Ultimate Home Gym - Worthy?

[Ringo]

I've been researching a way to install a pull up bar at home. It must:

- Be safe (no collapsing mid exercise)
- Be discrete and not take up much room, since I have a small apartment
- Not require too many holes or damaging of the walls, since I'm still renting
- Allow for the hanging of gymnastics rings

Just bumped into this Kickstarter:

While it's way too expensive for what it is, it did give me a good idea to just install a foundation that could be covered, and somehow attach a removable bar to it.

I really like this idea but maybe I should just stick to the tried and true portable door bar.

 

[Hannibal]

This home gym is the equivalent of having a hotrod for a motorhead.

The feeling you get when you go into the gym and you're the only one in there - this guy gets it every time he steps into the garage.

He can also play good music and not gay country or every song by Jason Derulo.

Fuck it, if it's what he enjoys doing, good on him. My home gym is far more spartan by comparison. If I had a home gym like that I'd probably be in there two hours a day doing anything I can.

Shit, I'd invite guys over to lift weights, drink beer and smoke cigarettes. Some of the best times I've had were around a bonfire, getting smashed on cheap beer and picking up field stones.

 

[Hannibal]

I've been researching a way to install a pull up bar at home. It must:

- Be safe (no collapsing mid exercise)
- Be discrete and not take up much room, since I have a small apartment
- Not require too many holes or damaging of the walls, since I'm still renting
- Allow for the hanging of gymnastics rings

Fortunately for you, a couple years ago I had this same question and I pondered upon it for a good while.

This was the solution I came up with. Pardon my messy apartment.

I still use it to this day. Best $200 I ever spent. If you want a taller version (9 feet instead of 7 feet), it will cost more. I don't mind bending my knees to do chins.

Is it wobbly? A bit, however, if you can do fifteen chins on the wobbly bar, you can bang out twenty on a stiff bar in any gym. My advice? Don't swing around on it like an idiot. Use control like you would any other tool. I've read some reviews of this product and frankly, the whiners are bitching for no reason. This pullup bar is pure genius.

You can get a few different versions. I got the basic model with a straight bar for 200 bucks.

There is a bar you can get with two pipes welded to it for dips. Personally, I do not like adjusting the height every time I want to switch between dips and chins, so I got a regular dedicated portable dip station.

Here is the website.

https://trapezerigging.com/collections/free-standing-portable-pullup-bars

It takes up some space, takedown is under 60 seconds. It doesn't fuck up a door, it doesn't mess with your floors, it's strong, and it gets the job done well. Gymnastic rings are easy enough to use on it. It has a 350 lb weight limit (so plenty for weighted chins).

It even has holes drilled into the side to adjust for different heights. My apartment right now is about six inches shorter than my old apartment, so I put the bar on the next hole down. That way I don't hit my head on the ceiling.

The basic unit I bought (7 feet tall) weighs 21 lbs when put away and it doesn't take up much space at all. It's a 7 piece unit of welded aluminum pipe and it is solidly built. I don't get paid to recommend these but honestly it's the best piece of equipment I've ever owned.

edit:

Your typical doorway pullup bar is OK if you have strong doorways.

If you don't have strong doorways, you lose your deposit and you don't have a pullup bar.

 

[Ringo]

I've been researching a way to install a pull up bar at home. It must:

- Be safe (no collapsing mid exercise)
- Be discrete and not take up much room, since I have a small apartment
- Not require too many holes or damaging of the walls, since I'm still renting
- Allow for the hanging of gymnastics rings

Fortunately for you, a couple years ago I had this same question and I pondered upon it for a good while.

This was the solution I came up with. Pardon my messy apartment.

I still use it to this day. Best $200 I ever spent. If you want a taller version (9 feet instead of 7 feet), it will cost more. I don't mind bending my knees to do chins.

Is it wobbly? A bit, however, if you can do fifteen chins on the wobbly bar, you can bang out twenty on a stiff bar in any gym. My advice? Don't swing around on it like an idiot. Use control like you would any other tool. I've read some reviews of this product and frankly, the whiners are bitching for no reason. This pullup bar is pure genius.

You can get a few different versions. I got the basic model with a straight bar for 200 bucks.

There is a bar you can get with two pipes welded to it for dips. Personally, I do not like adjusting the height every time I want to switch between dips and chins, so I got a regular dedicated portable dip station.

Here is the website.

https://trapezerigging.com/collections/free-standing-portable-pullup-bars

It takes up some space, takedown is under 60 seconds. It doesn't fuck up a door, it doesn't mess with your floors, it's strong, and it gets the job done well. Gymnastic rings are easy enough to use on it. It has a 350 lb weight limit (so plenty for weighted chins).

It even has holes drilled into the side to adjust for different heights. My apartment right now is about six inches shorter than my old apartment, so I put the bar on the next hole down. That way I don't hit my head on the ceiling.

The basic unit I bought (7 feet tall) weighs 21 lbs when put away and it doesn't take up much space at all. It's a 7 piece unit of welded aluminum pipe and it is solidly built. I don't get paid to recommend these but honestly it's the best piece of equipment I've ever owned.

edit:

Your typical doorway pullup bar is OK if you have strong doorways.

If you don't have strong doorways, you lose your deposit and you don't have a pullup bar.

That bar is awesome.

I've been looking for something like that for a while, but unfortunately there seems to be no equivalent sold in Brazil.

At this point the closest I could find is a pull up tower, which is way bulkier than I would like.

