A pull up bar has to be one of the very most useful and versatile pieces of gym equipment out there. It’s just one
small metal bar that you can buy very cheaply, but with it you can train the entire body. Unfortunately most people think of pull up bars as something they use only to train their biceps and their traps, but this is to ignore the full potential of this miraculous little bar. The pull up bar can do much more, but one of the areas where it is most powerful is in training the abs – and it’s possible to use the pull up bar to get the best stomach workout you’ll probably ever experience. Here we will look at how to do that and open up a whole new world of possibilities for your door-frame friend.
Hanging Sit Ups: If you have a pull up bar that you screw into your door frame then this can be adjusted to any height within the frame. One of the best ways to use this for your abs then is to put it half way up the wall and then hook your legs over it so that you can do sit ups hanging upside down. This takes incredible core strength and let’s be honest – looks awesome. Of course you can do this one without moving the bar, but it’s a lot safer if you do.
Regular Sit Ups: Or, to make regular sit ups more difficult, lower the bar right to the bottom of the door frame and then tuck your feet underneath it. This will target your abs more and isolate your core to prevent you from swinging your body to perform the repetitions.
Hanging Leg Raises: Here you are going to simply hang from the pull up bar with your arms, and then gradually raise your feet up in front of your with your legs straight. This is a difficult move that will also develop your isometric strength in your arms.
Frog Kicks: Frog kicks are an easier version of leg raises – here you raise your knees up to your chest with your legs bent almost as though you’re doing hanging tuck jumps. One thing you can do to make this even more effective is to do as many leg raises as you can possibly perform until you’re too tired to continue, and then to start doing frog kicks as a ‘drop set’ so that you can train past failure.
Chair Lifts: Hold your legs out straight and keep them there, now just do pull ups while you’re holding that position. This is an isometric hold for your stomach, and while regular pull ups will train your abs well on their own, this will maximize that.
Free Form: There are many more exercises you can use a pull up bar for to strengthen your abs, and not all of them have a name. For instance one move I like to do is to do a pull up starting normally but then bringing my navel up to touch the bar with my body out straight. Pull ups with a twist meanwhile will train the obliques surrounding your abs and you can also combine leg raises with normal pull ups and many more. Watch videos like the Bartendaz online to get inspiration, and then just go with what gives you that burn.
Jane Williams writes articles on health and fitness. She recommendes some of the best folding treadmills on her blog.
