Attaching a bar or beam to a wall in your home gives you an opportunity to add variety to your normal workout routine. You can purchase commercially manufactured chinup or pullup bars, ballet barres and a specific device known as a Swedish ladder for use in your home gym. With these bars, you can perform exercises that focus on different parts of your body and help you develop grace, coordination and strength.
Chinups and Pullups
Chinups and pullups are exercises that use your own body weight to develop upper-body strength. Performing chinups and pullups on a regular basis can help increase your performance abilities in any sport that relies on the muscles in your upper body. You can purchase chinup or pullup bars that attach to walls. The chinup is performed with your palms facing you on the bar. This exercise focuses more on developing your biceps and pectoralis major muscles, says Wayne L. Westcott, author of "Building Strength and Stamina." Pullups are performed with your palms facing away from you on the bar. While the pullup still works your biceps, it puts more emphasis on developing the muscles in your upper back.
Swedish Ladder
The Swedish ladder, also referred to as a stall bar, is an exercise apparatus consisting of a door-size frame with horizontal beams attached to a wall. According to "The Crossfit Journal," the stall bar is a beneficial tool for overall conditioning, developing strength and increasing flexibility. The placement of the bars allows you to hang in a variety of positions while keeping your body stable. With a Swedish ladder, you can perform a variety of exercises at home, including chinups, ballet barre, hanging abdominals and stretching.
Ballet Barre
A ballet barre is used to perform many exercises prior to and during a ballet workout. You can purchase commercially made barres or make your own by attaching a dowel to a wall. Ballet barre exercises are usually associated with dance, but these exercises can also help improve the fitness and flexibility level of nondancers. Ballet barre exercises focus on and tone your abdomen, arms, gluteal muscles and thighs.
Leg Lifting
The leg-lifting exercise, also known as a hanging abdominal curl, uses the weight of your body hanging from a bar to help tone your lower abdominal muscles. In this exercise, you hang from a bar or beam attached to a wall or in a door frame and raise your legs off the ground, bringing them to a 90-degree angle with the floor. Using your abdominal muscles, and not the swinging momentum of your legs, provides a more effective workout.
