For some time now I have been on frequent travel. You know what this means – quick meals from the drive-through window, not enough “good for you” foods and drinks, exposure to lots of other people on the run and sometimes sick with a cold or flu, lack of a good night’s sleep, and a difficulty in getting enough exercise. While pushups are great, and can be done anywhere, I also wanted a little something more than a pushup or situp.
I thought about bringing around some kettlebells, but those aren’t very portable, and I didn’t want them flying around the car in case there was an accident. But after looking around for a bit, I took a chance on an inexpensive and portable chin-up / pull-up bar, called the Creative Fitness Door Gym
After a quick assembly, I was actually quite impressed. It rests on the frame of a door – no nails or screws or glue needed – it takes about one second to remove it from the door, leaving no marks. Yet it is very sturdy and allows for as many chin-ups as you could ever possibly want to do. With it you can do pull-ups using multiple grips – with your palms facing away from you, palms facing towards you, and palms facing each other. Moreover, the bar also can be placed on the floor, allowing you to do deep pushups. When I am done and have to hit the road, I throw it in the back of the car.
Note that the image on Amazon does not do the product justice – here it is on a door frame:
Available from Amazon
Additional Chin-up Bar Options
Also, in case you want to see a few more pullup / chinup bar options, here are five additional chinup bars you might want to investigate. Compared to the one I reviewed above, many of these have extensions that allow for wider and/or more varied grips. The Creative Fitness Door Gym above works well for me, because I did not need the wider grip–the Creative pullup bar is wide enough for me.
- Black Mountain Products New Heavy Duty Bmp Doorway Chin Up Pull Up Bar
- j/fit Deluxe Doorway Pull-Up Bar
- Creative Fitness Door Gym Deluxe Package
- Chin-up Pullup Bar Upper Body Exercise for P90x Workout
- Iron Gym Total Upper Body Workout Bar
Pull-up Exercises
Owning a pull-up bar is not enough—you have to actually use it! In case you’d like a good pullup routine to go with your new chinup bar, here are a few routines to get you going.
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Raising the Bar – The Definitive Guide to Bar Calisthenics
In Raising the Bar Kavadlo breaks down every type of exercise you can do with a pull-up bar. From the basic two arm hang, to the mighty muscle-up, all the way to the elusive one arm pull-up, the “bar master” takes you step by expert step through everything you need to do to build the chiseled frame you’ve always wanted.
A Complete Inexpensive Home Gym
Finally, if you’d like to supplement your pull-up bar with the tools necessary to provide a complete workout—for not much money—check out this article on what you need for a complete inexpensive home gym.