Using push-up bars for calisthenics is growing in popularity and for a good reason. They give you a variety of exercises to work on within a single session and you can use them anytime, anywhere when needed.
The best thing about them is that they are also easy to transport so you don't need a big workout area or no need to worry about carrying weights. Using push-up bars in your strength training is a great way to get a full-body workout and build muscle strength.
In this article, we will be looking at the different types of push-up bars. How you can work out using a push-up bar and the techniques involved.
What is a Push-up bar?
A push-up bar is sports equipment made with two bars that run parallel to both the floor and each other allowing you to perform bodyweight exercises easily with awesome benefits. The main purpose of the push-up bars is to help athletes do easy to complex exercises in a comfortable position.
Types of push-up bars
Push bars are available in most sports equipment stores, whether it’s physical stores or online shops. For that reason, you need to choose wisely before purchasing any equipment, which you can from the variety below:
Ball-bearing twist(Rotating Push-up bars)
Choosing ball bearing twists especially if you are a beginner is always considered a good choice because it helps you to have amazing functionality. Also, a pair of circular discs is always attached to the handles which makes it easy for you to twist them whenever you lift your body
Steel push-up bars
The Awtsu Steel Push-Up Bars are some of the best because they are made of quality lightweight metal and have comfortable grips. Because of the metal construction, they support a large amount of weight upwards of 180 kg, so you don’t have to worry about them breaking. Usually, the steel push-up bars come with S-shaped or U-shaped handles so that they can have a more powerful hand grip.
Plastic push-up bars
Buying plastic push-up bars has its advantages when it comes to a limited budget. However, experts do not recommend it at all due to its low quality.
Even high-level athletes are always warning us from investing in cheap types of equipment because they won’t support your hand stability and positioning and they are considered a bad choice for people who have issues with slippage and hand sweat.
Parallettes
The parallettes are one of the most commonly used push bars for calisthenic athletes. They are basically two bars that go across the ground and up to the height of your chest.
These bars offer you the ability to perform bodyweight exercises such as push-ups, dips, and chin-ups. They can be made of wood, metal, or even plastic polymers and are mostly lightweight and easy to carry around.
Benefits of push-up bars
Practicing your daily exercises with push-up bars can have a lot of benefits on your body as any workout should. Push-up bars have many benefits and just some of them are listed below.
Safer and better for your wrist
Using a push-up bar especially when you are forcing your hands on it to the floor makes it a little bit easier on your wrists. So if you have a wrist problem (like most athletes) a push-up bar will take off the pressure that you were suffering from.
Increase your range of motion
A 2012 study found that muscle lengthening workout is helpful to increase overall strength. The study also found that compared to not using a push-up bar, there was a moderate increase in muscle growth when performing push-ups.
The extra height that you get from the push-up bars allows you to get a more full range of motion through your chest, and shoulders especially when your body focuses on that push-up motion. It’s going to help you build muscle better than normal floor push-ups.
A convenient home gym
A great thing about having a set of push-up bars is that they’re not heavy to move around and can be stored away when they are not needed. Your workouts are convenient for use inside smaller garages or spare rooms converted to a home gym where space is limited. A push-up bar can be easily stored in a backpack or suitcase when traveling.
Now, let's look at what exercises can be done using pushup bars and how to perform them.
How do you train with Push-up Bars?
There are a variety of exercises that can be performed with the aid of a pair of push-up bars. These include:
Knee push-ups
The kneeling neutral grip push-ups are great starting exercises for beginners, especially if you don't have enough strength to do a full-body push-up.
- As a starting position, you need to apply a little bit of pressure to the bars and make sure that they’re stable.
- On the knees, what you need to do is keep your body in a straight position instead of bending the hips. So you can put more of your body weight behind you to increase the resistance.
- Go down like you would do a normal push-up exercise, you can also slowly go down to maximize the muscle tension. Your breathing pattern should be breathing in when going lower to the ground, and when you are going to push up, breath out.
- Repeat.
As a full and quick demonstration (heads down, looking down, and back up)
Full body push-ups
For full-body push-ups, position the push-up bars so that they are shoulder-width apart. This workout is designed to work the chest, triceps, and shoulders.
- You can either use the neutral grip with the push-up bars parallel to one another or in the over-hand grip with the push-up bars in line.
- Push up with your full body straight keeping the body in a locked position.
- Let the gravity pull your body down.
Close grip push up
This push-up bar exercise is going to target your triceps more intensely. You will have to place the push-up bars parallel to one another and as close as possible to each other.
- Use a neutral grip with the bars in line with your chest, elbows close to the side of the body, and the body locked in straight.
- You will feel when pushing up the chest muscles working out more.
- On the way down, your triceps muscles will be engaged more.
- Try to make 10 reps each set or until muscle failure so that your body can maintain the needed results.
Wide push-ups
For wide push-ups, place the push-up bars far apart on the floor, slightly further apart than your shoulders. The further apart the bars are the more effort is focused on working out the chest.
This is a difficult exercise that should be done when you find the exercises above easier. It becomes increasingly difficult as you increase the distance between the push-up bars. For this workout variation, bend your elbows outwards during the downward movement.
Push-ups with resistance bands
Push-ups with a resistance band are a great exercise that can be done with push-up bars. When performing a push-up with a resistance band around your back, pull the band to make it tighter.
This will add more resistance to the exercise. Place a resistance band on your upper back just below the shoulders, clutching together one end of the band, and place both hands in a push-up grip on top of each other.
Side-to-side push-ups
The side-to-side variation pushups involve balancing on one hand while the other is touching your elbow. They are more challenging than archer pushups and could be considered a stretching exercise as well.
Get into the standard push-up position and move your hands farther apart. Now, lower yourself down towards one arm only with the other hand far apart, you should feel like you’re supporting a lot of your weight.
To complete the rep, slide horizontally over to the other arm, and push up. The farther apart your hands, the higher percentage of your body weight will be supported by that side of your chest and shoulders, and arms making the difficulty harder.
What Push-up bar workouts suit you?
Push-up bars are a great way to get a full-body workout and build muscle strength. They allow you to do push-ups in different positions, which will work your muscles in different ways.
You can also use them for other exercises, such as advanced calisthenics like the L-sits, handstand push-ups, and planche. However, another article will feature the advanced push-up bar exercises.
If you have any suggestions on what push-up bar exercise that we should cover in the next article let us know in the comments. Please don’t hesitate to give us feedback through our social media page or via email, we’ll be looking forward to hearing from you.
Thank you for having the time to read this blog, we hope that we were very helpful in guiding you towards a successful workout routine with our tips and tricks.
Hi Team,
i am Ajay from Delhi India...