From doorway-mounted bars that fit snugly into your living space to freestanding power towers that provide versatility and stability, we've spent years testing dozens of the best pullup bars for home workouts (or anywhere, really). Men's Health fitness editors, in collaboration with fitness experts Kurt Giovanni Ellis, Owner/Performance Coach of Beyond Numbers Performance, and D.J. Gibson, a fitness trainer in Harlem, New York, have compared testing notes on dozens of the best pullup bars to identify which ones are worthy of a recommendation. Throughout our meticulous testing process, we've carefully considered all the essentials: weight capacity build quality, mounting type, grip options, and, of course, price. Our collective efforts have resulted in logging hundreds of reps on these bars, providing invaluable insights into performance, durability, and ensuring that your investment is built to last.

Even the best pullup bars don’t have to be complicated to be efficient. We found this bar simple and effective, making it a great choice for those looking for multiple grip positions when pounding out pullups. From wide to neutral to palms-facing for chinups, we love that this versatile design can do it all. We found the grippy foam handles to be actually non-slip safety and pretty comfortable, too. It mounts easily and securely to almost any door frame, but you can also take it down, flip it over, and put it on the floor to use the different grips for sit-ups, push-ups, and dips too. Additionally, muscle ups, and one-arm pull do not appear safe. One arm pull ups are potentially dangerous if you weigh more than 125 pounds as it could strain the device. Overview: On the downside, it’s not as versatile as other pullup bars on this, largely due to its extremely simple design. Some reviewers note that the smooth (grip-free) bar is harder to keep a hold of than models with dedicated foam grips. Unlike portable, door-mounted models, this pullup bar obviously isn’t portable. So, if that matters to you, you may want to consider an alternative.Joist-mount (sometimes called ceiling-mount) pullup bars, as the name implies, need an exposed joist or beam in your house to secure to. That makes these an ideal choice for basements, attics, and some garages, depending on the architecture of your home. This is the only Door Pull Up Bar on our list which doesn’t use foam padding. The powder coated steel has a perfect finish just fine enough and still coarse enough to give you all the grip you need. A major advantage of having just powder coated steel is that, unlike foam, it won’t dry up and become brittle (at least not in our lifetimes). A Door Frame Pull Up Bar goes over the frame of a door. With either prongs or clamps, the Door Frame Pull Up Bar latches itself onto the door frame and remains shut. The best Door Frame Pull Up Bars are designed in such a way that the more weight that is put on the bar, the harder it clamps down onto the door frame. With proper use these are the safest Door Pull Up Bars and only if the door frame itself would suffer catastrophic failure could it come down. Door Frame Pull Up Bars are usually offset from the door, giving you enough room for a full chin-up without your face touching the door frame or the wall above the door. Doorway Pull Up Bar The Pull Up and its many variations is a staple of Calisthenics exercise. They are a great way to build up upper-body strength and really workout those biceps too. Both the U.S. Army and U.S. Marine Corps requires their recruits to do Pull Ups every day as part of their physical training. If you can pull yourself up multiple times, it means you not only have enough strength but also that you have endurant strength. You can do that maximum exertion time and time again. If you like to (or plan to) add weights into your sets, be sure to buy a pullup bar that can support you and those additional pounds. All of the bars we recommend have a maximum weight capacity of at least 250 pounds (most are 300). Budget

At Men's Health, we take great pride in providing our readers with reliable and trustworthy product recommendations. We believe that our readers deserve the best, which is why we always make sure to conduct thorough research and testing before making any recommendations. Our writers and editors thoughtfully select experts for collaboration on product recommendations, and are also experts in their own right, using their informed opinions to select products and ensuring that our content is of the highest quality.Deciding what mounting type you need is the most important decision. There are four main types of pullup bar: Door mount, wall mount, joist mount, and freestanding. If your home setup is flexible enough, you may have the option of choosing between all four. Most buyers will at least be able to shop door and wall mount models as these only require either an open doorway or sufficient wallspace to hang. The Eliviia can also be upgraded with two excellent add-ons like Gymnastic Rings and their specialty grips called Powrholds. These are meant to increase your grip strength over time. Other Great Door Pull Up Bars by Type Door Frame Pull Up Handles: as a space-saving alternative to Door Frame Pull Up Bars or if you don’t have a door with enough clearance on either side to fit a Door Frame Pull Up Bar. They are also great as an addition to your home gym when you are away from home. Since it is a portable device, we’re not looking into anything acrobatic but anything that can be done safely is of course another advantage. We will also be looking at comfort and of course, ease of carry and ease of installation. The last two should be a given seeing as it’s a portable Pull-Up Bar but we’ll see. How Does the Duonamic Eleviia Work? That Pullup & Dip came in as best in class for Door Frame Pull Up Bars is no surprise. Pullup & Dip is a direct competitor of Gravity Fitness where it comes to quality products and pricing. Their excellent Door Frame Pull Up Bar provides you with everything you could ask from a Door Pull Up Bar. She fits all regular door frame sizes from 28 to 37 inches (70 to 94cm) and will sit snugly and securely under the top post of the door frame. The Pullup & Dip is designed in such a way that your bodyweight acts as a lever which pulls the bar tighter against the door frame.

