The best abdominal exercises on the horizontal bar and bench

Everyone who plays sports dreams of beautiful, sculpted abs with six-pack abs. At the same time, this area is problematic, and it is not so easy to work through it. In addition, results cannot be achieved without diet correction. As for exercises, such a simple device as a horizontal bar can help you with them. Let's figure out how to pump up the press on the horizontal bar, which has already helped many builders of their bodies.

Why you should try exercises on the horizontal bar

This type of training provides a complex load on a muscle group. During classes, both the muscles of the upper and lower abs are constantly involved. The effectiveness lies in the fact that the load on the abs depends on the person’s body weight, respectively, the greater the weight, the more difficult it is to perform the exercises.

The main difficulty is that during exercise the load falls on the arms. Injuries are common under heavy loads, so it is important to warm up before each session to avoid damaging a muscle or joint.

Several advantages of the horizontal bar, relatively expensive exercise equipment, can be noted:

Availability
The muscles of the arms, back and abs are involved
Promotes rapid muscle hypertrophy

Advantages of the crossbar

The horizontal bar is one of those projectiles that are distinguished by their accessibility. The courtyard, stadium, sports and gyms are equipped with it. Even for those who have limited space in their apartment, it is possible to use the compact version in the doorway to always stay in shape.

Will it help my stomach?

Exercises on the horizontal bar help you lose weight on all parts of the body, making it more elastic and toned. These exercises get rid of fat deposits, but also increase muscle strength. The benefits for the abdominal area are more than obvious. During pull-ups, the abdominal muscle fibers actively work.

However, like any physical activity, exercise on the horizontal bar requires proper nutrition. Therefore, it is important to switch to healthy foods, exclude everything fatty, salty, sweets and baked goods, everything that causes a sharp increase in appetite, saturates with fast carbohydrates. You should include more protein foods and fresh vegetables in your diet. It is also necessary to drink as much plain water as possible.

These exercises can be classified as both cardio and strength training. During exercise, excess calories are burned, thanks to improved blood circulation, oxygen enters cells in greater quantities, breaking down lipids. And after training, the body spends its own resources on recovery for several more hours. Thus, the volume of problem areas is significantly reduced.

We recommend reading about weight loss barbells. From the article you will learn about the benefits of training with a barbell, a set of exercises for women and men, and the rules for performing classes. And here is more information about strength exercises at home.

Pull-ups on the horizontal bar, although they are a difficult exercise, provide an excellent effect for improving the health of the entire body, increasing endurance and losing weight. Patience and systematic exercise will help get rid of problem areas on the body. A comprehensive approach to losing weight is important.

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Unlike other exercises, the load during exercise on the horizontal bar is much higher. This is achieved due to the large amplitude of each movement. Since the load on the back muscles is quite large, such exercises help the body actively grow and stretch, which is certainly a plus, especially for those who are not tall.

We offer a quick selection of the most effective exercises in the Fortress channel demonstration:

We will analyze many of these exercises in detail below.

Technique

At first glance, it may seem that the frog exercise is a variation of a straight twist. However, unlike the latter, it is more difficult to implement. Most often, beginners make the following mistakes when working with this exercise:

Raise the body completely. When lifting, only the shoulder blades should be lifted off the floor, while the lower back should be pressed to the surface;
They rest their hands on the floor. Of course, this will make it easier to perform the frog exercise for the press, but the main work should still be done by tensing the abdomen, and not the arms;
They are not breathing properly. To make the task easier, remember a simple breathing technique: when you inhale, muscle contraction and tension occurs, and when you exhale, relaxation occurs.

The required number of repetitions of the frog exercise for the press is 10-20 times. Calculate the load according to your level of training.

Exercises on the horizontal bar for the press

The proposed techniques are presented in order of progression of the required level of training.

Hanging Leg Raises

This is a popular abdominal exercise on the horizontal bar. When performing it, you use both the lateral and rectus abdominal muscles, loading them to the maximum. The mechanism for performing hanging leg raises is quite simple: hang on the bar and raise your legs until they are parallel to the floor.

As soon as it is achieved, increase the level, try to reach your chest with your knees. To make it easier, you can raise your legs bent at the knees.

Execution technique . Using a wide or medium grip, grab the bar of the horizontal bar. Initially straighten your legs, and then raise them so that a right angle is formed between them and the body. Slowly return to the starting position.

Hanging Knee Raise

We perform the exercise 12 to 15 times per approach, after which we need to move on to the next exercise.

Contraindications

Despite all the benefits of exercising on the horizontal bar, there are cases when they should be strictly limited. Due to the direct impact on the spine, pull-ups with musculoskeletal problems must be done with extreme caution. It is better to consult a doctor to get recommendations for exercises.

Strict contraindications include:

obesity and excessive excess weight;
heart disease;
curvature of the spine more than 2 degrees;
various congenital vertebral anomalies;
intervertebral hernia;
protrusion.

To learn how a girl can do pull-ups on a horizontal bar, watch this video:

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To make the workout more challenging, raise your legs until they contact the bar. With this version you also work your lower back significantly. Do up to 3-5 approaches or in a circuit training format.

