Parallel bars - Revision history

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2025-09-08T14:09:39Z

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	== Apparatus ==		== Apparatus ==
	The apparatus consists of two [[parallel (geometry)\|parallel]] bars that are held parallel to, and elevated above, the floor by a [[metal]] supporting framework. The bars ~~are composed~~ of [[wood]] or ~~other~~ material~~, with an outer wood coating~~.<ref>{{cite web \|title=Apparatus Norms \|url=~~http~~://www.~~unorp~~.br/~~downloads_blogs~~/~~Nomenclatura_dos_aparelhos~~.pdf \|publisher=[[Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique\|FIG]] \|page=~~II/27~~ \|format=PDF \|~~access-~~date=~~2009~~-10-20 \|~~archive-~~url=https://~~web~~.~~archive~~.~~org~~/~~web~~/~~20120907083021~~/~~http:~~//~~www~~.~~unorp~~.~~br/downloads_blogs/Nomenclatura_dos_aparelhos~~.~~pdf~~ \|~~archive-date~~=~~2012~~-~~09-07~~ \|~~url~~-~~status~~=~~dead~~ }}</ref> The vertical members of the supporting framework are adjustable so the height of the bars above the floor and distance between the bars can be set optimally for each gymnast.<ref name=~~dimensions>{{cite web \|title=Apparatus Norms \|url=http~~://www.unorp.br/downloads_blogs/Nomenclatura_dos_aparelhos.pdf \|publisher=[[Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique\|FIG]] \|page=II/28 \|format=PDF \|access-date=2009-10-20 \|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120907083021/http://www.unorp.br/downloads_blogs/Nomenclatura_dos_aparelhos.pdf \|archive-date=2012-09-07 \|url-status=dead }}</ref>		The apparatus consists of two [[parallel (geometry)\|parallel]] bars that are held parallel to, and elevated above, the floor by a [[metal]] supporting framework. The bars must be elastic and stable, and the surface of the bars must be made of wood or a similar material.<ref name=":0">{{cite web \|date=2023 \|title=Apparatus Norms \|url=https://www.gymnastics.sport/publicdir/rules/files/en_Apparatus%20Norms.pdf \|url-status= \|archive-url= \|archive-date= \|access-date=2009-10-20 \|publisher=[[Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique\|FIG]] \|page=40-41 \|format=PDF}}</ref> Modern bars are typically made of two [[Ash wood\|ash]] rails reinforced inside with [[fiberglass]].<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal \|last=Babela \|first=Michal \|last2=Seman \|first2=František \|date=2025-06-30 \|title=The History and Technological Development of Parallel Bars \|url=https://journals.uni-lj.si/sgj/article/view/22129 \|journal=Science of Gymnastics Journal \|language=en \|volume=17 \|issue=2 \|pages=199–220 \|doi=10.52165/sgj.17.2.199-220 \|issn=1855-7171\|doi-access=free }}</ref> The vertical members of the supporting framework are adjustable so the height of the bars above the floor and distance between the bars can be set optimally for each gymnast.<ref name=":0" />

	=== Dimensions ===		=== Dimensions ===
	*Bar length: {{convert\|350\|cm\|ft}} ± {{convert\|1\|cm\|in}}~~<ref name=dimensions />~~		The bars must have the following dimensions:<ref name=":0" />
	*Bar rounded profile: {{convert\|5\|cm\|in\|abbr=on\|frac=32}} ± {{convert\|1\|mm\|in}} vertical by {{convert\|4\|cm\|in}} ± {{convert\|1\|mm\|in}} horizontal ~~<ref name=dimensions />~~		*Bar length: {{convert\|350\|cm\|ft}} ± {{convert\|1\|cm\|in}}
	*Height of bar from floor: {{convert\|200\|cm\|ft}} ± {{convert\|1\|cm\|in}}~~<ref name=dimensions />~~		*Bar rounded profile: {{convert\|5\|cm\|in\|abbr=on\|frac=32}} ± {{convert\|1\|mm\|in}} vertical by {{convert\|4\|cm\|in}} ± {{convert\|1\|mm\|in}} horizontal
	*Distance between bars: {{convert\|42 to 52\|cm\|in}} (adjustable)~~<ref name=dimensions />~~		*Height of bar from floor: {{convert\|200\|cm\|ft}} ± {{convert\|1\|cm\|in}}
			*Distance between bars: {{convert\|42 to 52\|cm\|in}} (adjustable)

