The horizontal bar is the most affordable sports equipment for most city dwellers. It can be found on almost every playground or installed independently even in a small apartment. Moreover, people with different physical fitness can exercise on it, since even a child can perform a classic hang on a horizontal bar.
During the day, the spine of an ordinary person experiences enormous stress, which leads to the development of serious diseases. Even at the initial stage, they cause unprecedented discomfort, which reduces the quality of life. Hanging on a horizontal bar makes it possible to get rid of many problems and helps the spine cope with the loads placed on it. But these are not the only advantages of the exercise.
Is it useful to hang on a horizontal bar?
Despite the fact that there are many different hangs, the easiest one for stretching and relaxing muscles is considered vertical. Technically, this option is very easy to perform, but hanging for a long time is not easy. The main load is received by the muscles of the hands, forearms and deltoid muscles.
To stretch the spinal column and relax the back muscles, it is enough to spend no more than a minute hanging.
The disadvantage is that excessive and prolonged traction of the spine leads to stretching and possible deformation of the joint capsule, so stretching the spine should be correctly combined with strengthening the muscles that hold the spine.
Read more about exercises for the back extensor muscles →
Insert into place
But what if the back is really torn? First, everything needs to be returned to its place
. It is better if a good chiropractor does this, but sometimes you can do it yourself. How were ways to deal with a broken back discovered? Oddly enough, this was facilitated by the Inquisition’s sophisticated methods of torture. Inquisitors stretched out those suspected of witchcraft, trying to inflict pain on the tortured person and force him to confess to all his sins. However, sometimes after such torture the “sorcerer” felt relief from his chronic pain. However, nowadays you can do without a torture table - there are more advanced means.
What muscles work
This exercise is static. When performing a hang, many muscles are used, namely:
- Pectoral muscles.
- Back muscles.
- Abdominal muscles.
- Biceps.
- Muscles of the forearm and hands.
- Deltoid muscles.
Stretching your neck
For example, in order to stretch the cervical spine, there is a special device - a special head mask
with a hook for a rope. Hanging in such a mask, you can straighten your cervical spine. I even managed to correct my posture and my hands stopped going numb. After all, if there is a problem with the spine in the area of the shoulder blades, then everything is given into the hands, and sometimes it is even impossible to drive a car. Once I was stuck in a traffic jam for eight hours - I was driving to Canada by car. My neck started to hurt and my hands started to go numb. I took a piece of paper tape, which is difficult to pull out, tied it around my head, made a loop under the rope and “hung” from a handle near the ceiling of the car. People in cars around laughed, but it helped me.
How to properly hang on a horizontal bar for the spine
To begin with, it will be enough for untrained people to perform the exercise in the range of 10-30 seconds. It is very important to be able to relax your body so that only your arms remain tense. It is extremely important after completing the exercise to carefully go down from the bar, without jumping. To do this, use a hill. This exercise should not be performed before training. After performing the hang, you should not take a sitting position for the first half hour.
Hanging on the horizontal bar for the spine in video format
General Tips
Once again, it is necessary to remind you that you are allowed to start exercising on the horizontal bar only after consultation with your doctor and only during the period of remission.
- It is advisable to warm up a little beforehand. Warming up should not require physical effort; doing it only prepares the muscle fibers for further load. Warm-up will take no more than 5–10 minutes.
Don't forget to warm up before doing the main exercises - The total duration of exercise on the horizontal bar depends on the patient’s condition and physical fitness. But most doctors do not recommend spending more than 20 minutes on such exercises, including rest time.
- All movements must be smooth, sharp turns are strictly prohibited. On the horizontal bar you should perform only those exercises that affect the spinal discs and back muscles. The rest can be started gradually if you want to improve your figure.
Movements must be performed smoothly and without jerking - Excess weight is considered an obstacle to exercise on the horizontal bar. In case of diseases of the spine, you need to carefully monitor your body weight; excessive loads worsen the situation and have a negative impact on the healing process.
After additional examination, you can begin exercises on the horizontal bar for the back. Start with the easiest ones and, if possible, gradually complicate them.
Important. It is prohibited to jump off the horizontal bar. Its height should be such that your legs touch the ground with your feet. If the crossbar is higher, then you need to use stands or sports equipment.
Do not jump off the horizontal bar to avoid damaging your spine
Half-hang
The simplest exercise is recommended for patients with insufficient physical development and excess weight. The main positive difference is that the force of stretching of the muscles and vertebrae can be adjusted by the patients themselves by transferring part of it to their legs. The height of the crossbar should be such that your hands can reach the pipe with your knees slightly bent.
Position 1. Grab the bar with your hands, straighten your shoulders. Keep your head straight, don't tense up.
Position 2. Cross your legs slightly and very slowly begin to bend them.
Leg position
The body weight is transferred to the hands; adjust the amount of load taking into account your condition. If it is difficult for your arms to support your body weight, then straighten your legs and transfer it to them. Thus, during one approach, you can adjust the amount of load and the strength of muscle stretching several times. As soon as unpleasant or painful sensations appear, the exercise should be stopped.
Position 3. Slowly straighten your legs until the weight is completely transferred to them. Release the bar and straighten your arms along your body.
Slowly place your bent legs on the bench to complete the exercise.
After each approach, it is recommended to walk around the sports field at a slightly slow pace to restore breathing. If it’s difficult, you can sit down to rest. Half-hang is one of the few exercises after which you can sit down. This situation is explained by very low loads on the cardiovascular system; muscle fibers are not overstrained and do not require an increased supply of oxygen. It is the need for large portions of oxygen that causes rapid breathing and heartbeat.
