Door or doorway pull up bars are probably the type that you are most familiar with. I don’t know about you, but I had a crazy, fitness mad uncle who had a bar like this that was installed in the doorway of one of the rooms in his and my aunt’s house. I was only little, so he used to lift me up so I could hold onto it. As well as being one of the most popular types of bars, they are also one of the cheapest.
There are two main types of doorway style pull up bars – the door frame leverage or over the door type and the telescopic door frame type.
The leverage style goes over the top of a door frame and then the weight and pressure you place on it causes it to stay in its place by pushing the bar in both directions towards the wall. This type of bar comes as a self-assembly kit with many different pieces and the tools you need for putting it together. Don’t be alarmed by the mention of DIY, as the process of assembling is very easy and takes roughly about 15 minutes. After you have finished putting it together, you hook it up to your doorframe and you are ready to go.
Although it might look very bulky and cumbersome, when you are finished using it is small enough to fit under your bed or inside your cupboard, to keep it out of sight.
The difference with a telescopic door frame bar is that it can be twisted and extended to fit perfectly between the upright parts of a room’s doorway. You can ensure that it stays in place by using cups (they are normally provided in the box) or just the friction caused by both sides of the bar pushing into the doorframe.
One of the positive aspects of this type of bar is that there is virtually no assembly required. You just have to decide whether you need or want to use the cups (for which you will need to screw them on), install the bar as stated earlier then you are ready to dive into your first training session using your new pull up bar. Another thing worth mentioning is the fact that as it is telescopic, it can be shrunk to a more manageable side when it comes to storing it away.
Obviously another plus point along with the price and lack of assembly required for door frame bars is the fact that they are also the most portable and can be hidden away and don’t take up too much space. It would be sensible if you are not sure how serious you are going to be about sticking to regular pull up exercises before you buy your own bar, because rather than forking out for one of the more complex and bigger machines, a simple doorway bar may is a good way to take baby steps into the world of pull up exercises.
Here are some pull up stations that are perfect for your body shaping. Click here.