	==History==		==History==
	~~The parallel~~ bars ~~(in German~~ ''~~Barren~~'') ~~were invented by~~ [[Friedrich Ludwig Jahn]] ~~in [[Berlin]]~~.<ref>~~[http~~://www.gymmedia.com/ghent2001/appa/bars/history_ba.htm ~~History~~ of bars]</ref> In 1819 the first transportable parallel bars were ~~described~~. ~~In 1856~~, Hermann Otto Kluge used tubes to ~~adjust~~ the ~~parallel and horizontal~~ bars ~~in Germany~~. ~~He used them~~ in his ~~gym~~. In ~~Tolstoy's ''~~[[~~Anna Karenina~~]]'', ~~published between 1873~~ and ~~1877,~~ their ~~use for exercise is mentioned~~.		[[Johann Christoph Friedrich GutsMuths]] created an apparatus with bars and beams, though the first edition of his book, ''Gymnastics for the Youth'' ({{Langx\|de\|Gymnastik für die Jugend}}), published in 1793, did not include drawings of parallel bars. A later edition published in 1847 did.<ref name=":1" /> Another early German gymnast named [[Friedrich Ludwig Jahn]] is considered to be the inventor of the parallel bars.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web \|title=History of Parallel Bars, Artistic Gymnastics \|url=https://www.gymmedia.com/ghent2001/appa/bars/history_ba.htm \|access-date=2025-09-02 \|website=www.gymmedia.com}}</ref> He created the first known set of parallel bars, based on the [[Pommel horse\|vaulting horse]] with extended handles and no body between them, and installed them in his open-air gymnastics exercise ground, which opened in [[Berlin]] in 1811. At the time, they were meant to strengthen the arms for exercises on the vaulting horse, then a substitute for exercises on a real horse.<ref name=":1" />

			Jahn later came into conflict with [[Hugo Rothstein]], a proponent of [[Swedish gymnastics]], over the use of the bars. Rothstein, director of the Central Gymnastics Institute founded in 1851, removed both the parallel bar and the [[horizontal bar]] from German gymnastics curricula. [[Emil Heinrich du Bois-Reymond]], a German professor of physiology, recommended returning the parallel bars to German gymnastics. They were reinstated into curricula in 1862 or 1863.<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite book \|last=Finkelstein \|first=Gabriel \|title=Emil du Bois-Reymond: Neuroscience, Self, and Society in Nineteenth-Century Germany \|publisher=The MIT Press \|year=2013 \|isbn=978-0262019507 \|location=Cambridge; London \|pages=180–182}}</ref>

			The first parallel bars could not be adjusted and were bolted into the ground. They sometimes had three bars, particularly in schools focused on health care.<ref name=":1" /> In 1819 the first transportable parallel bars were created by a Swiss educator, Phokion Heinrich Clias.<ref name=":2" /> However, they were not very popular. Later, Hermann Otto Kluge, a pharmacists, created adjustable bars that used tubes, which he used in his own gym, built in 1856. Others developed new models that emphasized ease of adjustment as well as safety.<ref name=":1" />

			In the 1920s, the bars were shorter than modern bars, with their height adjustable from {{Convert\|120\|cm\|ft}} to {{Convert\|170\|cm\|ft}}, and up to {{Convert\|3\|m\|ft}} long. Various types of bars were available, and exercises easily performed on one set of bars might be impossible on another. Bars made out of wood frequently became damaged and cracked; at the [[1952 Summer Olympics]], the bars cracked four times. Richard Reuther proposed a new design in 1953 that included elasticity, and he introduced his new type of bars two years later. They could also be adjusted slightly taller and were longer at {{Convert\|3.5\|m\|ft}} long. In 1963, Reuther incorporated [[fiberglass]] into the bars, which significantly improved both the flexibility and the durability in the bars; only minor changes have been made in their construction since.<ref name=":1" />

	== Routines ==		== Routines ==
	~~A routine performed on the parallel bars must include various elements that depend on the gymnast's competitive level. A typical performance will~~ involve swinging ~~skills~~ in ~~a support position (on the hands), a hanging position~~, and ~~an upper arm position (resting on~~ the ~~inner bicep). Also, parallel bar routines often feature a strength or static hold skill such as an L-sit or handstand~~. Each routine ends with a dismount from either the ~~bars' ends~~ or the ~~apparatus's~~ side.		Routines involve swinging both backward and forward, static holds, turns in handstand positions, and [[Somersault\|somersaults]] performed while between the bars.<ref name=":1" /> Each routine ends with a dismount from either the end or the side of the bars.

