Horizontal bar

The horizontal bar, also known as the high bar, is an apparatus used by male gymnasts in artistic gymnastics. It traditionally consists of a cylindrical metal (typically steel) bar that is rigidly held above and parallel to the floor by a system of cables and stiff vertical supports. Gymnasts typically wear suede leather grips while performing on the bar. Current elite-level competition uses a more elastic fiberglass core rail similar in material to the rails used in the women's uneven bars and men's parallel bars apparatus.

The gymnastics elements performed on the horizontal bar are regulated by a Code of Points. A bar routine, which is a sequence of several bar skills, usually includes giants with various grips (overgrip, undergrip, dorsal grip, mixed grip), in-bar work, turns, release and regrasp skills, and a dismount. The horizontal bar is often considered one of the most exciting gymnastics events due to the power exhibited by gymnasts during giant swings and spectacular aerial releases and dismounts that often include multiple flips or twists and, in some cases, airborne travel over the bar.

The horizontal bar was used by acrobats in ancient Greece and Rome, and on through the Middle Ages. It was introduced into gymnastics by Johann Christoph Friedrich GutsMuths in his 1793 book Gymnastik für die Jugend, which in turn inspired further use and development by Friedrich Ludwig Jahn in 1811.

The mechanical dimensions of the horizontal bar apparatus are specified in FIG's Apparatus Norms brochure:

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