You used to have to go to the gym or drill holes in the walls of your home to use a pullup bar in your workout routine. But with the introduction of in-home pullup bars that attach to the top of a door frame without any hardware, including a pullup bar in your strength-training toolbox is relatively simple and offers you several new exercise options.
Back Exercises
A pullup bar is most commonly used for back exercises. Pullups and chinups work your lats, the muscles that run down your back on each side of your spine and your biceps, the muscles on the front of your upper arms. You do pullups with your palms facing away from you and chinups, which work the biceps muscles more, with your palms facing toward you. For a standard grip, place your hands just outside your shoulders, but experiment with other grips, such as a wide or narrow grip.
Ab Exercises
Pullup bars can be used to do advanced abdominal exercises. Hanging leg raises are difficult to perform and require significant abdominal strength. For the basic version, hang from a pullup bar and pull your legs up until your thighs are parallel to the ground and your knees are bent at a 90-degree angle. Pull your knees into your chest, rounding out your lower back. For the advanced version, keep your legs straight as you lift them up.
Intensity
Pullup bar exercises are advanced movements. Pullups, chinups and hanging leg raises all require certain levels of strength before you can do them properly. You can make these exercises easier by using an assist, which could be a person or an sturdy and stable object. Place a chair or bench, for example, under the pullup bar and set your feet on the object. Push through your legs to help pull yourself up. A spotter can also help boost you up towards the bar or hold your legs during the leg raises. Once you can perform these exercises with just your body weight, gradually add resistance using a weight belt.
Sets and Reps
The American College of Sports Medicine recommends doing eight to 12 repetitions of an exercise. However, if you are just starting to use a pullup bar, you may not be able to complete these many repetitions. Use an assist or do as many repetitions as you can with proper form. You can also do several small sets. For example, do two reps, rest a few seconds, then do a couple more and continue in this manner until you reach your target repetitions. Don't sacrifice form just to do more repetitions, however.
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