Pull up, pull down page

[orielwen]

The pull-down/row machine at my gym has been broken for a couple of weeks. Before that I was managing about 35kg on it each way (a bit over half my bodyweight). I'm hoping they'll repair it soon but in the meantime what can I replace it with? We have nice wooden doorframes and I doubt Husband would countenance adding anything to them (besides, he's tall and doesn't want to bang his head).

There's a pulley machine in the gym with pull-up grips but I wouldn't be able to reach them even standing on the bench (short female). In the park round the corner from my work there are some monkey bars for the kids which are almost the right height for me: I can do a dead hang off them and if I climb on the ladder meant for the kids I can get high enough to do a flex hang for about two seconds with the bar about level with my nose, which I think is a little low?

Any other suggestions?

[sakura_girl]

Can you try jump-lifting yourself up on the monkey bars? I can't do a full pullup yet (Probably can carry about 100lbs) but I can propel myself all the way up by jumping onto things and doing a hang that way.

[sroelofs]

Do negatives on the monkey bar. Like Sakura_girl says, jump up but then slowly lower yourself (about 3 seconds per rep).

[jfreaksho]

Australian pullups- find a bar between hip and waist high. Keep your feet on the ground and pull your chest up to it. The flatter the angle your body is at, the more difficult it will be. Adjust your feet position accordingly.

[orielwen]

Thanks, the Australian pull-up sounds useful!

[Pinup]

My pull up bar hooks onto the door frame without any hardware or damage, and can be taken down and put back up anytime. Google Iron Gym. They are under $30.

[SoccerGrok]

Do negatives on the monkey bar. Like Sakura_girl says, jump up but then slowly lower yourself (about 3 seconds per rep).

+1