If you are on the hunt for one piece of equipment that can provide you whole-body workouts at your apartment’s comfort, then a pull-up bar is an ideal tool to achieve your fitness goal. Pull-ups are an exercise that excels in judging your relative strength concerning your body weight.
If you don’t have time to go out and exercise, invest in a versatile pull-up bar is also a great choice to strengthen your muscle (biceps, core, upper back, etc.)
Moreover, a pull-up bar can be installed on the door frame or attached to a wall to support body weight without shaking hard. It is easy to install and can provide obvious results with regular use.
Updated: I found some pull-up bars for apartments on Rogue Fitness, pricey than my picks before, but of extremely high quality. Recommended.
- Rogue Jammer Pull-Up Bar: You can mount it over the doorway frame; Has various options in texture and color.
- Rogue P-4 Wall-Mounted Pull-Up Bar: Compact unit optimized for wall mounts and ceiling mounts.
- Rogue Socket Pull-Up Bar: This is a bar for your low-profile power rack.
My top 5 picks
- Stamina Door Gyms
- Ultimate Body Press XL
- Garren Fitness Maximiza Plus
- Iron Age Pull up Bar
- ProSourceFit Multi-Grip
See the details, pros & cons below
Table of Contents
How to Choose the Best Pull Up Bar for an Apartment
Earlier, it was pull-up stations and full-size bars, but now we have wall-mounted, fixed drawbar and doorway bars. They are far more versatile, comfortable, and easy to exercise, making them one of the best choices for a home gym and apartment.
With so many varieties, you might begin to wonder what’s there to pick and choose in a pull-up bar. So that’s what we are going to explore in this section. Ensure to check out the following factors before you zero in on your favorite pull-up bar for the apartment.
Weight Capacity
This is the primary factor that should be considered, and for this, please look for how much weight can the pull-up bar loads before making a purchase. Select a model that offers adequate weight support.
Most bars can bear between 300 and 500 pounds of weight, but some can withstand up to 600 pounds. If condition allowed, try out the bar before purchasing to test its weight-bearing capacity.
Ideal Place
You have different minds on where to place your bar, but no matter you want to place it between the doorframe or fix it on the wall, safe is the most important.
For a door pull bar, ensure that you have enough doorway space to fit the door; if you plan for an over door pull-up bar, don’t buy one without knowing that your door is sturdy enough to support your weight.
For a wall-mounted pull-up bar, assembling it properly is critical; otherwise, you might land on the floor with the bar pulled out.
Preferred Exercises
Every type of bar is specialized to perform certain kinds of exercises. Muscle-ups cannot be done with a ceiling-mounted bar, but a door bar also might not support you with the required stability, and the best option would be to purchase a wall-mounted or free-standing bar.
Design & Padding
While some bars can sit firm in the doorframe, others require assembly with screws and wall mounts. Though slip-in bars are easy to fit, they might not provide long life compared to screwed-in bars. A large bar offers more grip, and a small bar is suitable for small spaces.
Placement of the bar, too, is important to perform exercises without hitting your head or injuring body parts. A basic doorway bar is a horizontal piece of equipment that is great for doing wide/close grip pull-ups or chin-ups.
Padding is another important feature that safeguards your exercise space. Also, wall padding is essential to avoid damage to walls, prevent them from digging into doors, and ruining the wood. Padding at the edge of the walls is crucial for helping you hold them comfortably while exercising.
How Good Is It to Get a Pull-Up Bar Fixed in Your Apartment?
With the simplest equipment guaranteeing fitness, it shouldn’t be surprising to find that many homes have more than one pull-up bar installed around different places of their home. What makes them a fan of it, or in fact, why should you think about getting this for our living spaces?
Affordable: Gym memberships cost hundreds of dollars. Setting multiple gym equipment at home would cost a fortune and in this case, setting up a pull-up bar is the best option as this is a piece of the most affordable fitness equipment that guarantees results starting right from around $50.
Easy to use: You might sit at home for the whole day and sometimes don’t want to go out of your home, then doing a few reps of pull-ups fulfills the day’s exercise task. Figuring out the best pull-up bar for an apartment promises a good upper body workout, especially hands and abdomen too.
Walking is good but combining it with a pull-up bar brings about versatility in training.
Minimum Space Required: Pull-up bars don’t occupy spaces and are easy to install. Moreover, they can be used by both men and women to reap benefits in the form of muscle toning, strength training, or even when trying to get in shape.
Top 5 Best Pull-Up Bars for Apartments
We have given below a concise list of the best pull-up bars for an apartment, keeping in mind all of the factors discussed above. This would help you come up with a final decision of your choice.
#1. Stamina Door Gyms
Easy to fit behind the doorframe without any screws or drills, this doorway pull-up bar is made of sturdy steel with great padding for a comfortable hold.
The design has padded U-shaped rings that help the user perform up to 5 chin-up and pull-up variations.
When fitted outside the doorframe, the same equipment is versatile to perform pushups, dips, and sit-ups.
It’s a good pull-up bar that helps you do upper body workouts but has a weight-bearing capacity of up to 250 lbs only.
Still, you have three different normal grip positions and two hammer grip positions.
