Home pull up bars 8 July 2018 at 10:02PM in Sports & fitness MoneySaving 7 replies 2.8K views

AquaGirl

I was considering a home pull up bar for an addition to the home workout routine i do but i have my concerns and i'm wondering if other users of bars could offer feedback on this.
I was looking at 2 different types of bar. One appears to be just a pole where you must extend the bar outwards & keep tightening so that it's up against the frame left and right. The other type hooks over the top of the doorframe.

Now first off i wonder how sturdy the one that extends left & right would be since there will be a fair amount of downward force. Up to probably about 80kg-90kg. Then the one that hooks over the doorframe concerns me in that i wonder if it'll damage the doorframe itself such as rip the thing off. I'm not talking a small dent in to the wood here, i'm meaning rip the thing off with myself or my partner on the floor as a result. The house is about 80 years old and i guess the frames will be original.

I'm hoping that someone reading this has purchased one of these bars and can post about their experience with them.

wesleyad

I used the over frame ones for a few years,about same weight as you and never had a problem with it (1950s house). In fact the older the house the better you'll probably find it's made! The door frame plinth should sit on the vertical frame and hence weight its transferred down.I even bought some gymnastic style rings for messing on it as well.

Like you say, I wouldn't be overly happy with the extending ones.

There is a 3rd option of free standing one, but they are a lot more expensive.

FrugalWorker

I've the one that goes over the door frame. Delighted with it, I'd himmed and hawed for ages before getting one. Its a 1930s/40s house with original frame in place, I'm about 70kgs, no problems with it. Was pleasantly surprised that there are no marks or dents left on the frame. I'd expected a bit.

sean1875

With the over the frame ones it isn't actually exerting downward pressure on the door frame where it hooks on. It's pushing against the wall which will be rock solid especially with the load spread over 1 foot or so!

wgl2014

I never really liked the door frame bars, never really enough room. OK if that's all there's space for.

I currently have a 'power tower' which is good but takes up a fair bit of room.

If you have some wall space free could also be worth considering one of these: https://www.dtxfitness.com/dtx-fitness-multi-grip-wall-mounted-pull-up-bar.html?gclid=CjwKCAjwwJrbBRAoEiwAGA1B_eUhD1oCTsjNEXrHjO_7euxEt_ignlkaXN_KsrPx131HctmgDZq0fRoCsqcQAvD_BwE

tommysaver

I've actually got one for sale (the long type style that hooks over the top of the frame) if anyone wants it. Bit awkward to post but if your local to the South East, Bucks PM me

Maxson

One appears to be just a pole where you must extend the bar outwards & keep tightening so that it's up against the frame left and right.

I would avoid that type as I've heard they tend to slip and damage the door frame. If you use the type that hooks onto the frame, make sure your architrave is well secured! You could actually put some extra frame fixing screws into the top of the doorframe to make sure it's strong enough as they are generally just nailed into the plaster.

TaraColl

One appears to be just a pole where you must extend the bar outwards & keep tightening so that it's up against the frame left and right. <- had like this in my house and even after 10 years it has not done any significant damage. And the pullups done during the years definitely outweight the small damages!