12 Best Swiss Bar Exercises for Muscle Mass and Strength

The barbell was arguably the most important invention in strength training history. People have been doing bodyweight exercises forever, but when the barbell became popular, structured, productive lifting became a widespread pastime.

Barbells have evolved a fair bit since someone first attached some weights to the end of a long metal rod. Modern barbells have revolving sleeves, knurling for better grip, and are made to flex in all the right places to maximize comfort, safety, and performance.

But, as awesome as barbells are, they have disadvantages, with the main one being the position of your hands. While you can move your hands in or out, the only grip options you have are limited to:

• Pronated – palms down
• Supinated – palms up

While there is nothing wrong with either of these hand positions, using them all the time can cause wrist, elbow, and shoulder problems.

Sore joints? Switch to using a Swiss bar!

In a lot of pushing and pulling exercises, your body wants to rotate your wrists, elbows, or shoulders to achieve biomechanical efficiency and make the most of the available levers. But, because your hands are locked into a pronated or supinated position, this is not possible. As such, some exercises can compromise your joints.

Dumbbells can help alleviate this problem, but that’s not always practical. After all, it’s not easy to get two heavy dumbbells into the right position to do dumbbell bench presses. A barbell in a bench press station is much easier to unrack.

And that’s where the Swiss bar comes in. Also known as a football bar, a Swiss bar has several sets of parallel and angled handles so you can break out of the pronated or supinated rut.

While it’s unclear why Swiss bars are so-called, the football bar nickname makes a lot more sense. This bar is popular with football players who, because of all those big hits, often have very banged-up shoulders. The range of grips on the Swiss bar means that they can continue doing bench presses despite their compromised joints.

While the Swiss bar IS ideal for more shoulder-friendly bench presses, it can be used for a host of other exercises.

In this article, we reveal the 12 best Swiss bar exercises for building muscle and strength.

Best Swiss Bar Exercises for Muscles and Strength

Do bench presses hurt your shoulders? Or do rows bother your elbows? Save your joints and add some variety to your workouts with these Swiss bar exercises!

• Swiss Bar Bench Press
• Swiss Bar Push-up
• Swiss Bar Bent-over Row
• Swiss Bar Seal Row
• Swiss Bar Neutral Grip Pull-up
• Swiss Bar Inverted Row
• Swiss Bar Overhead Press
• Swiss Bar Hammer Curl
• Swiss Bar Skull Crushers
• Swiss Bar Rollout
• Swiss Bar Pullover
• Swiss Bar Jammer

1. Swiss Bar Bench Press

Bench presses are what Swiss bars were invented for! You can use a wide grip to emphasize your chest or a narrower grip to hammer your triceps. Regardless of which position you use, keeping your hands parallel instead of pronated will take the stress off your shoulders and could save you from a lot of future aches and pains.

Use a Swiss bar for flat, incline, decline, wide, and narrow grip bench presses. Experiment with all the available hand positions to see which one works best for you.

Read more about bench pressing here.

2. Swiss Bar Push-up

Push-ups might “only” be a bodyweight exercise, but they deserve a full-time place in your training even if you are an advanced exerciser. Swiss bar push-ups are more challenging than doing them with your hands on the floor, as you’ll need to work harder to maintain stability. This increases muscle activation. In addition, you can experiment with your hand placement to find the most comfortable, productive grip.

How to do it:

1. Place your Swiss bar on the lowest setting of your squat rack.
2. Place your hands on the chosen grips and walk your feet back into a high plank position.
3. Brace your abs, tense your quads, and squeeze your glutes.
4. Bend your arms and lower your chest down toward the bar. Keep your shoulders down and back, and squeeze your elbows in toward your sides.
5. Extend your arms and repeat.
6. You can also do this exercise with your feet elevated, while wearing a weighted vest, and with chains draped over your shoulders to increase the resistance.

3. Swiss Bar Bent-over Row

Bent-over barbell rows are an excellent exercise for building a bigger, stronger back, but they have their limitations. For example, using a pronated grip means your biceps may fail before your back, and the stronger supinated grip can feel uncomfortable, especially if you have tight biceps.

The neutral grip Swiss bar bent-over row is more joint-friendly and allows you to really squeeze your elbows back and in to maximize back muscle recruitment.

How to do it:

1. Hold your Swiss bar with a shoulder-width or slightly wider parallel grip.
2. With your feet about shoulder-width apart, bend your knees slightly and then hinge forward from the hips until your upper body is at an angle of about 45 degrees.
3. Pull your shoulders down and back, brace your core, and let your arms hang down.
4. Without using your legs or rounding your lower back, row the bar up into your abdomen. Squeeze your shoulders back and together to complete your rep.
5. Extend your arms and repeat.

4. Swiss Bar Seal Row

While bent-over rows are an excellent back builder, your performance will probably be limited by the strength of your lower back. Seal rows, also known as chest-supported rows, take your lower back out of the equation, leaving you free to work your upper back and biceps safely and comfortably.

