Bar Hangs & Shoulder Activation Exercises
To start your journey to your first pull-up, we recommend starting with a couple simple exercises — shoulder circles, passive bar hang, active bar hangs. These exercises are fairly simple and they focus on improving your grip strength, shoulder mobility, lat activation, and core stability – all essentials for doing a pull-up. They are also essential movements to improve your overhead mobility and counteract bad posture symptoms.
Shoulder Circles
- Starting off on all fours with your hands on the floor directly under your shoulders
- With your arms straight, push away from the floor arching your back and shoulder blade muscles
- Then allow your chest to sink to the floor while squeezing your shoulder blades together (imagine trying to squeeze a tennis ball between your shoulder blades)
- Next, while your shoulders are neutral, shrug your shoulders up towards your earns and then down away from your head
- Finally incorporate all the motions to roll your shoulders in a circular motion (try performing this in both directions).
Dead Hang
- Jump or use a step to reach up to your pull-up bar.
- Grip the bar with an overhand (pull-up) grip.
- Relax your shoulders and hang for 20-30 seconds, depending on your ability and comfort level
- Keep your eyes and head facing forward toward the horizon
- Safely drop from the bar after the time is up and allow your hands to rest
Active Hang
- Jump or use a step to reach up to your pull-up bar.
- Grip the bar with an overhand (pull-up) grip.
- Retract your shoulders away from your ears and open up your chest and hold for 5-10 seconds
- Keep your eyes and head facing forward toward the horizon
- Safely drop from the bar after the time is up and allow your hands to rest
Shoulder Pull-ups
- Jump or use a step to reach up to your pull-up bar.
- Grip the bar with an overhand (pull-up) grip.
- Start with your shoulders relaxed and then retract your shoulders away from your ears and open up your chest and hold for 1-2 seconds
- Keep your eyes and head facing forward toward the horizon
Suggested Workout
3 Rounds of:
- Shoulder Circles | Repeat 10 times in each direction
- Dead Hang + Active Hang | DH 20-30 seconds + AH 10-20 seconds
- Shoulder Pull-ups | 3-5 repetitions, 30 seconds rest between each round
*Take a rest between rounds as needed
*Approximate workout time: 15-20 minutes
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