How to breathe correctly when doing pull-ups on the horizontal bar, technique, mistakes

In a calm, relaxed state, you don’t need to think about breathing; it is natural and effortless, like your heartbeat. During an intense load to develop a particular muscle, you have to monitor your inhalations and exhalations in order to mobilize and rationally use the body’s resources, perform the entire set of approaches and repetitions, give the muscles the necessary training, and overcome the next step towards the goal. The article is about the correct organization of the respiratory process during pull-ups on the horizontal bar.

Benefits of Exercise

Many people are interested in how to start doing pull-ups on the horizontal bar from scratch. Let's look at this in more detail. The desire to learn pull-ups is quite justified, because this type of exercise has a huge number of advantages. First of all, the muscles of various parts of the body are involved in the process of their implementation. In addition, for training, except for the horizontal bar, no sports equipment, exercise equipment, equipment or special clothing is required.

Among the main benefits of pull-ups are the following:

training the muscles of the entire upper body - arms, back, shoulders, chest and abs;
strengthening joints and ligaments;
classes can be conducted both at home and outdoors;
training helps to develop correct posture and strengthen the health of the spinal column.

No other exercise has so many benefits. That is why many are interested in how to learn how to do pull-ups on a horizontal bar. Based on the words of experienced athletes, with the right approach you can master the technique in just a few weeks.

Various difficulties may arise when:

overweight;
poor physical development;
lack of practice;
insufficient functional training.

You also need to take into account that pull-ups have certain contraindications. It is better to avoid them if you have the following health problems:

rachiocampsis;
osteochondrosis;
hernia;
joint diseases;
protrusion of vertebral discs.

If you are completely healthy and decide to start playing sports seriously, then further on we will tell you especially how to quickly learn how to do pull-ups on the horizontal bar. By strictly following the instructions given, you can make your body sculpted and attractive in just a few months.

When is it contraindicated to exercise?

The crossbar is more of a power apparatus and the loads it creates when exercising on it can damage or disrupt the functioning of the athlete’s body.

Let's name some reasons

, in the presence of which it is best to limit exercises on the horizontal bar or
abandon them
:

If a person has intervertebral hernias,
experts categorically prohibit exercising on the crossbar. Even if there is no process of inflammation at the time of exercise;
if you sprain your ligaments
, you should avoid exercises with weights on the horizontal bar;
if you have a disease such as Kyphosis
, you should not do pull-ups with a reverse grip;
doctors prohibit exercising on the crossbar if you have a curved spine
;
In general, if you have any diseases of the joints and spine
, before you start exercising on the horizontal bar, be sure to consult a doctor;

Also overweight

more than 20% of the standard requires careful attention to the loads received on the horizontal bar. Since there is a possibility of damaging joints and ligaments.

Proper breathing is important during any physical activity, including pull-ups. This exercise takes a lot of strength and energy, forcing the muscles to work hard, and without supplying enough oxygen they will not cope with their task. What does incorrect breathing technique lead to when doing pull-ups and how should you breathe?

Types of exercises

Let's look at this aspect in more detail. Before we talk about how to learn how to do pull-ups on a horizontal bar, let's first look at existing techniques.

Exercises are divided into the following types:

Straight grip. The horizontal bar is clasped so that the palms face away from the body. This technique is considered basic. It is aimed at training the back and shoulder muscles.
Reverse grip. Similar to the one described above. The main difference is that the palms face the torso. This type of exercise is easier to perform, since the load is mainly on the biceps.
Mixed grip. When pulling up, one palm faces toward the body and the other away from it. Pulling up in this way is quite difficult, so you should try only after mastering the methods described above.
Neutral grip. Palms facing each other. This pull-up technique allows you to train the muscles of your lower back.

Depending on the position of the hands, pull-ups are of the following types:

With a narrow grip. Aimed at pumping biceps and triceps.
With a wide grip. Good for working the back muscles.
Classic grip. Hands are shoulder-width apart. It is universal because the load is distributed evenly across all muscle groups.

That, in fact, is all types of exercises. Now let's figure out how to start doing pull-ups on the horizontal bar from scratch. The article will also present the optimal training regimen for women and men, which will allow you to quickly achieve good results.

Actions of pull-ups on the body

Pull-ups on the horizontal bar are often included in various physical complexes aimed at working the upper back, shoulders, arm and chest muscles. It is considered a fitness classic along with exercises such as push-ups, squats and deadlifts.

Learn how to breathe correctly when doing push-ups and while running.

And this is not surprising, because pulling up on a horizontal bar has a number of key advantages:

the ability to simultaneously pump six muscle groups;
increase the effectiveness of training three times. A month of daily exercise gives a three-month result obtained from classical exercises;
achieve a triple effect: pump up the muscles of the upper block and abs, build muscle mass and give it volume, and also develop strength and endurance;
improve the condition of the spine, get rid of pain in the back and lower back;
gain beautiful posture by working out and strengthening the muscle corset, as well as stretching the spine.

