The crossbar is an excellent sports equipment for the development of different muscle groups. There are even special exercises on the triceps bar, with which you can work the arm extensor muscles.
You need to learn how to perform movements using a special technique, which is slightly different from traditional pull-ups.
Note that the triceps bar is not the best equipment, so pumping up this muscle group is much more difficult than exercises on the biceps or back bar.
There are different exercises on the triceps bar, which include pull-ups on a low bar (height to the knee or waist), push-ups from a standard height bar, and many others. Let's consider those that, in our opinion, are the most effective.
Bar push-ups
The first exercise on the triceps bar is quite simple: you need to climb onto the bar so that it touches the belt, and the body is supported by outstretched arms. Lower yourself by bending your elbows and touching your chest to the horizontal bar, and then rise back up. There are different variations of the movement:
- Wide emphasis. In this case, the inner part of the triceps is well worked out and muscle mass is built up.
- The usual emphasis is shoulder width. The outer head of the triceps muscle works.
- Narrow stop. You will bend your arms solely due to the work of the triceps. This option is the most difficult, but is most effective for experienced athletes.
Best Bodyweight Triceps Exercises
This exercise perfectly loads the entire triceps as a whole. If you want to put more stress on the lateral head, your elbows should be spread out to the sides, your hand position should be narrow, and your fingers should form a triangle. The further your hands are from the body, the more intensely the long head begins to work. To make it more difficult, you need to place your hands closer to the body, and to make the movement easier and relieve stress on the joints, it is better to perform it on an inclined bench.
One-arm push-ups are a fairly popular exercise and this is not surprising, because thanks to this option, the load on the muscles increases significantly. But to make it even more effective, you should place your feet on any height. But only experienced athletes will like this solution; to make the exercise easier and relieve stress on the joint, you can do push-ups from a bench.
Concentrated push-ups are quite rare in sports practice. Usually, it is performed with two hands, but since this article is devoted to the best exercises, in order to load the muscles to the maximum, it must be performed with one hand. In order not to injure the joint again and to avoid sticking your face into the ground, you should help yourself slightly with your other hand. Also, as a change, this exercise can be performed on a low horizontal bar, then the grip will be straight.
One of Arnold and Lee Priest's favorite exercises, it puts the most stress on the long head. To perform the exercise correctly, you need to press your elbows straight and try not to spread them, and also do the maximum range of motion (put your head further under the bar). Be sure to include it in your training program if you want to make your arms wider.
You can do push-ups from a bench in different ways, and this option is proof of that. The position of the brush plays a key role here. If you place your hand with your fingers towards you, then the medial bundle will be loaded to a greater extent. When the hand is rotated 180 degrees, the load shifts to the lateral head.
House push-ups, or as they are also called “pike” push-ups, do not load the joints as much as some of the previous ones.
If we talk about efficiency, the higher your legs are, the more difficult the movement will be. The elbows should not move apart so that the shoulders and chest are less involved in the work. With the right technique, you can achieve good results. What to do if there is nothing nearby except a regular horizontal bar? Is it possible to train triceps on the horizontal bar? After all, the horizontal bar is designed exclusively for pull-ups (not counting pre exercises), where only pulling muscles work! Even here there are some good exercises that train the triceps on the horizontal bar!
You've probably seen this exercise before, it's called "Korean push-ups." It is very problematic to perform, especially if your gluteal muscles predominate. It loads the medial bundle well, but to do this you need to grab the bar with a grip towards you.
And the last exercise is push-ups from the horizontal bar. At first glance, it may seem that there is nothing complicated about it, but if you straighten your body lengthwise, the load will change and the movement becomes much harder to perform.
Advice from experienced turnstiles
When training on the triceps bar, you need to fully concentrate and not think about anything else. Many experienced bodybuilders talk about the unique impact of mental focus on muscle development.
Do not work only with your own weight, to which the muscles will quickly get used to and stop growing fully. Use weights and change the program so that each subsequent workout is different from the last. With this approach, when training on a horizontal bar with weights is used, strength indicators and muscle volumes will progress.
You need to work out with iron, connecting your brain and psyche.
