If you’re like most, you probably know that pull-up bar exercises are a great way to target your lats – the long muscles that stretch from beneath your shoulder blades to your mid-back – as well as your arms and core. But did you know that your pull-up bar can pull double duty (or even quintuple duty!) if you add other exercises in as well?
Yep. Accordingly, here are four exercises you can do on the bar that isn’t pull-ups. You’ll appreciate the variety they bring to your workout routine as well as the booty-kicking punch they’ll deliver to muscles all over your body. If you’re ready to rip it, read on.
4 Pull-Up Bar Exercises That Work Your Entire Body:
1. Windshield Wipers: Not Just for Cars
These ab-ripping exercises engage your abs, back, arm and leg muscles, so they offer full-body toning.
Here’s how to do them:
- Hang from the bar with your palms facing you.
- Then pull your legs straight out in front of you so your torso and legs form a right angle.
- From there, move your legs all the way to the left, then all the way to the right.
- Repeat channeling your inner windshield wiper.
2. Chin-Ups: An Alternative to Traditional Pull-Up Bar Exercises
According to Men’s Fitness, both pull-ups and chin-ups are excellent exercises for building back muscles. While pull-ups are the more difficult exercise and build back muscles faster, chin-ups are better for biceps, since the wide grip of pull-ups usually removes much of the strain on biceps, not building them as quickly.
Here’s how to do them:
- Switch your grip, so palms are facing you.
- Keep arms shoulder-width apart as you raise yourself to chin height and slowly return back to where you started.
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3. Leg Raises: A Strategy for Killer Abs
Leg raises while hanging from the pull-up bar work your lower core in ways that just aren’t possible on the ground.
Here’s how to do them:
- Hang from the bar with palms facing away from you.
- With arms fully extended, engage your core and lift your legs straight out in front of you.
- To make this exercise easier if you’re a beginner, you can bend your knees.
4. Shoulder Shrugs
Shoulder shrugs are a like a teeny pull-up, where you engage the upper trapezius muscles in your shoulders with minimal movement as shown here. They reduce stress and tension in your upper shoulders and make you stronger, so you’re less likely to get injured when doing exercises such as pull-ups.
Now that you know a much wider variety of pull-up bar exercises, you’ll doubtless see a serious increase in the results you get while at the gym or working out at home. Remember to incorporate all new exercises slowly to avoid injury, and work your way up to higher reps as you adjust. That way, you’ll see nothing but those awesome results you’re looking for.