Pull-ups on the bar are a simple, accessible exercise that does not take much time and does not require the use of additional equipment. Its effectiveness depends only on compliance with three rules: regularity of exercise, correct technique and breathing.

Features of the correct technique

Many beginners are interested in the easiest way to do pull-ups on the horizontal bar. Professional trainers recommend starting with a classic grip. Grasp the bar so that your hands are at shoulder level or slightly wider. The back should be straight, the shoulder blades should be brought together, and the stomach should be slightly retracted. As you inhale, pull your body up, and as you exhale, lower it down.

Exercises should be done slowly so that all muscles are as tense as possible. If you have not played any sports before, it will be very difficult in the first stages. But don't rush. A little practice and you'll start to get it right. The main thing is to adhere to the correct technique. Only in this case will the training be effective.

However, try not to do the following:

swing your body;
arch your back;
make too sudden movements;
hold breath;
pull your head into your shoulders.

If you can’t do pull-ups on the horizontal bar, then try different types of grip and choose the one that suits you best.

How to breathe correctly?

In an effort to improve your workout performance and increase your repetitions, you'll have to learn how to breathe properly. The technique is quite simple, so you can quickly master it if you wish.

Ideally, the bar should not be too high so that you can reach it by standing on your toes. Jumping onto the horizontal bar will make it more difficult for you to take a deep breath, and you will lose your breath from the very beginning. Grab the bar, bend your knees and take a deep breath, and then begin to stretch upward while exhaling smoothly. It should be long and end when the top point is reached.

At the top point, do not hold the air, but take a breath and smoothly lower as you exhale to the starting position. Then take a deep breath again and everything in a circle. If you are practicing more intense pull-ups at an accelerated pace, you can stretch upward with a long exhalation, and take a deep breath as you lower.

Exercises with additional weight

They are good for strengthening the back muscles and biceps. To perform them you need a barbell or a pair of dumbbells. You need to do pull-ups in several approaches of 10 times. But you shouldn't take too long breaks. Give yourself a break for no more than a minute. When choosing the weight of sports equipment, be guided by your own capabilities. The weight should be such as to create the maximum possible load on the muscles.

There are the following types of exercises with additional weight:

Bent-over barbell row;
vertical pull of the block;
horizontal pull to the waist.

If you do not have sports equipment, then you can use any other items that have a lot of weight as a weighting agent.

Australian pull-ups

How to do pull-ups on the horizontal bar? Australian technology is recommended for beginners. Let's look at what makes it special? It involves performing exercises on a low bar. Its height should be approximately at the level of the lower back. It is important to keep your back straight along its entire length throughout the entire workout. The main advantage of this exercise is that it is very simple. In addition, you can independently adjust the load level by changing the angle of your body. The larger it is, the easier it will be to practice.

During training, it is recommended to periodically change the type of grip. Using different techniques, you will be able to work different muscle groups, which will have a positive effect on physical development and prepare you for moving on to more complex types of exercise.

Newbie mistakes

A common mistake beginners make is holding their breath, as when underwater pearl fishing. For beginners, this technique helps to pay more attention to the implementation of the pull-up technique, which has not yet been formed, and also to concentrate all efforts on the work of the arm muscles to lift the body.

When there is not enough oxygen supplied, the body immediately reacts - it reduces the total duration of pull-ups due to a decrease in the number of repetitions.

Holding your breath while doing pull-ups is indicated by dizziness. If this happens, you should pay close attention to inhalation and exhalation - this is no less important than maintaining the correct technique for performing exercises on the crossbar or horizontal bar.

Loop exercises

Don’t despair if nothing works out on the horizontal bar. There is an optimal solution that will allow you to prepare for complex exercises. This will require TRX loops. We buy and learn to pull ourselves up on them. If you don’t want to spend money, you can sign up for a gym. This sports equipment can be found in absolutely any gym. With its help, you can effectively work with any muscle groups even without any training.

The loops are designed to perform the following exercises:

pull-ups;
arm curls;
push ups;
pistol squats;
lunges;
rear delt raises.

You can also use the loops to perform various exercises to train your legs and abs. Thus, they are an excellent alternative to many exercise machines and allow for comprehensive training.

Useful video about proper pull-ups

In ordinary life, a healthy person does not think about breathing, especially if he regularly plays sports. But, as soon as you limit the access of oxygen, the body will instantly react to its lack. In order for sports to bring maximum benefits, you need to breathe correctly when doing pull-ups, push-ups and other physical exercises. Knowing how to do it correctly, results can be achieved in a short time.

Beginners who decide to improve their skills need to start by learning proper breathing.

