Top 11 Push-Up Bars to Strengthen Your Upper Body (2020)
Are you looking for push-up bars in the UK?
We don’t blame you, as they're an effective piece of equipment that you can use to either assist you in performing push-ups, or to make them harder if you happen to be a pro!
There are a number of reasons why you should invest in a pair of push-up bars, but we’ll go into detail later on in the article.
So, let’s jump right into how to use push-up bars!
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How to Use Push-up Bars Correctly
If you haven’t used this type of equipment before, here’s how to use push-up bars:
- Place the bars on the floor in the same spot that you would normally place your hands during a push-up
- Grip the handles and assume a plank position, with your elbows almost locked (but not entirely) and your body in a straight line (avoiding arching your back or pushing your glutes too high into the air)
- Lower yourself in a controlled manner, until your reach your desired depth (those who want to make their push-ups more difficult can increase their range of motion)
- Push yourself back up into the starting position, maintaining good form
If you find that doing a regular push-up is too difficult, all you would need to do is drop your knees to the floor and perform your push-ups from that position until you feel ready to progress.
If you're confident in your push-ups and you want to try a challenging alternative that targets your triceps, take a look at the diamond push-up!
Now that you know how to use push bars correctly, let's move on to the benefits of using this piece of equipment.
Benefits of Push-up Bars
#1 - More Effective Workout
If you’re searching for the main benefits of push-up bars, then look no further!
Using a push-up bar will enable an extended range of movement during the exercise, meaning that you will be able to lower your body much further in comparison to regular push-ups. This makes the exercise more challenging, and therefore more effective in providing you with better results.
Each repetition you do will become more intense as you target muscles that are usually missed during regular push-ups, meaning that there's more oppourtunity to grow muscle mass and strength.
#2 - Gentle on Your Wrists
When you perform a normal push-up, you will sometimes experience extreme backward bending of the wrist which applies a huge amount of pressure on your tendons and ligaments. This can cause joint pain very quickly.
Therefore, taking this pain out of the equation will be one of the most important push-up bars benefits! The bars will ensure that your wrist will be in a more comfortable position when you perform a push-up.
#3 - Superior Grip
When you use a push-up bar it will give you a much better grip on the floor, especially on tiles and laminate flooring.
On these types of surfaces, sweaty hands can easily slip which could lead to improper form and injury. Luckily, the push-up bars normally have a non-slip base to ensure all you need to do is to focus on your workout.
As we’ve discussed push-up bars benefits, the next section will focus on how to choose the right product for you!
Choosing the Right Push-up Bars!
Even though there are a number of push-up bars on the market, it is difficult to pick which one is best suited for you. This is why we've put together a few tips on choosing the best push-up bars, as well as shortlisting 11 products to choose from so that you have a narrowed-down search.
There a number of things to consider when purchasing bars, including...
Weight Capacity
The push-up bars weight capacity is very important. You would need to check the weight limit on the product before you buy, as you do not want to risk breaking the bars and losing money (or worse, injuring yourself). Therefore, always check and consider the capacity of the bars!
Comfort
When using push-up bars (which make a great addition when building a home gym by the way), it’s vital for you to target the muscles in your arms and chest. If you want to do endurance training, it’s important to consider different factors such as grip padding which is vital when investing in a bar.
Transporting the Bar
Push-up bars are actually very easy to store away and are normally lightweight. Tehy're a great tool to have either when you go away or even to incorporate it into an office fitness routine.
In fact, all of the products that are on this list are easy to transport, but it’s definitely a factor to consider when you are hoping to take your bars with you anywhere you go!
Stability
There’s nothing worse when using push-up bars to find out that they're unstable when you use them to workout.
It’s important to look out for things which could affect the stability of the product. This can be the base width of the push-up bar or the weight capacity. It’ll be a good idea to look at other reviews of the product to really get a true sense of what it will be like before you purchase it!
Price
The last and probably the most important things to consider when choosing the right push-up bars would be the price of the product. Normally what would happen is the higher the price of the bar, the better quality and built the product will be. This however, may not always be the case. There may be cheap push-up bars out there which are suited for your needs and what you wish to use them for.
So, are push-up bars worth it?
It’s important for you to shop around to get the best deal because if you find a bar that is right for you and is cheaper than some of the others that you've seen, then it would probably be a good investment. You will need to take into consideration all of the above to realistically make the right decision!
Press here to see the list of the 11 Push Up Bars -> here