Classic (full) hang
The next most difficult exercise for the back after the half-hang, it is recommended for patients in the stages of stable remission. Warming up before starting exercises is mandatory. You can lie down in the fetal position and stretch your back muscles on a large exercise ball.
Hanging on the horizontal bar with bent arms
This is an excellent exercise that uses the muscles of almost the entire body. During the exercise, the forearm flexors are in static tension and strongly contracted. The brachialis, brachioradialis and some other muscles are subject to enormous stress.
When the legs are bent at the knees, the abdominal muscles are also subjected to heavy load, and the center of gravity during this exercise shifts forward, engaging the pectoral and deltoid muscles.
It is generally accepted that one can remain in this position for a very short time. This exercise does not involve the biceps due to the fact that their attachment points are extremely close together, but the latissimus dorsi, teres major, infraspinatus and pectoral muscles actively work in a static mode.
The triceps brachii muscle is also involved in the work; its involvement is associated with flexion of the elbow joint. Involvement of the triceps is associated with the distance of their insertions from their origins. In this version of the hang, due to the shifted center of gravity, the body is not in a vertical position, but in an inclined position. Another difficulty of hanging on bent arms with bent legs is difficulty breathing. This occurs due to muscle contraction throughout the entire torso - from the pectoral to abdominal muscles.
Recommendations
Here are a few important points to observe when performing bent arm hangs.
- It is not recommended to perform hanging with bent arms for those whose number of pull-ups is less than fifteen.
- This version of the hang must be performed with fresh strength, so the exercise is not recommended to be performed at the end of the training process.
- By the way, this exercise is dangerous. The person performing it can easily get injured if they overtrain or violate the technique of the exercise.
- Be sure to warm up before hanging on the horizontal bar with your arms bent. Pay attention to the muscles of your arms, back and shoulders. Also include pull-ups in your warm-up. It is enough to perform several concentrated repetitions.
Hanging with bent arms: technique in video format
One-arm hang on the horizontal bar
There is an option for hanging with bent arms for more advanced athletes . For example, you can do a hang with one bent arm. This version of the exercise will be relevant for those who are able to perform five approaches of twenty seconds of normal hanging on bent arms.
The one-arm hang is performed with the same technique as the standard hang, but the grip should be straight.
Hanging with different angles at the elbows
The next version of the exercise is performed with both hands, but its peculiarity is that the athlete hangs with his arms bent at a certain angle (45, 90, 120 degrees).
Let's neutralize the consequences of physical inactivity
The spine suffers both from heavy loads on it and from their absence. Due to the peculiarities of the lifestyle of city residents, most of them are sedentary at home, at work and on the road. This has a negative impact on the back, which responds with pain to any attempts to perform exercises or even walk. If there is such a problem, then the classic hang will help change the situation. In the first days, you can hang for a minimum amount of time, gradually increasing the duration of your stay on the horizontal bar. After just 2-3 weeks of regular exercise, pain in the spine will become a rare occurrence, and a pleasant addition to this will be a surge of vigor and good mood.
Scientific view
Why is a healthy spine so important? Because it is the repository of the spinal cord, without which neither the skeletal and muscular systems nor the main vital organs could function. He is the core control center of our body. Even the slightest damage can have catastrophic effects on the functioning of the body. Fortunately, because of its critical importance to health and survival, the spinal cord has been well protected by evolution. Its safety depends on the integrity of the spinal column. And it, in turn, largely depends on the health of the network of ligaments and muscles that support it. Once the spinal column has formed, the best way to protect your spinal cord and keep it healthy is to keep your back muscles strong. Thus, you additionally take care of good posture, which ensures proper blood circulation and transmission of nervous energy, reducing the load on the internal organs. Therefore, a healthy spine is a healthy body as a whole!
Consolidating success
But putting the vertebrae in place is half the battle. We need to make sure that they are in place and remain. To do this, it is necessary to constantly support the spine
. To begin with, build up a muscle corset around the spine, and then maintain it in good shape. Pull-ups, push-ups, and special exercises for the back are suitable here. It is very important not to forget about stretching exercises, which must be done constantly. Simple regular squatting - in the “Tatar punks pose” - helps keep your back healthy. Try it, squat down - and you will feel pain in your lower back. It started stretching. Do this every day along with your other exercises and keep your back healthy.
Tags:
- Back
- Injuries
It is important to know
Work more with your own weight. It's sad when those who devote time to their back often do inappropriate exercises for this. They work with heavy free weights, doing exercises that place very high pressure on the upper spine. Such exercises inevitably lead to injury. Do a simple and natural exercise for the human body - pull-ups. You could say that people were practically born to pull themselves up. This is the safest exercise for the back, because the working movement in it occurs in accordance with natural biomechanics, not against it. If you don’t know how to do pull-ups yet, then progress using gymnastic rings, which you can buy in our store. As always, it is important to train hard and the results will not be long in coming. In addition, very soon we will publish an article on how you can quickly and effectively learn to do pull-ups. Follow our updates, but in the meantime we wish you progressive growth and a healthy back...
What John Kirsch's Research Tells Us
The doctor's research has shown that regularly hanging on the bar can help straighten the acromion.
If a person hangs on a bar every day for at least a few minutes, this can help get rid of unpleasant sensations in the shoulder joints. Of course, this exercise cannot be considered a panacea for all injuries, because the shoulder joint itself has a complex structure. However, if you are experiencing pain or discomfort in your shoulders and traditional treatments are not producing the desired results, it may be worth trying the bar hang.
Dr. John Kirsch