	=== International level routines ===		=== International level routines ===
	A ~~parallel bar~~ routine should contain at least one element from all element groups:<ref name=groups>{{cite web \|title=MAG Code of Points ~~2009~~-~~2012~~ \|url=~~http~~://~~figdocs~~.~~lx2~~.~~sportcentric.com~~/~~external~~/~~serve~~.~~php?document~~=~~1205~~ \|publisher=[[Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique\|FIG]] \|~~page~~=~~100~~ \|format=PDF ~~\|access-date=2009-10-20 \|url-status=dead \|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091001002145/http://figdocs.lx2.sportcentric.com/external/serve.php?document=1205 \|archive-date=2009-10-01~~ }}</ref>		The gymnast must mount the bars by jumping from both feet; a [[Springboard (gymnastics)\|springboard]] may be used. A routine should contain at least one element from all element groups:<ref name="groups">{{cite web \|title=MAG Code of Points 2025-2028 \|url=https://www.gymnastics.sport/publicdir/rules/files/en_1.1%20-%20MAG%20CoP%202025-2028.pdf \|url-status= \|access-date=2025-09-01 \|publisher=[[Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique\|FIG]] \|pages=92-95 \|format=PDF}}</ref>
	* I. Elements in support or through support		* I. Elements in support or through support on both bars
	* II. Elements starting in the upper arm position		* II. Elements starting in the upper arm position
	* III. Long swings in hang, on 1 or 2 bars, and ~~Underswings~~		* III. Long swings in hang, on 1 or 2 bars, and underswings
	* IV. Dismounts		* IV. Dismounts

	=== Scoring and rules ===		=== Scoring and rules ===
	Deductions are taken for lack of form and precision of elements performed. There are specific deductions for adjusting the hand position in the handstand and not controlling swing elements;<ref>{{cite web \|title=MAG Code of Points 2009-2012 \|url=http://figdocs.lx2.sportcentric.com/external/serve.php?document=1205 \|publisher=[[Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique\|FIG]] \|page=101 \|format=PDF \|access-date=2009-10-20 \|url-status=dead \|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091001002145/http://figdocs.lx2.sportcentric.com/external/serve.php?document=1205 \|archive-date=2009-10-01 }}</ref> swing type elements should momentarily show handstand.<ref name=groups />		Deductions are taken for lack of form and precision of elements performed. There are specific deductions for adjusting the hand position in the handstand and not controlling swing elements; many swing type elements should momentarily show handstand.<ref name="groups" />

	==See also==		==See also==

imported>Gaius Cornelius: General formatting any tidying.

2025-04-07T22:39:26Z

General formatting any tidying.

New page

{{Short description|Apparatus used in artistic gymnastics}}
{{distinguish|Uneven bars}}
[[File:AlejandroonParallelBars.jpg|thumb|right|A gymnast performs on the parallel bars]]
[[Image:Gymnasta.jpg|thumb|right|A handstand]]

'''Parallel bars''' are floor apparatus consisting of two wooden bars approximately {{convert|350|cm|ftin|abbr=off}} long and positioned at {{convert|200|cm|ftin|abbr=on}} above the floor. Parallel bars are used in [[artistic gymnastics]] and also for [[physical therapy]] and [[exercise|home exercise]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mademan.com/mm/parallel-bar-exercises-physical-therapy.html |title=Parallel Bar Exercises For Physical Therapy |last=Potts |first=Jennifer |date=March 21, 2011 |website=Mademan}}</ref> Gymnasts may optionally wear [[grip (gymnastics)|grip]]s when performing a routine on the parallel bars, although this is uncommon.