How to do it:

1. Place a flat bench on blocks or stacked weight plates so that, when you lay face down on it, your hands do NOT reach the floor.
2. Lie on the bench and hold your Swiss bar with your preferred parallel grip. Shoulder-width apart or slightly wider works best.
3. Pull your shoulders down and back to stabilize your joints.
4. Bend your elbows and pull the bar up and into your abdomen.
5. Extend your arms and repeat.

5. Swiss Bar Neutral Grip Pull-up

No pull-up bar in your gym? Or do you find that underhand chin-ups and overhand pull-ups bother your elbows? Try Swiss bar neutral grip pull-ups. With several hand positions to try, you should have no problem finding a grip that’s easy on your elbows and also works your lats.

How to do it:

1. Place your empty Swiss bar high in a power or squat rack. Ideally, it should be about 12 to 18-inches above head height.
2. Grip the bar with your preferred hand position.
3. Hang from the bar with your arms straight and legs bent so your feet are clear of the floor. Brace your abs and pull your shoulders down and back.
4. Bend your elbows and pull your chin up and over the bar. Lead with your chest and drive your elbows back and in as you ascend. Flex your upper back hard at the top of each rep.
5. Lower yourself under control and repeat, taking care not to relax your shoulders between reps.

6. Swiss Bar Inverted Row

Too tired (or too heavy!) to do pull-ups? Try Swiss bar inverted rows instead. This exercise hits all the same upper back muscles, but there is less weight on your arms. Also, as a horizontal pulling exercise, the Swiss bar inverted row emphasizes the middle trapezius and rhomboid muscles, which are important for good posture and general shoulder health.

How to do it:

1. Place your Swiss bar in a squat rack at about waist height.
2. Sit below the bar and grab your preferred handle.
3. Lean back and, with legs extended, lift your hips off the floor, so your body is straight.
4. Bend your elbows and pull your chest up to the bar. Drive your elbows back and in to maximize muscle activation. Squeeze your upper back hard at the top of each rep.
5. Extend your arms and repeat.
6. Make this exercise easier by raising the bar or harder by elevating your feet.

7. Swiss Bar Overhead Press  

If you have ever marveled at the log pressing prowess of the competitors in the World’s Strongest Man, this is the exercise for you. Like the real log press, the Swiss bar overhead press puts your hands in a neutral position which is both strong and joint-friendly. Also, you are more likely to find a Swiss bar than a log press bar in most commercial gyms!

How to do it:

1. Place your Swiss bar in a squat rack set to just below shoulder height.
2. Take your preferred grip and stand close to the bar. Your forearms should be vertical and your wrists straight.
3. Brace your abs and pull your shoulders down and back.
4. Unrack the bar and take a step back.
5. Press the bar up and overhead to arms’ length.
6. Lower the bar back to your shoulders and repeat.
7. You can also do this exercise using leg drive to help you press the weight up, i.e., a Swiss bar push press.

8. Swiss Bar Hammer Curl

While there is nothing wrong with dumbbell hammer curls, using a Swiss bar may allow you to lift more weight and create more muscle tension and fatigue. Your hands are locked into a neutral position, leaving you free to focus on curling the weight up and down. Use this exercise to build biceps and forearm strength and size.

How to do it:

1. Hold your Swiss bar with your preferred parallel grip. Shoulder-width works well.
2. Stand with your feet about shoulder-width apart, core braced, and shoulders down and back.
3. Bend your elbows and curl the Swiss bar up to your shoulders. Try not to use your legs or back to lift the weight.
4. Lower the Swiss bar under control and repeat.

9. Swiss Bar Skull Crushers

Want to make strong triceps even stronger? Try Swiss bar skull crushers. The parallel grip is very elbow friendly, and as Swiss bars tend to be a little heavier than Olympic and EZ curl bars, you’ll have no problem overloading your triceps with plenty of weight.

Make sure you’ve got a spotter on hand because it’s all too easy to hit yourself on the head while doing this exercise. They’re called skull crushers for a reason!

How to do it:

1. Lie on a flat bench and hold your Swiss bar with a shoulder-width parallel grip. Press the bar up and hold it over your chest.
2. Bend your elbows and lower the bar down toward the top of your head. Let your arms travel slightly backward to stretch your triceps.
3. Extend your arms and return to the starting position.
4. Finish off your triceps by switching immediately to close grip bench presses at the end of your skull crushers. This is a post-exhaust superset.

10. Swiss Bar Rollout

Rollouts are a challenging abs exercise that are even better when you use a loaded Swiss bar. Swiss bar rollouts will overload your core and put your arms and elbows in a comfortable, joint-friendly position. Build abs of steel with Swiss bar rollouts!

