The Pull-up, the Pull-up Bar (and how to build one cheap)


There’s an old joke that goes something like this: a man walks into a bar and asks the bartender why his head hurts.  The bartender responds, well you just walked into a bar.

Ok - not a real joke - I just made that one up (as if you couldn’t tell).  But let me now segue into the premise of this post.  That is, the pull-up bar.

Next to some floor space and a barbell, in my opinion, the pull-up bar is the next most important item on any home gym builder’s shopping list.  What kind of bar to get and how much one should spend, however, is a little tricky.

Let’s first look at why a pull-up bar is so super good to have at your disposal:

  • Pull-ups are entirely functional, natural movements.  Think about it for a sec - the ability to pull is fundamental to our existence.  Our bodies were made to climb and I can guarantee you that at some point throughout your genealogical history, one of your ancestors was in a life or death situation, having to pull themselves up over a ledge or something.  Fortunately for you, they were able to do it.
  • Pull-ups work a broad range of muscle, from shoulders, traps, biceps, triceps, forearm, grip and all sorts of core.  Add kipping and intensity to your pull-ups, do more work in less time, and you’ve suddenly got a strength workout combined with a fierceness that tests both the anaerobic and aerobic systems and can leave you gasping for air.
  • A pull-up has many variations and progressions, from jumping pull-ups to L-Sit pull-ups and muscle-ups, there’s a variation that is accessible to all - even the weakest of us and the exercise can always provide additional challenges for the strong.

These were just a few of the reasons why pull-ups second to few exercises and the pull-up bar should be added to the top of your list of “to get” items for your home gym.

Now, what kind should you get?  There’s those bars that can be squeezed between a door frame and others that hang on the top of the frame.  The former is likely a waste of money and the latter is not very versatile and is likely costlier than the best pull-up bar in the biz - yes, I’m talking about a cheap, homemade pull-up bar.

When I say cheap, I’m talking about a low cost versus cheap as in my car fell apart after 3 days use cheap.

The biggest problem with many store bought pull-up bars is that you can’t kip on them.  While some of you may say, I don’t need to kip, true, you don’t - in fact, you don’t need to do anything.  But I’d have to add, if you want to get strong, you’d be far better off if you did or at least did most of the time.  I won’t get into why (beyond what I have said already), but here’s a great discussion of kipping versus not kipping.  If you don’t know what kipping is, watch this.

The next biggest problem with store bought bars is the cost.  You’re looking at at least $30 for the better of the kinds of consumer bars.  What you can build at home can cost as little as $20 and half an hour of your time.  The results, however, is a pull-up bar that can hold multiple people and allow you to kip and do clappers (if you ever could do clappers in the first place, that is).

What you need:

  • 2 exposed joists
  • 2 18 inch 2×6 boards
  • 6 carriage bolts, nuts and washers
  • a 3/4 inch pipe
  • A drill with a 3/4 inch bit

See the pic above.  Drill out 3/4 inch holes about an inch off the ends of the 18 inch 2×6’s.  Clamp them to the joists and drill out holes for the carriage bolts.  Unclamp the boards from the joists and bang each end of your pipe through the 3/4 inch holes (note that I’ve used a inch hole in my own to get the pipe through easier.  Best to get caps for the pipe though to make sure it doesn’t fall out while performing pull-ups though).  Bolt the contraption to the joists where you previously drilled.

Done.  Easy peasy… Now let’s taker ‘er for a ride…





3 Comments, Comment or Ping

  1. Great tutorial on building a pull up bar. I actually just bought one, but I’ll pass this on to my friend.

    December 21st, 2008

  2. Cam

    alright so i built one just like this following youre steps, but does youres roll or move when you grab onto it??? any idea on how to fix this please?

    March 1st, 2009

  3. Sean

    Good info! but plz change the font colour…black on grey isnt easy to read .

    October 15th, 2009

Reply to “The Pull-up, the Pull-up Bar (and how to build one cheap)”

Blog Traffic Exchange Related Websites
  • blog traffic exchangeThe Biggest Loser Couples Season 7, Episode 10 Video Recap with Pete Thomas The show picks up right where it left off last week with Mike waiting to be weighed in. Remember if he loses 9 pounds or more all players stay for another week, or a player from each team goes home. Well Mike is becoming the really big champion here as...
  • Full Body StretchTrim Your Waist By Avoiding These Pitfalls Nearly everyone wants to lose inches off their waist and there are many schools of thought on how to accomplish this. Many people believe that the best way to trim your waist is to do hundreds if not thousands of sit-ups or crunches, but in reality, this method will......
  • shower drainHow to Fix a Clogged Shower Drain If your showers are starting to feel more like a bath, thanks to the amount of standing water you have in your tub, it's definitely time to address some clogs. Bathtubs and showers have to deal with a lot of hair on a daily basis and it doesn't take......

Blog Traffic Exchange Related Posts
  • invisible bench pressMy Max Bench Press and my Not so Max Squat see more crazy cat picsLast night the local crossfit WOD was 3-3-3-3-3-3-3 bench presses, working our way up to our max. The good news is that I managed a max bench of 215lbs! that's over 40lbs beyond body weight. The bad news is... and I'm extremely ashamed to say......
  • Killer Exercise - Pull-ups The pull-up is one of the most basic exercises - it's simple. Just pull yourself up. However, its simplicity can be incredibly deceiving. I can't recall the number of times I've seen a guy lifting really heavy weights and then struggling to get a few pull-ups. However, for building arms......
  • Going Paleo - Almond and Flax Seed "Bread" (version 1.0) I've been experimenting with making "acceptably Paleo" food.  Yesterday I made a batch of almond and flax seed "bread".  The recipe needs some tweaking, but here's the details: Ingredients: 3/4 cups Ground Almond 3/4 cups Ground Flax Seed 2 eggs, beaten 2 tbsp canola oil 2 tbsp natural honey......
  • The Most Wicked Muscle-Up Ever Check out this muscle-up.  The gymnast is Andreas Aguilar at the 1991 World Professional Gymnastics Championships.  Andreas makes it look so smooth and easy, it's truly unreal.  The rest of his routine is also great, including the unusual dismount, but a muscle-up like the one at the beginning of the......
  • Make your own Parallettes What are parallettes? Parallettes are essentially a pair of bars used to simulate the muck larger parallel bars used in gymnastics.   Parallettes are also a great piece of equipment that can be made easily and very inexpensively.  Parallettes can be used for a variety of bodyweight exercises that are perfect......