After our own experience with the Duonamic Eleviia, we’ve come to the following advantages to using them as a substitute to a full-sized Pull-Up Bar. Portable & Lightweight You might not be able to do all that right away. For some people, eking out even one rep is an accomplishment worth striving for, so you can't just jump up to the bar and pull. You might have to break the move down to its component parts. To really master the form, work your way up from dead hangs to full-on reps using this guide. At first glance, the Duonamic Eleviia Pull-Up Bars look unassuming. So, we need discuss the creation of the company itself because there is a method to the madness behind these Pull-Up Bars. Whereas most Calisthenics equipment is made from either stainless, galvanized or coated steel, plastics are used more and more often. Durable polymers are strong enough to get the job done and have the added benefit of being much lighter. This isn’t new, but were Duonamics differs is the creation and manufacturing process.

See the CLAMP SAFE TECH & Non Marking TPE in Action

As the perfect, portable solution to doing your Pull Ups anywhere, you have the innovative Duonamic Eleviia. These Door Frame Pull Up Handles are the perfect addition or even stand-in for having a Pull Up Bar. For the basic Pull Up and Chin Up exercises, this Pull Up “bar” is more than sufficient. With a little more effort than with a normal bar, you can adjust the width of your grip by moving the clamps closer or further apart. Mounted pull-up bars take up more space and are secured to a wall or ceiling with bolts or screws. For these types of pull-up bars, you’ll want to make sure you’re mounting them into a surface that can handle the weight and force of pull-ups and other exercises. The Duonamic Eleviia comes in a set of what are basically two clamps. With clever engineering, the two clamps clamp themselves around the doorframe and apply even pressuring when weight is suspended from them. For those wondering; it is mechanically impossible for them to slip off as long as any sort of weight is hanging from the grips. The only failure that could happen here is if either the hinge-point of the Pull-Up Bars themselves snap or if the suspension point (the doorframe) gives. They have an internal spring as well, which keeps the Duonamic Eleviia clamped shut naturally. This is how you use them: Compared to Travel Pull-Up Bars, however, they are still very bulky and heavy. You can’t fit them inside your bag or suitcase along with your clothes and toiletries. The real difference then boils down to size and weight. You could say that all Travel Pull-Up Bars are portable Pull-Up Bars but not all portable Pull-Up Bars are Travel Pull-Up Bars. When Do You Need a Travel Pull-Up Bar?

Doorway Pull Up Bars: we recommend getting these if you are really strapped for space in your situation or need an inexpensive way to start doing Calisthenics. A “hidden” advantage of the Doorway Pull Up Bar is that you’re not limited to hanging them up high. They can also double as a dipping bar by placing them around waist height. Heading out the door? Read this article on the new Outside+ app available now on iOS devices for members! It’s important to stay on-form as you do pullups so you’re getting the best possible workout while avoiding injury. Waxman has a few tips for those just starting out to remember. “You want to be hanging from a bar, whether it's a chinup or a pullup. You want to start with your arms extended, and you want to pull yourself up until the bar hits your chest or at least chin level. At the top of the movement, you want to pull your shoulder blades down and together.” Installing an at-home pull-up bar is easier than you think. We'll give you an idea of what to expect based on the mounting type, but, keep in mind that every bar is different, so it's important to read the instructions provided by manufacturers prior to installation.

Crimp Depth Adjustment

Yes, but provided the door frame is sturdy enough to hold your weight. Remember, the mechanical action of the Duonamic Eleviia makes it impossible for them to slip off the frame. Duonamic provides us with a manual with instructions, including on minimum and maximum dimensions for the doorframe. In the following picture, you can see what the doorframe should be like: Range of Motion The best Doorway Pull Up Bar available on the market is the Gravity Fitness Universal Door Pull Up Bar. This extendable Pull Up Bar fits between door frames of 28” to 37” (70 to 94cm) and will accommodate for 99% of door frames in existence. With a respectable 264lbs maximum tested capacity, you can get a lot of work done with this Doorway Pull Up Bar, including possibly some Weighted Calisthenics provided the combined weight of you and the weights do not exceed this number. With a maximum weight capacity of 250lbs, it competes in the top range of Door Pull Up Bars and can be used for virtually every Calisthenics exercise you can do with a “normal” Pull Up Bar. The only limiting factor being the two hand-sized handles and the ways you can grip them. The handles themselves are comfortable enough for extended use. The main attraction here is of course its dimensions. With measurements of 12” x 10” x 4¾” they take up virtually no space at all. One downside: the steel construction only supports up to 330 pounds, which might be a little light for some users.