Many beginning bodybuilders struggle with hanging leg raises due to poor physical fitness. Also, beginners can rarely boast of perfect technique. If this is your case, no problem. Even the toughest athlete in your gym or sports field was no different from you when he first started training.

Instead of hanging leg raises, try lighter exercise options: leg raises on a bench, on parallel bars or in a machine.

Raising bent legs in the simulator

Special technique. Bend your knees and lift them to chest level. From this position, slowly straighten them until they are parallel to the floor. Then, bend your legs again, press them to your chest, and lower them. A little persistence - and soon you will be able to lift your straight legs from the starting position.

Alternate knee raises

A similar exercise, only the knees are raised alternately. The main load falls on the oblique muscles.

Execution technique . Take the correct position in the ab rack. As you exhale, raise your knees to your chest. As you inhale, slowly return to the starting position.

Alternate hanging knee raises

Perform repetitions from 12 to 15 times with each knee to get the expected result.

Exercise “Corner” for holding

Another exercise that allows you to pump up your abs on the horizontal bar. It is performed in a similar way to hanging leg raises, but, nevertheless, is slightly different. When you raise your legs to parallel with the floor, lock them in this position.

The longer you can hold on, the more you will load your abdominal muscles, and the better the result will be.

Under no circumstances allow sudden jerks and gradually increase the number of sets! When doing the corner no longer causes you difficulties, you can complicate this abdominal exercise on the horizontal bar and begin to pull yourself up, additionally working the arm muscles.

“Scissors” on the horizontal bar from the corner

Continuing the corner technique, this name speaks for itself. While remaining hanging, you need to take turns raising your legs without stopping. When done correctly, your knees should meet halfway. Repeat 25-30 times per approach.

Corner pull-ups

This is rumored to be Bruce Lee's favorite exercise on the abdominal bar. Hanging on the horizontal bar, bend your legs to a comfortable angle; ideally, your legs should be parallel to the floor. Start by pulling up to eye level, then to your chest and gradually you can easily reach your chin.

Corner pull-ups

Gradually release your legs only when you feel a strong burning sensation in the tense muscles. Do not help yourself by rocking or using your back muscles; all the work should be on your abdominal muscles.

To achieve the best effect, you need to do three sets of 8-10 lifts each.

Wipers

Starting from a straight hang, you need to raise your legs so that your ankles are higher than the bar. In this position, you need to alternately turn left and right. The exercise must be performed with a deeper rotation.

Lifting the body on the horizontal bar

To work out your oblique abdominal muscles well, do crunches.
To do this, while hanging on the horizontal bar, raise your bent legs, but not in front of you, as during all previous exercises, but move them alternately to the left and to the right. Having caught your feet on the horizontal bar, you need to perform twists as high as possible to give the necessary load. Then a smooth descent to the starting position. It is necessary to lower the body as smoothly as possible in order to obtain sufficient stress on the abdominal muscles.

To add emphasis on the obliques to this exercise, you need to perform lateral crunches.

Lateral crunches on the horizontal bar

To work your obliques well, do side crunches. To do this, while hanging on the horizontal bar, raise your bent legs, but not in front of you, as during all previous exercises, but move them alternately to the left and to the right.

Raising the pelvis in full trajectory

The exercise is based on lateral crunches from a standard hang. You need to alternately twist left and right. It is important that the movement ends with lifting the pelvis, thereby engaging the upper muscles.

Increasing difficulty

Another option to influence performance is to take care of additional weights. You can purchase special equipment or use “folk” methods, for example, putting a backpack with heavy things on your back.

But don't forget about your safety! Gradually increase the load and securely support the additional weight.

You can pump up your abs not only on the horizontal bar, but also in combination with other exercises, for example, remember the well-known body lifts from a lying position (Sitaps).

Pump up your abs on the horizontal bar

Superset – 4 times
Hanging Knee Raises

4 sets of 12-15 reps
Body Part: Press Equipment: No

Lateral Hanging Knee Raise

4 sets of 8-10 reps
Body Part: Press Equipment: No

Triset - 2 times

Alternate hanging knee raises

2 sets of 10 reps
Body part: Press Equipment: Body weight

Corner pull-ups

2 sets of 10 reps
Body Part: Lat Equipment: Bodyweight

Twisting (crunches)

2 sets of 25 reps
Body Part: Press Equipment: No

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And in conclusion, we offer a bonus training program from Igor Voitenko:

Superset 1: Leg raises + Straight knees. 3 supersets, 60 seconds rest
Superset 2: Circuit raises + Lateral knees, 3 supersets, 60 seconds rest

Rest

Since many novice athletes completely forget about rest, it’s worth talking about it separately. Don't deprive your muscles of the opportunity to recover after training. Overload will not only not lead to the desired effect, but can also undermine your health.

Therefore, they should not be allowed. Be sure to take into account rest in your training program; you cannot exercise every free minute of your time. If you have not trained before, start exercising 2 days a week (once every 3 days for about 30 minutes), then you can gradually add more time.

Between sets, do not neglect a short break, but make sure that its duration does not exceed 5 minutes. The optimal time to rest in this case is 2 minutes. If you take too long a break, blood will drain and your training performance will seriously decline because... the muscles will have time to return to their normal state.

Useful video

For the best exercises on the horizontal bar, watch this video: