Sadly, monkey bars are becoming far less common in Australia. Schools in this country seem to be phasing them out, and monkey bars are seen in fewer playgrounds and parks. It appears that many outdoor 'fitness parks' which have exercise equipment seem to lack monkey bars.
As we see less of these low-tech yet versatile strength building equipment, the percentage of the population who are overweight or obese is on the rise, and so are a host of ailments that plague people who lead a sedentary western lifestyle. I am not suggesting that monkey bars alone would reduce the amount of overweight people in this country, but it would help.
One of the strength building exercises that we do on the monkey bars probably has a name, but I don’t know what the name is. It combines regular monkey bar swinging with pull ups, and it is kind of like doing pull ups that are far more functional and even have some cardio.
1) Start with arms fully extended, holding onto two bars with your palms facing away from you (pronated grip).
2) Do a pull up, go until your shoulder touches the bar. Use control, do not swing, do not hit the bar with your head.
3) Lower yourself until arms are fully extended and you are in a dead hang.
4) Once in the lower position (and not as you are on the way down), monkey bar swing to the next bar. Hold both bars with palms facing away from you (pronated grip).
5) Do a pull up, go up until your shoulder touches the bar. Always use control, never swing while doing a pull up, be careful not to hit the bar with your head.
6) Lower yourself until your arms are almost fully extended. Do not swing to the next bar until you are in this lower position with straight arms.
7) Keep repeating this until you reach the end of the monkey bars.
This exercise has many benefits. You get all the strength benefits that you would get with regular pull ups, you build the functional shoulder strength from swinging to the next bar, plus you get a small amount of cardio training.
Years ago, we bought a set of monkey bars for the kids to play on. They cost a small fortune, and were worth every cent.
My kids adore our monkey bars. Monkey bars are very versatile, younger kids can use them for some activities, and older kids can use them for other activities. It is kind of impressive to see my kids playing on these, and how strong they are as a result.
As well as my kids spending countless hours on them, I have also been using the monkey bars. I use them every day for stretching, dead hang, pull ups, chin ups, front lever, leg raises, and other strength exercises. I would almost go so far as to say that I use the monkey bars more than the kids do (but that isn’t true because my kids would sleep on the monkey bars if they were allowed).
Monkey bar strength exercise
My kids adore our monkey bars. Monkey bars are very versatile, younger kids can use them for some activities, and older kids can use them for other activities. It is kind of impressive to see my kids playing on these, and how strong they are as a result.
As well as my kids spending countless hours on them, I have also been using the monkey bars. I use them every day for stretching, dead hang, pull ups, chin ups, front lever, leg raises, and other strength exercises. I would almost go so far as to say that I use the monkey bars more than the kids do (but that isn’t true because my kids would sleep on the monkey bars if they were allowed).
Monkey bar strength exercise
One of the strength building exercises that we do on the monkey bars probably has a name, but I don’t know what the name is. It combines regular monkey bar swinging with pull ups, and it is kind of like doing pull ups that are far more functional and even have some cardio.
1) Start with arms fully extended, holding onto two bars with your palms facing away from you (pronated grip).
3) Lower yourself until arms are fully extended and you are in a dead hang.
4) Once in the lower position (and not as you are on the way down), monkey bar swing to the next bar. Hold both bars with palms facing away from you (pronated grip).
5) Do a pull up, go up until your shoulder touches the bar. Always use control, never swing while doing a pull up, be careful not to hit the bar with your head.
6) Lower yourself until your arms are almost fully extended. Do not swing to the next bar until you are in this lower position with straight arms.
7) Keep repeating this until you reach the end of the monkey bars.
I am lucky that my monkey bars have eight gaps, meaning each side gets worked four times, and everything is even. If you had an uneven number of gaps you would need to ensure that both sides were worked the same.
This exercise has many benefits. You get all the strength benefits that you would get with regular pull ups, you build the functional shoulder strength from swinging to the next bar, plus you get a small amount of cardio training.
I can do fifteen strict pull ups without putting in much effort, I can do about thirty if I relly push myself. Somehow doing these eight monkey bar pull ups is really hard and often leaves me out of breath.
One of the many things I enjoy about this exercise is it is easy to modify. Want to make this harder because it is too easy for you? If so, do this with a weighted dip belt. Want to work on endurance through doing more reps? No worries, go forward on the monkey bars the full length, then go backwards all the way to the start. Want to make it easier? Not a problem, only do two or three each side.
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