How to do it:

1. Load your Swiss bar with a weight plate at either end, e.g., 25lbs. Place the bar on the floor.
2. Kneel behind the bar and hold it with a slightly wider than shoulder-width grip.
3. Brace your abs and pull your shoulders down and back.
4. Keeping your arms straight, roll the bar away from you and lower your chest down toward the floor. Allow the bar to rotate as you descend to protect your joints.
5. Using your abs, pull the bar back in toward your legs.
6. Take care not to let your hips drop or your spine hyperextend at any time during this exercise.
7. Increase the difficulty by doing this exercise from standing, although be warned that it is MUCH harder this way!

Also read: Barbell rollout exercise guide

11. Swiss Bar Pullover

Part lat exercise and part pec exercise, the pullover is usually done using a single dumbbell. However, this forces you to use a somewhat awkward narrow grip. Doing pullovers with a Swiss bar is more comfortable as you can place your hands in a more natural position.

How to do it:

1. Lie along a flat bench, or, if you prefer, you can lie crossways with your shoulders on the bench.
2. Using a slightly wider than shoulder-width neutral grip, press the bar up and hold it above your chest.
3. Keeping your elbows slightly bent but rigid, lower the bar back and down behind your head.
4. Pull the bar back up and over your chest and repeat.
5. If you decide to lie across the bench, take care not to drop your hips and arch your spine, as doing so puts a lot of stress on your lower back and shoulders.

12. Swiss Bar Jammer

Jammers are popular with football players, so it only seems right to include this football bar variation in our list of best Swiss bar exercises. This exercise develops full-body strength and power, which is exactly what you need to be a successful gridiron legend! The set-up can be a little tricky, but your efforts will be rewarded as this is an excellent exercise.

How to do it:

1. Using the outside of a power rack, suspend your Swiss bar from a couple of strong webbing straps, like those you get with gymnastic rings or a suspension trainer. The bar should be about shoulder height.
2. Hold the bar with a shoulder-width, parallel grip, and stand with your feet together a short way behind the bar.
3. Step forward and explosively push the bar forward and up, so it swings out and away from you.
4. Step back, bend your arms, and repeat but this time, drive off the other leg.
5. Continue alternating legs for the duration of your set.
6. Take care not to bounce the bar off the side of your squat rack.

Benefits of Swiss Bar Exercises

Swiss bar exercises are not commonly available in every gym but if your gym has it, you can benefit from using it.

• Easier on Your Shoulders: The Swiss bar is designed for those who prefer or need a neutral grip. This can help maintain a natural shoulder position during pushing and pulling exercises and provide relief for those with shoulder joint issues.
• Triceps Development: Swiss bar exercises involving a neutral grip require a narrower hand position, which can lead to greater triceps development. This is beneficial even if you are not specifically targeting your triceps and can help improve your bench press and overhead press lockout.
• Increased Stability: Swiss bar exercises challenge your balance due to their unique shape, providing a different training stimulus. This strategic instability can actually help make your lifts more stable by forcing you to focus on keeping the bar path true, leading to increased strength and precision.

Programming Swiss Bar Exercises

Incorporating Swiss bar exercises into your regular routine can provide significant benefits. Here’s how to do it effectively.

Exercise Selection

The Swiss bar is a valuable tool for adding heavy training volume to various muscle groups while minimizing shoulder strain, thanks to the neutral positioning of its handles. Even if you need to train for a bench press competition, incorporating Swiss bar exercises into your routine can help you achieve extra chest volume without experiencing joint pain. You don’t have to replace your barbell training entirely, but swapping the Swiss bar in every other training day for each muscle group or using it as accessory work after your big barbell lift can yield significant benefits.

To optimize your Swiss bar training, choose exercises that target muscle groups where you’re plateauing with barbells and dumbbells, such as swapping Swiss bar skull crushers for triceps growth or doing Swiss bar single-leg RDLs to strengthen your hamstrings. By following these guidelines, you can make the Swiss bar a key part of your workout routine and achieve your strength and muscle mass goals.

Swiss Bar Sets and Reps

You can perform both compound and single-joint lifts with the Swiss bar, making its rep ranges highly variable. However, there are a few rules of thumb to keep in mind when figuring out how many sets and reps to perform with Swiss bar exercises.

• For strength, aim for 3-4 sets of 4-6 reps (compound) or 3-4 sets of 8-10 reps (isolation)
• For muscle mass, try 3-5 sets of 6-12 reps (lower end for compounds)
• For technique, opt for a higher rep range with lighter weight, such as 2-3 sets of 12-15 reps. Beginners should prioritize technique before adding weight

Wrapping Up

Despite being primarily used for bench presses, the Swiss bar is a surprisingly versatile training tool that you can use for many other exercises. The parallel grips mean that you can adjust your hands and put your joints in a comfortable and biomechanically efficient position, which is not always the case with a regular barbell.

If your elbows or shoulders are starting to bother you, or you simply want to inject your workouts with a little more variety, a Swiss or football bar could be the solution you’ve been looking for.

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