It is important to remember simple rules that need to be constantly applied in practice:

bending the elbows and lifting the body up is done while exhaling;
while inhaling, the body is lowered down;
When performing training movements, you cannot retain air in your lungs, i.e. you need to breathe constantly.

Beginners entering the gym often have to hold their breath when performing pull-ups in order to concentrate, mobilize and overcome the load. This is not correct, because it leads to a decrease in results: a lack of oxygen does not allow you to do pull-ups for a long time, and reduces the number of times you lift and lower your body with your arms. A sign of improper breathing is dizziness that occurs after performing a set of exercises. If this happens, attention should be paid to how timely exhalations and inhalations are made when performing the training complex.

Beginners, whose physical fitness is far from the best, are especially likely to hold their breath or breathe incorrectly. For them, even a moderate load turns out to be prohibitively heavy, requiring complete mobilization of strength, which makes it impossible to monitor whether inhalations and exhalations are performed correctly.

People with such low training will have to work and improve their physical fitness first. If they want to learn how to do pull-ups, they will have to start with lightweight options. Exercises are suitable when the body is positioned at an angle to the crossbar and the feet are on the floor.

Hanging on the horizontal bar

This is another very simple, but no less effective exercise. All you need to do is hang from the bar for a few minutes. If you can’t hold out for 60 seconds, then it’s obviously too early to move on to pull-ups. With this technique, novice athletes will strengthen their back muscles and be able to form correct posture. While exercising, try not to lift your shoulders or squeeze your neck. The torso should be free and relaxed.

What can't you do?

Proper breathing when doing pull-ups on the horizontal bar plays an important role, and what mistakes should not be made to avoid health problems? When young athletes aged 18-20 retain air during physical activity, this has almost no effect on their condition. Also, sometimes the method of holding the breath is used by professional athletes, who call it straining, but this is not suitable for beginners.

As for ordinary people, especially adults, holding their breath while doing pull-ups on the bar is dangerous because of the risk of rupture of small blood vessels in the eyes and brain. Beginners often do the opposite, pulling themselves up to the bar while inhaling and lowering themselves as they exhale - this is also harmful to health and affects the effectiveness of training.

Jumping pull-ups

When a person just starts playing sports, he is faced with one very big problem, namely, insufficient physical development. Many beginners who have no idea how to learn how to do pull-ups on a horizontal bar immediately try to master complex techniques. As a result, they fail and decide to quit exercising. Experienced trainers recommend starting with simple exercises and gradually increasing the load.

One of these is jumping pull-ups. Its essence is to push off the ground with your feet, giving your body acceleration, after which your arms take the load. Before returning to the starting position, you need to hover in the air for a few seconds. All movements should be leisurely and smooth.

What helps you breathe when doing pull-ups?

Holding your breath and doing it incorrectly are often associated with insufficient training of the body. Even minimal physical activity absorbs all your strength and attention, requires full concentration - a beginner literally forgets to breathe.

In order for the exercises to bring maximum benefit, it is worth increasing the strength and fitness of the muscles - this approach helps to pay the necessary attention to the correct execution of inhalations and exhalations when doing pull-ups on the horizontal bar.

In addition to auxiliary exercises with weights - for example, with dumbbells - perform light pull-ups:

Feet on the floor, legs bent at the knees - the muscles of the legs help lift the body.

Another variant:

Lower the bar of the horizontal bar lower so that the heels of the straightened legs are on the floor and thereby reduce the body weight that will have to be lifted using the muscles of the arms.

Having developed your muscles with these lightweight exercises, you can gradually perform “real” pull-ups, observing technique, including breathing:

First, use a reverse grip - palms clasping the bar towards you.
Gradually move to a direct grip - at the beginning of the exercises, the palms are directed away from you.

In any case, before directly performing training exercises, it is worth studying and mastering the technique of pull-ups, and not striving to quickly increase the number of repetitions and approaches.

At the same time, form proper breathing habits: inhale when lowering the body and exhale when overcoming the load of lifting body weight.

Negative pull-ups

Any physical exercise consists of two stages. The first is called positive when the muscles tense, and the second negative when they relax. The training will be most effective if both stages are involved. However, beginners usually find it very difficult to perform such exercises. Therefore, if you are interested in the question of how to learn to do pull-ups well, and complex techniques are not yet working out, then you can practice using a special method. It involves performing only the negative phase. To do this, you need to lean on the crossbar with your arms bent, hold in this position for some time, and then slowly lower yourself down. The longer you can hold out, the better. Such exercises are good for strengthening the muscles of the back and arms. It is advisable to perform them in three sets of 10-15 pull-ups.

Why is it important to breathe properly?

Pull-ups on the bar are an exercise with its own technique and nuances that are recommended to be observed. Many beginners neglect them or simply don’t know anything about them. Such subtleties include proper breathing. The supply of oxygen to working muscles, heart and other internal organs depends on it.