Pros
- Coming from the house of ‘Stamina,’ a well-known fitness equipment manufacturer, this pull up bar is sturdy, comfortable, and durable
- Five different grip positions
- It can be used outside, inside, or on top of the door
- Priced economically
Cons
- Bears less maximum weight comparatively
- Not suitable for certain doorway sizes
#2. Ultimate Body Press XL
Anything unique makes us yearn for it. The Ultimate Body Press XL is one of the few elevated pull-up bars available in the market with an appreciably extended frame.
If you are someone very tall and unable to find the right pull-up bar, this could be the one for you. It has a weight-bearing capacity of up to 300 lbs.
The design is suitable for performing various exercises, including chin-ups, dips, different pull-ups, push-ups, sit-ups, and more.
It comes with extra accessories such as ab straps and gymnastic rings available at an extra price to help do a full-body workout using minimal space.
The equipment has ABS couplers that provide rigidity to the frame and stability to the wall. The expandable bars are suitable for fitting any doorway length right from 24 inches to 36 inches, making it an apt choice.
Pros
- Versatile equipment for performing a variety of exercises
- The accessories option provides the user with the choice of fulfilling full-body workout requirements
- A piece of good equipment for rented spaces and temporary fixations as it requires no screwing or drilling
- Easy assembly and refund policy available
- Sturdy and safe with ABS couplers and suitable for taller people and narrow/wide doorways
Cons
- Thin padding
- Heavier
- Expensive comparatively
#3. Garren Fitness Maximiza Plus
This could be the ideal choice for bigger doorways from 35-50 inches—a length that’s not available in regular bars, but this does require screwed-in wall mounts coming with 2 heavy-duty (supports up to 300 lbs) and 1 medium-duty door mounts (supports up to 150 lbs).
Though a large bar, a non-slip format covers almost its entire length, helping you get a good grip on it.
The padding enhances further comfort while doing exercises, improving your grip even more.
The design accommodates different workouts, including pull-ups, chin-ups, sit-ups, crunches, leg raises,s and dips to strengthen your arms, shoulders, bac,k, and abdominal muscles.
Pros
- It provides perfect upper body workouts
- The apt choice for wider doorways
- Non-slip grips and heavy padding protects your palms, offering a strong grip while exercising
- Different types of door-mount kits enable users of different weights to exercise
Cons
- It doesn’t fit into smaller doorways (lesser than 35 inches)
- Maintenance in terms of checking and tightening the ends needed, just like any doorway pull up bar
#4. Iron Age Pull up Bar
This pull-up bar is popular among fitness-conscious people and pull-up lovers. It’s well-known for its durability and versatility in performing different exercises, right from pull-ups and sit-ups to push-ups. Multi-grip pulls (neutral grip, close grip, wide grip) to focus on different muscle groups of your arms, shoulders, and back.
A straightforward design constituting only one horizontal bar, this equipment needs no assembly. Still, it can be directly mounted on the doorframe with the help of the 2 sleeves provided for door safety.
The smart hook technology here minimizes force exertion done due to exercise improvisations by decomposing the downward force, thereby protecting the door frame.
This piece of equipment can bear weight up to 440 pounds. And it is suitable for tall individuals as the upper handlebar provided is 6 inches taller, helping them avoid bending their knees while performing.
Pros
- Zero assemblies required
- Supports higher weight range and benefits taller people to perform exercises conveniently
- 100% safety to your door using protective pads
- Comfortable, durable, and versatile allowing for performing different exercises
Cons
- Only one single bar that restricts the performance of some pull-up variations
- Not quite affordable for all
#5. ProSourceFit Multi-Grip
While the novice exerciser might not be able to enjoy the versatility of the ProSource pull-up bar, this piece of equipment is a boon to the advanced trainers as it allows them to perform 12 different grip variations.
The double-bar design enhances the performance of exercises, which help the user do different exercises such as push-ups, pull-ups, chin-ups, dips, and abdominal crunches, benefitting different muscles such as biceps and tricep, core, shoulder, and chest.
The frame and construction are sturdy as it is made of high-quality steel. The U-shaped rings keep you safe, and foam padding at the edges prevents any damage to the wall when mounted.
This equipment can bear weight up to 300 pounds. And it provides a bonus—an exercise guide that helps you commence your workout routine in a precise manner.
Pros
- Lightweight design and easy assembly taking not more than 15-20 minutes
- 12 different grips bring about versatility in exercising, especially for the bicep muscles
- Lifetime warranty
- The high-quality steel assures long life
- Affordable cost
Cons
- Not very comfortable for taller people as the wide grips are not elevated, reducing ease of performance of hanging leg raises and other motions
- The padded edges are made of thin plastic that might disturb the doorframe
- It may not fit all doorway sizes as it is most compatible for those up to 32-34 inches
Conclusion
Before you finalize any pull-up bar for your apartment, analyze your needs. Depending on your choice, it is wiser to look for a pull-up bar that comes with versatility, numerable grip variations, provision for whole-body workouts, and accessories in place.
Then, look at the design, frame, and construction, focusing on high-quality materials and the guarantee they safeguard your doors and walls.
Above all, check for the price and ensure that it’s worth buying for all the money spent on the chosen piece of equipment.
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