Which muscles are exercised by doing parallel bars?

Parallel bars are a very common fitness equipment in daily life. They can be seen everywhere, whether in parks, communities or schools. Exercising with parallel bars can not only keep fit, but also have many benefits for health. Many people usually use parallel bars for exercise. However, although parallel bars are good for exercise, many people do not know which muscles can be exercised by holding parallel bars? The following introduces which muscles can be exercised by holding parallel bars.

The benefits of holding the parallel bars, holding the parallel bars to exercise the chest muscles

Parallel bars have always been an approachable piece of fitness equipment and can be found everywhere, whether in parks, communities or schools.

Parallel bars, pull-ups, and push-ups are listed as the three classic bodyweight training exercises.

The push-up is one of the indispensable movements in upper limb training: it mainly exercises the lower pectoral muscles, but also exercises the triceps and anterior deltoids.

Starting action:

1. The distance between the parallel bars should be wider than the shoulder width. Hold the bar with both hands, use your arms to support your body upward, and keep your chest up and abdomen in.

Action process

1. Slowly bend your elbows and lower your body. When you are at the lowest position, pull your head forward and slightly extend your elbows outward. You should feel your chest muscles stretching.

2. Use the strength of your chest muscles to contract and support your arms, raising your body until your arms are straight (it feels like you are using your chest muscles to hold your body up).

3. When the upper arms exceed the horizontal position of the parallel bars, retract the hips slightly and lower the upper body with the head and chest tucked in.

4. When both arms are stretched out, the pectoralis major muscles are in a contracted and tense state. Repeat the above steps.

Precautions

1. Perform the movements slowly, and do not rely on the swing of your body or inertia to complete the movements (it is recommended that beginners use auxiliary equipment).

2. Push up a little faster and use your chest muscles to apply force;

3. Keep your chest and head up, abdomen in, and do not shrug your shoulders;

4. To increase the intensity of training, you can practice with weights around your waist.

Things to note when doing chest muscle training with parallel bar arm extensions

The first point: it will not stimulate the chest muscles

Many people don't know how to stimulate the pectoral muscles and triceps when doing arm curls. If you don’t know what posture to use, let’s take the chest muscles as an example. If your goal is to train your chest muscles, then when you are on the parallel bars, your body needs to lean forward so that your chest muscles are facing the ground. Keep your elbows out and focus on lengthening your pectoral muscles as you lower your arms. Keep your arms abducted when pushing up, and only push up to three-quarters of the height. This way you can focus on contracting your pectoral muscles with less involvement of your triceps.

Second point: Too much decline

We all want to stretch our chest muscles more so that they are stimulated more. But you must pay attention to your shoulders, as parallel bar dips will put a lot of pressure on your shoulders. This movement is actually very difficult. If you descend too deep during this movement, it is likely to cause shoulder injury, so we must find a suitable depth, descend slowly, allow the chest muscles to have a proper stretch, and then push up back to three-quarters.

The third point: Newbies should not try it easily

If you are not strong enough, don't try the parallel bar dip easily. As I said before, it is a difficult exercise. If you are not strong enough, you will not be able to do the dips properly. Doing improper movements for a long time will lead to muscle imbalance and injury. There are many solutions to prevent this from happening. Do more push-ups in your daily practice, and use elastic bands to assist with arm flexion and extension. After a period of practice, when you are strong enough to do it, you will be able to do it correctly and easily.