By focusing on the working muscle groups and proper breathing, you will increase the number of repetitions by 1-3 times, and also maintain your health. If you hold in air, your blood pressure will increase, and you may experience a headache or dizziness after exercise. Hypertensive patients sometimes even lose consciousness because of this.

Optimal training scheme

Above we described in detail how to learn pull-ups. But to achieve the desired result, following the correct technique is not enough. It is equally important that classes are regular. Therefore, it is better to develop your own training program, which will include exercises aimed at working the muscles of all groups of the upper body. Ideally, you will study every day, but if this is not possible due to being very busy, then you need to set aside at least three days.

It is better to start training with pull-ups on the horizontal bar with a wide grip. But if it turns out to be too difficult for you, then you can use any other type. For beginners, the following weekly training schedule will be optimal:

first - 3 sets of 6 times;
second - 3 sets of 10 times;
third - 4 sets of 10 times;
fourth - 4 sets of 15 times;
fifth - 4 sets of 20 times;
sixth - 5 sets of 25 times.

Now you know how long you need to do pull-ups on the horizontal bar. During your workout, give your muscles a few minutes of rest. If this scheme turns out to be too difficult for you, then you can make certain adjustments to it, adapting the program to your physical abilities.

Tips for beginners for effective training

Correct breathing technique when doing pull-ups on the horizontal bar will reduce physical fatigue, increase training productivity, and achieve your goals faster.
Anyone can learn to breathe correctly. The main thing is to listen to the advice of professional athletes:

You cannot perform a full cycle of pull-ups on one inhalation or exhalation (that is, make a downward movement). Lifting must be done while exhaling, lowering the body - while inhaling;
It is forbidden to hold your breath at the peak point of tension, as this will lead to an increase in blood pressure, and, as a result, dizziness, fainting and even cerebral hemorrhage. You need to breathe evenly, deeply, resting, if you don’t have the strength to continue doing pull-ups;
It is not recommended to change the rhythm and pace of breathing during the exercise. It is advisable to perform it at the same pace and rhythm as they were at the very beginning (this especially applies to beginners);
after 10-15 repetitions, as a rule, the speed of the exercises decreases, and it becomes impossible to maintain the previously set respiratory rate. In such cases, professionals advise that when hanging on straight arms, take an additional two or more breaths and delay the execution for a few seconds.

Did you know? The world record for the number of pull-ups on the bar in 60 minutes belongs to Russian athlete Nikolai Kaklimov from the Krasnoyarsk Territory. He managed to do 844 pull-ups.

General tips and tricks

There are several rules that, if followed, will make pull-ups easier and more effective. Here are the most important ones:

You should not make sudden jerks. They can lead to injury, as a result of which you will have to forget about the horizontal bar for a long time.
Don't overexert your body. During training, muscle fibers are injured, so they need recovery. Everything is good in moderation.
When performing exercises, do not hold your breath under any circumstances, otherwise you will become exhausted too quickly.
Gradually increase the number of sets and pull-ups. This is the only way you can make progress.
If your hands sweat a lot, wear rubber gloves. They will reduce the likelihood of injury.
Always do a warm-up to warm up your muscles before you begin your main exercises. This will reduce the likelihood of spraining.

These tips and tricks will help you get the most out of your workouts and achieve positive results.

Breathing technique for pull-ups

If the breathing technique is incorrect, any exercise loses its effectiveness, and in some cases can harm a person’s health. It is recommended to develop the habit of breathing correctly at the very beginning of classes. It is proper breathing that will allow you to saturate the cells of the muscles, heart and brain with oxygen to the maximum, improve blood circulation, and “start” and strengthen metabolic processes.

Did you know? For those who want to at least slightly increase their height and become a few centimeters taller, it is recommended to “hang” on the horizontal bar every day. You should pull yourself up, then drop sharply. Having relaxed your body and stretched your arms, you need to make rotational movements with your body.

Holding your breath can lead to oxygen starvation, and, as a result, increased blood pressure, dizziness, and fainting.

Video: correct breathing when doing pull-ups The following technique will help you learn to control your breathing during the exercise:

hang on the horizontal bar, bending your knees and tucking them slightly “under you”;
bring your shoulder blades together and take a deep breath through your nose;
do not raise the body too quickly, while performing a long exhalation, which should end at the level of the maximum upper point;
without delay, having reached the peak point, slowly lower the body, accompanying the exercise with inhalation through the nose;
repeat the exercise as many times as necessary.

Important! In sports practice, there is a basic breathing rule: exhale while performing the main effort, inhale while relaxing.

This algorithm of actions will allow you to establish proper breathing, facilitate the process of performing physical exercises and make them as productive as possible.