Stretching the spine and back muscles is aimed at reducing pain, improving your flexibility and resisting the destructive effects of a sedentary lifestyle, as well as intense strength training. Regular execution of hanging on the horizontal bar helps in this task. You only need to purchase simple equipment for the home, or, what’s simpler, go to the nearest gym or to the outdoor area. From this article you will learn about the benefits and dangers of hanging on the horizontal bar, as well as receive recommendations for its implementation.
First, let's look at the main positive aspects of this exercise.
Benefits for the back
Our spine is constantly under pressure. Whenever we are upright, regardless of whether we are standing or sitting, the force of gravity acts on the back. The spine contains 26 vertebrae, between which there are soft disks acting as shock absorbers. Over time, gravity pulls the vertebrae down, which leads to compression of the intervertebral discs.
The benefits of hanging a horizontal bar for the spine can hardly be overestimated. Exercise on the bar allows it to stretch and reduce excessive pressure. Also in their system of treatment of the spine, this exercise is used by prominent specialists in adaptive physical education, in particular Dr. Bubnovsky.
The use of hanging on the horizontal bar for shoulders
Vertical hanging on the crossbar allows you to stretch numerous shoulder muscles, which increases their flexibility, improves joint movement and reduces muscle tension. When doing bench presses or push-ups, good mobility in the shoulder joints allows you to do exercise with a wide range of motion, which leads to a better workout of the muscles of the upper body.
Thus, an increase in the amplitude of movement helps to reduce the risk of injury. Beautiful and healthy shoulders are important not only for guys, but also for girls, so hanging on the horizontal bar will benefit everyone.
Minimizing damage from power loads
Although weight training with weights is effective for building large muscle muscles and developing strength in general, they also affect our spine. Exercise — squats, traction, or bench presses — can compress the intervertebral discs. Depending on where the compression occurs, the disk may protrude from one or the other side, which causes nerve infringement. This leads to excruciating pain and weakness in the lumbar region. If the discs continue to shrink, but the pressure is not relieved, then a hernia occurs, in which the internal contents of the disc burst and begins to put pressure on the spinal cord. With the help of rest, stretching and medications, this problem can be solved, and the pain will subside soon, however, in some cases, the disease will go into a chronic stage and require surgical intervention.
What is the use of hanging a horizontal bar if you are a bodybuilder? If you regularly practice this exercise on the bar at the end of your squats and deadlifts (or any other heavy weight exercises that will compress the spine), over time this will help reduce the impact on the intervertebral discs and reduce the risk of getting a hernia. You will also stretch your upper body muscles, in particular the latissimus dorsi muscles.
Growth increase
As a result of the action of gravity, our growth actually decreases with age. Supporters of horizontal bar exercises claim that vis (with the help of arms or legs) helps to reverse the effects of gravity and stretch the spine in the opposite direction. In some cases, hanging upside down on the horizontal bar can help stretch your spine enough to increase your growth in the short term. However, the opinions of experts differ on whether the exercises on the horizontal bar are useful, and there is no conclusive evidence that the change in growth will remain forever.
Technique for hanging on hands
Now, having considered the main advantages of studying on the horizontal bar, it is necessary to move on to the practical part. How to carry out hanging on hands?
- To complete the exercise, grab the bar with your arms slightly wider than your shoulders and let the body hang naturally, with your legs straight or slightly bent at the knees. Try to relax your breath - slowly inhale and exhale, focusing on relaxing your body. All back muscles relax and excess pressure is relieved.
- Tilt your head and try to touch your chin to your chest. This will stretch the upper and middle back. To increase the stretch, carefully swing back and forth or ask one of your friends to slowly pull you down, holding your hips.
- Keep stretching as much as you can, but try to do the exercise for a total of 30 minutes per week.
To perform the hanging on one arm, the effectiveness of which is also confirmed by the experience of many athletes, grab the bar with your right hand and place your left on the belt. After 20-30 seconds, change your hand. Performing the exercise unilaterally is very useful for eliminating the imbalance in the development of the back muscle and curvature of the spine. Therefore, the benefits of hanging on one arm on the horizontal bar really are.
Main mistakes
There are two main mistakes that people make while hanging on the horizontal bar:
- Bending the arms at the elbows. Your arms should be fully extended to get maximum stretch in the spine.
- The inclusion of the latissimus dorsi muscles. You can automatically try to use the back muscles, as if you were about to perform a pull-up. However, when doing the hang, you need to focus on the complete relaxation of the upper body and not include muscle groups in the work.
Technique for hanging legs
There is an inverse variation of hanging on the horizontal bar - on the legs. This is a more extreme version of the exercise, which should be approached with caution.
- To perform an inverted vis on the horizontal bar, you will need special gravity boots. You must fasten them to the ankles and then attach them to the bar.
- Grab the bar with a wide grip. If you're a beginner, you can just keep holding the bar with your hands. When you feel more confident in this position, release one hand, and then, in the end, both hands to take an upright position.
- Limit the hanging time upside down to 45-60 seconds.
Harm of hanging on legs
As humans evolved to be mostly upright, our bodies are designed to perform functions such as pushing blood upward, in the opposite direction from the direction of gravity. Hanging on your legs can cause blood to collect in areas that are not designed to push blood up, such as the head, eyes, and lungs.
As a result, long-term side effects from exercise can include damage to the circulatory system, stroke, or even death. It is especially risky to hang upside down on the horizontal bar if you have any cardiovascular diseases, eye diseases, or if you are in a position.
Thus, before you hang on your feet, make sure that you have no contraindications, and also limit the time of the exercise to reduce the negative consequences.
Vis on the horizontal bar for the press
The horizontal bar is a very versatile equipment that can be used not only for pulling up or stretching the spine, but also for training the abdominal muscles. Habitual twisting and planks are undoubtedly very effective exercises for the press, however, lifting the legs in the hanging on the horizontal bar will also help you achieve the treasured six cubes.
- To perform this exercise, grab the bar with your hands, put your legs together. Then raise your straight legs in front of you to an angle of 90 degrees.
- Do not let your knees bend when you raise your legs. If you cannot raise your legs to parallel with the floor, lift them to a height that is comfortable for you.
- Move slowly so as not to use the power of the impulse and not sway. Jerking will not allow you to fully experience the work of the abdominal muscles, and the exercise will be useless and even dangerous.
There are many variations to perform this exercise: with bent knees, each leg in turn, or you can raise your legs to the crossbar. Depending on the level of your physical fitness, choose the option that is right for you. The benefits of lifting legs in the hang on the horizontal bar are really great. Be sure to try this exercise in your next workout.
Conclusion
So, now you have learned information about whether it is useful to hang on the horizontal bar for the spine and the body as a whole. If you perform the exercise correctly, it will exclusively benefit your body. This simple procedure, which can be performed at any time of the day, helps to build a healthier spine. It’s most effective to hang on the bar at the hitch stage of your workout. This will relieve tension and stretch the spine well. You can also pump up the press, performing leg lifts in the hang.
Thus, the horizontal bar is a very versatile equipment that, when used correctly, can only bring benefits to your body.