Any distractions by talking will disrupt the effectiveness of muscle growth. Thus, it is important to ensure the connection between the brain and muscles. In conclusion, we suggest watching a training session on the triceps bar from experienced horizontal bars:
How to pump up on the horizontal bar universal exercises
Despite the fact that pull-ups allow you to quickly pump up your arms almost completely, it makes sense to note certain types of exercises for specific muscles. So, for example, if the goal is to work out the biceps in the shortest possible time, then you can focus on exercises specifically for the biceps. Below we will consider exercises for individual muscle groups of the arms.
Exercises for triceps. The best option is pull-ups with a narrow grip and power-up. But for those who want to quickly pump up their biceps, there is a whole range of effective exercises. So, for example, one of them is pull-ups with a reverse and narrow grip.
How to train your hands on the horizontal bar?
To quickly pump up your hands, you can also use a horizontal bar without bothering yourself with daily visits to the gym. Strength training exercises develop the hands well. It should be performed in the same way as simple pull-ups - with squeezing the body upward after touching the bar with the chin.
A good option for those who intend to pump up and strengthen their hands are regular hangs on the horizontal bar. Hang for about 30 seconds, then try to pull yourself up a little. This exercise should be repeated several times a day, alternating hangs on different hands.
The hands can also be quickly strengthened by doing pull-ups on a towel or using special loops on the horizontal bar.
Training plan
Now let’s take a closer look at the plan on how to pump up your biceps on the horizontal bar. The first step is to do a warm-up to warm up the muscles, which should definitely include aerobic training (running, jumping rope, cycling). This will improve blood flow to all muscle groups, strengthen the cardiovascular and respiratory systems, and strengthen joints and ligaments.
- The first exercise is straight-grip pull-ups. Concentrate on bending your elbow joint. Great for both men and women.
- The second task is biceps push-ups. Most everyone is sure that there are only push-ups for the triceps and chest, but in fact this exercise can also include the biceps brachii muscle well.
- The third exercise is close-grip pull-ups on a horizontal bar. Reverse grip, close hand position, distance between palms 10-15 cm. This exercise works well on the medial head of the biceps. Rise all the way up and pause for a few seconds; you should not lower yourself all the way down.
- Next, push-ups again, but now classic push-ups, hands placed with a straight grip. The position of the elbows is not wide, average. This exercise targets the inner triceps. Doing this exercise is mandatory, because biceps and triceps are components of a single system.
- The last exercise is static. When performing it, the muscles are under strong tension, the limbs are fixed in one position. Take the bar with a narrow reverse grip and rise almost to the end. All your thoughts should be aimed at working a specific muscle, visualize. Breathe smoothly and hang in this position for the maximum amount of time.
Do 3-4 sets of each exercise (it all depends on your level of physical fitness, but try to do at least 8-12 times), rest between sets for 30-60 seconds. This way you will perform a superset. The training process should be systematic and you need to perform the exercises with full dedication, you should do it 3-4 times a week, because the muscles need to be given rest.
Full muscle recovery requires 48 hours, so training every day will not be beneficial. This way, you will see noticeable results within a month.
A little about the horizontal bar and biceps
So, is it generally possible to pump up arm muscles on the horizontal bar?
The answer to this question is ambiguous. The fact is that the horizontal bar will not help you gain large muscle volumes. But, it will make your body strong and sculpted. That is, you won’t grow much in size, but you will certainly look more pumped up, muscular and athletic.
If you show a lot of persistence, you may be able to increase the thickness of your arm by a couple of cm. But without heavy basic exercises, you will not gain significant mass.
The same applies to the biceps. The main problem with pumping up your arms on the horizontal bar and parallel bars is limiting the load with your weight. Look at athletes doing street training. They are not at all swollen. They are dry and textured.
And many people have this form not due to exercise or nutrition, it is a certain type of organism. Initially, a heavy person will not climb onto the horizontal bar to do pull-ups and do various acrobatic feats, simply because for him, with his weight, it is very difficult. Those guys who are initially good at the horizontal bar usually go to workout.
The horizontal bar and parallel bars are suitable for those who want to keep their body in shape and have strong and strong arms. If you want mass, go to the gym. Grab the barbell and go!
Since our article is dedicated specifically to the horizontal bar and hand work, we will analyze this topic in detail. We will talk about how to pump up your biceps on the horizontal bar, however, by the word “pump up” we mean: strengthen, make stronger, more prominent and defined. Get a few cm in volume as a bonus.
