Pull Up Bar

[TwoTwirlyGirls]

I was thinking of getting our daughter a pull up bar for Christmas so that she can work on some strengthening exercises at home. But there are so many! Some have grips and some don't.. and I'm just not sure which is best. If you have one, can you link me to it? Also, how high do you have it mounted?

Thanks :O)

 

[MaryA]

We have just a basic one I got at Wal-Mart... two brackets that mount on the inside of a doorway and the bar telescopes to fit. The bar removes from the brackets... not easily, but I suppose if it was easy then it would be popping out all of the time. Thankfully that's never happened, even though I'm sure she's done lots of stuff that she shouldn't on it (recently it's been putting her gym mat, all folded up, several feet away and jumping and catching the bar). It's at the hight where she can be up on top of the bar and not bump her head (though there's no space for casting or anything like that). We got it when she was a level 3 struggling with pull-overs and she still uses it two years later. I don't know how many times I've run into it though. It's sort of a pain to always have to duck under it.

 

[GymGirl's Mom]

We have the same one as Mary A- and my dd is very happy with it- have had it for approx 2 years now.

 

[mariposa]

We have that one, too. It is up most of the time, but I got tired of hitting my head on it. And no friends are allowed on it, I take it down when people come over.

A dad at our gym had to watch his DDs friend airlifted to the hospital with a severe head injury from playing on it. She tried a swing (which they aren't supposed to be for swings, but this girl tried it) and peeled off the bar, landed on carpet, but still ended up very injured. So beware that while they seem like a safe thing, it can be very dangerous. Always put a mat or something under it. We always have a crib size mattress under it. And no kips, front hips, back hips, swings, casts etc, on the bar. Only pullovers, pull ups, leg lifts, etc, allowed. I put it high enough that she couldn't easily reach it without the mat and that skills would be hard to do on it.

 

[TwoTwirlyGirls]

Thank you so much for the great advice, everyone! Does your bar have 'grips' on it or is it just a plain bar? )

 

[mariposa]

The one from Walmart had some, but they are long gone, not sure broke after a bit. Haven't found it to be a problem because they should be fine as long as they are doing only conditioning type stuff. And a lot of times, the grips aren't in the right place for the little kids anyway. It looked like this one, but I think I paid $14? Link Removed Check your local Walmart, first. And these are the type of brackets ours cam,e with. My hubby is 230lbs and has used it, no issues. Link Removed

 

[gymnastgets10]

We have Link Removed chin-up bar. You can take it in and out of the doorway really easily and it can really only be used for pullups/leg lifts; it's hard to swing on it and it's too close to the ceiling to do a pullover on. I like the grips because my hands hurt so badly even just hanging if I don't have grips on, and the padding helps a lot.

 

[cher062]

We have the one "As Seen on TV" The Iron Gym and it is Awsome!! It doesn't have to screw into the door friction holds it and it is safe. It allows for several ways to to chinups and it can go at the bottom of the door too to hold feet etc for sit ups It also can be used on the floor to hold the bar and hold themselves up in an "L" shape. It has lots of conditioning exercises you can do with it. It can be used to do push ups and much more. One of the few As Seen on TV items that actually works the way they say. It also has nice foam/rubbery grips on the bar so hands don't slip on the metal that was a big plus.

It's only about $30 at walmart or target or a store like that. I would highly recommend it. The original chin up bar that we had just doesn't compare.

 

[nicci1999]

I have the same bar as Cher and LOVE it. It doesn't required any mounting, can be used for other things besides chin ups. Can't actually swing.on it but I Have practiced small swings(like the momentum your body naturally gives you)while in a Pike positions and I found that it did help not only with my hand strength but my glide switch gs as well because I was able to work my core. And if you pull up to a full chin up and do leg lifts it helps with pull overs too!

 

[harmsllc]

The Pull-Up exercise is a great exercise for developing the bicep muscle. The problem with pull-ups is that most people don’t have the strength to do them correctly or with full range of motion. The Push-Up Bench can be used to do assisted Pull-Ups. To find their website google: push up bench.

 

[gymcoach26]

I have the same one as Gymnastget10 and Cher. Like they have both said it is great because it doesn't require making any holes in the doorframe and can be put up and down with one hand. The grips are cushiony so your hands won't hurt. It can be used for pull ups (with 3 kinds of grips), leg lifts, push ups, dips, sit ups and more. It also mounts at the top of the door so you won't have to worry about your gymnast trying front and back hip circles on it!

 

[Sarah'sMom]

We got our pullup bar at Toysrus. It is designed for kids 5 and up. Ours has grips. It does have mounting hardware and you do need to mount this one. We placed it just high enough that my daughter could grab on to it standing on her toes. But its also too high for her to fit under the doorway for a pullover. We didn't want her to be able to do actual pullovers (or try them at this stage) in the door frame. We had one from Walmart, Gold's Gym, but it had a paper warning notice about a chemical that supposedly is in the set - I'm not sure where but it had bars and some other pieces for work on the floor. My daughter loves the bar.

One thing about the bar, though, is because it screws in (twists in), I have to have her face a certain direction so she doesn't inadvertently unscrew it as she works.

 

[Bevis]

Hi TwoTwirlyGirls,
I bought the Iron Gym from As seen on TV for my daughter while watching TV and I will recommend you to buy this also.
It is awesome and I am sure you daughter will like it too.