== Apparatus ==
The apparatus consists of two [[parallel (geometry)|parallel]] bars that are held parallel to, and elevated above, the floor by a [[metal]] supporting framework. The bars are composed of [[wood]] or other material, with an outer wood coating.<ref>{{cite web |title=Apparatus Norms |url=http://www.unorp.br/downloads_blogs/Nomenclatura_dos_aparelhos.pdf |publisher=[[Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique|FIG]] |page=II/27 |format=PDF |access-date=2009-10-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120907083021/http://www.unorp.br/downloads_blogs/Nomenclatura_dos_aparelhos.pdf |archive-date=2012-09-07 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The vertical members of the supporting framework are adjustable so the height of the bars above the floor and distance between the bars can be set optimally for each gymnast.<ref name=dimensions>{{cite web |title=Apparatus Norms |url=http://www.unorp.br/downloads_blogs/Nomenclatura_dos_aparelhos.pdf |publisher=[[Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique|FIG]] |page=II/28 |format=PDF |access-date=2009-10-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120907083021/http://www.unorp.br/downloads_blogs/Nomenclatura_dos_aparelhos.pdf |archive-date=2012-09-07 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

=== Dimensions ===
*Bar length: {{convert|350|cm|ft}} ± {{convert|1|cm|in}}<ref name=dimensions />
*Bar rounded profile: {{convert|5|cm|in|abbr=on|frac=32}} ± {{convert|1|mm|in}} vertical by {{convert|4|cm|in}} ± {{convert|1|mm|in}} horizontal <ref name=dimensions />
*Height of bar from floor: {{convert|200|cm|ft}} ± {{convert|1|cm|in}}<ref name=dimensions />
*Distance between bars: {{convert|42 to 52|cm|in}} (adjustable)<ref name=dimensions />

==History==
The parallel bars (in German ''Barren'') were invented by [[Friedrich Ludwig Jahn]] in [[Berlin]].<ref>[http://www.gymmedia.com/ghent2001/appa/bars/history_ba.htm History of bars]</ref> In 1819 the first transportable parallel bars were described. In 1856, Hermann Otto Kluge used tubes to adjust the parallel and horizontal bars in Germany. He used them in his gym. In Tolstoy's ''[[Anna Karenina]]'', published between 1873 and 1877, their use for exercise is mentioned.

== Routines ==
A routine performed on the parallel bars must include various elements that depend on the gymnast's competitive level. A typical performance will involve swinging skills in a support position (on the hands), a hanging position, and an upper arm position (resting on the inner bicep). Also, parallel bar routines often feature a strength or static hold skill such as an L-sit or handstand. Each routine ends with a dismount from either the bars' ends or the apparatus's side.

=== International level routines ===
A parallel bar routine should contain at least one element from all element groups:<ref name=groups>{{cite web |title=MAG Code of Points 2009-2012 |url=http://figdocs.lx2.sportcentric.com/external/serve.php?document=1205 |publisher=[[Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique|FIG]] |page=100 |format=PDF |access-date=2009-10-20 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091001002145/http://figdocs.lx2.sportcentric.com/external/serve.php?document=1205 |archive-date=2009-10-01 }}</ref>
* I. Elements in support or through support
* II. Elements starting in the upper arm position
* III. Long swings in hang, on 1 or 2 bars, and Underswings
* IV. Dismounts

=== Scoring and rules ===
Deductions are taken for lack of form and precision of elements performed. There are specific deductions for adjusting the hand position in the handstand and not controlling swing elements;<ref>{{cite web |title=MAG Code of Points 2009-2012 |url=http://figdocs.lx2.sportcentric.com/external/serve.php?document=1205 |publisher=[[Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique|FIG]] |page=101 |format=PDF |access-date=2009-10-20 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091001002145/http://figdocs.lx2.sportcentric.com/external/serve.php?document=1205 |archive-date=2009-10-01 }}</ref> swing type elements should momentarily show handstand.<ref name=groups />

==See also==

* [[Parallettes]]

==External links==
{{Commons category|Parallel bars}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Artistic Gymnastics Apparatus and Equipment}}
{{Footer Olympic Champions Parallel Bars Men}}
{{NavigationWorldChampionsArtisticGymnasticsMen’sParallelBars}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Parallel Bars}}
[[Category:Sports originating in Germany]]
[[Category:Artistic gymnastics apparatus]]
[[Category:German inventions]]
[[Category:1819 in sports]]