 

[Barron]

"masculine signaling"

Not impressed.

 

[Cyr]

I've been researching a way to install a pull up bar at home. It must:

- Be safe (no collapsing mid exercise)
- Be discrete and not take up much room, since I have a small apartment
- Not require too many holes or damaging of the walls, since I'm still renting
- Allow for the hanging of gymnastics rings

Fortunately for you, a couple years ago I had this same question and I pondered upon it for a good while.

This was the solution I came up with. Pardon my messy apartment.

I still use it to this day. Best $200 I ever spent. If you want a taller version (9 feet instead of 7 feet), it will cost more. I don't mind bending my knees to do chins.

Is it wobbly? A bit, however, if you can do fifteen chins on the wobbly bar, you can bang out twenty on a stiff bar in any gym. My advice? Don't swing around on it like an idiot. Use control like you would any other tool. I've read some reviews of this product and frankly, the whiners are bitching for no reason. This pullup bar is pure genius.

You can get a few different versions. I got the basic model with a straight bar for 200 bucks.

There is a bar you can get with two pipes welded to it for dips. Personally, I do not like adjusting the height every time I want to switch between dips and chins, so I got a regular dedicated portable dip station.

Here is the website.

https://trapezerigging.com/collections/free-standing-portable-pullup-bars

It takes up some space, takedown is under 60 seconds. It doesn't fuck up a door, it doesn't mess with your floors, it's strong, and it gets the job done well. Gymnastic rings are easy enough to use on it. It has a 350 lb weight limit (so plenty for weighted chins).

It even has holes drilled into the side to adjust for different heights. My apartment right now is about six inches shorter than my old apartment, so I put the bar on the next hole down. That way I don't hit my head on the ceiling.

The basic unit I bought (7 feet tall) weighs 21 lbs when put away and it doesn't take up much space at all. It's a 7 piece unit of welded aluminum pipe and it is solidly built. I don't get paid to recommend these but honestly it's the best piece of equipment I've ever owned.

edit:

Your typical doorway pullup bar is OK if you have strong doorways.

If you don't have strong doorways, you lose your deposit and you don't have a pullup bar.

That bar is awesome.

I've been looking for something like that for a while, but unfortunately there seems to be no equivalent sold in Brazil.

At this point the closest I could find is a pull up tower, which is way bulkier than I would like.

I've got a pull up tower and would advise against getting one. They're wobbly, and theres no way to do wide grip straight bar pull-ups using them.

 

[TravelerKai]

A bit of advice to those that build a gym in your house.

If you know you will eventually sell that house, it will be a major pain in the ass getting rid of all that stuff, if you cannot transfer that to another house of similar size.

I ended up giving away my benches and bars to single dudes. I had a bunch of boxing and Muay Thai bags that I sold too. When I bought all that stuff, I had no idea I was going to end up divorced or end up traveling alot (back then I never liked traveling).

When I buy another house large enough to have another gym inside, I still might feel too afraid to do it, just because of the hassle of how much time I spend outside the US in this new life of mine.

 

[General Stalin]

Workout equipment is probably the #1 biggest pain in the ass article of material possession to have to deal with when moving around. I suppose if I knew for a fact the house I was in was going to be my residence for decades then It'd be fine, but having to get rid of that shit if/when you want to move is a pain the balls.

Awesome project though. I can't do home gym/home workouts. It's very hard for me to be motivated and on-task at home when it comes to working out. Way too hard to get distracted and put off workouts. When I go to a gym that's all there is - I've driven to the gym and all there is to do here is workout.

 

[Eddie Morra]

For Travelers: 1) a TRX or any other Suspension Trainer (I use a Woss, stronger and much cheaper than TRX, you can find them on Amazon). Plenty of ways to use it in a flat. Exercises which have your feet off the floor supported by the two sides of the door frame are especially taxing. 2) a pair of Push Up Stands. You'd be amazed at the variety of tough workouts you can have with a little ingenuity and leverages. Both are lightweight and can be taken and done anywhere.

 

[Leonard D Neubache]

...
Fortunately for you, a couple years ago I had this same question and I pondered upon it for a good while.

This was the solution I came up with. Pardon my messy apartment.

[img=500x500]http://i.imgur.com/KEU6hxf.jpg[/img]

...

That bar is awesome.

I've been looking for something like that for a while, but unfortunately there seems to be no equivalent sold in Brazil.
...

Might pay to shoot an email of Hannibal's pic to a local welder. If they're hard up for work they might have some scraps around to build one.
Ask for a quote.

Alternately you could just buy the materials yourself and use standardised joints.

Six of these suckers and six pipes cut to the correct length would do the job (two for the base, two for the height, one for pulling up from and one more at the bottom to make sure the whole thing doesn't do the splits on you).

Quickedit: Do a search for chain link fence components. My big-chain hardware store would end up charging about 140 bucks for all the materials and length cuts but the end product would be indestructible.

 

[TravelerKai]

For Travelers: 1) a TRX or any other Suspension Trainer (I use a Woss, stronger and much cheaper than TRX, you can find them on Amazon). Plenty of ways to use it in a flat. Exercises which have your feet off the floor supported by the two sides of the door frame are especially taxing. 2) a pair of Push Up Stands. You'd be amazed at the variety of tough workouts you can have with a little ingenuity and leverages. Both are lightweight and can be taken and done anywhere.

Yep I have had mine for YEARS. I even used it at home when not traveling. The Randy Couture resistance bands are another one I highly recommend.