stable foundation for exercises like pull ups, chin ups, and many others that target a vast array of muscle groups. The beauty of a pull up bar is that it combines stabilizing exercises with active flexion and extension movements at the same time, so there are many muscle groups working in connection with each other.

What Exercises can I do with a Chin Up Bar?

The obvious exercises are pull ups (palms facing away from you as you grip the bar) and chin ups (palms facing toward you as you grip the bar). There are many variations on these two simple exercises that make them very versatile; wider grip, narrower grip, the climber pull up, behind the neck pull up, gironda sternum chin up, negative pull ups, band assisted chin up, and more. There are also many other kinds of exercises that are quite different than the basic chin up and pull up variations. Many of these target the abdominal muscles or other arm, shoulder, and back muscles. Moves like windshield wipers, hanging leg raises, and hanging reverse shoulder shrugs are just some more of the different ways you can make use of a pull up bar.

Muscles worked by a chin ups and pull ups

The primary muscles that are exercised by doing chin ups are biceps brachii (biceps),

latissimus dorsi (lats), and teres major (outer back). Pull ups target even more muscle groups: the latissimus dorsi, deltoids (shoulders), pectoralis major (pecs), teres major & minor (back), Infraspinatus (shoulder blade), triceps brachii (triceps), coracobrachialis (front shoulder).

What are Push Up Bars?

Push up bars are simple handles that when gripped, raise the hands off the floor and direct the weight of the body down through the wrist as it’s held straight, rather than at a ninety degree angle in the normal push up position. Just like chin up and pull up bars, push up bars also have many more uses other than their namesake. Other exercises you can do with push up bars are: wide-grip push up, close-grip push ups, mountain climbers, l-sits, tricep dips, and handstand push ups.

There is an incredible amount of diversity in these simple kinds of exercise equipment. The additional benefit of using bodyweight resistance is that as you build muscle, the weight you’re lifting increases as well, meaning that it’s as if your gym adapts with your body as it changes.