Pull Up bar alternatives page

[AlexAgain]

I would really like a pull up bar. I currently do my pull ups at a playground near my house. It means my workout takes twice as long and I can't really do circuits etc.
The issue is I live in a wheelchair accessible apartment. The doorways are all very wide and have sliding pocket doors. So there is not a door frame. I have tried several different pull up bars but none of them will work because of either the door width or the lack of frame to drill in to.
Does anyone have any other ideas of how I could do pull ups in my apartment? I am in Canada and playground workouts are not much fun in the winter.
Is there a pull up bar out there that attaches to the top of the actual door? I could use it on our balcony door perhaps?
I love pull ups and think they are an important part of my BWW routine but I frequently skip them because of the inconvienence or lack of time to go to the playground.

[iniQuity]

Could you maybe install rings from a ceiling? or any other point? you could do pull ups on those, and a bunch of other things. Though, if you can drill into the ceiling you could also just get a pull up frame that way.

I think you might just have to build your own with pipes and stuff like that, you could manipulate just about all aspects of it and make it fit your needs - maybe enlist the help of someone that's good with their hands and is creative enough to envision how it should come together.

I'm also a little confused on why you can't do circuits at the playground? I guess you mean circuits requiring weights? You could do pull ups, dips, hanging leg raises, run/sprints, bodyweight squats (single leg or standard), static holds, etc at the playground.

I can't think of anything else, sorry.

Edit: they wouldn't have to be rings necessarily, you could just get a stick and some rope and make a pull-up bar (trapeze style!) but if you're drilling you might as well get the most bang for your buck with a good pair of rings.

[AlexAgain]

I can do circuits at the playground and sometimes do but I find it harder to find the time and the motivation to go and do them there
I live in a pretty low income, not very safe area in a big city. the playground is dirty and not very safe to be at early in the morning or after dark. and I am not a fan of exercising outdoors in winter.
I do a BWW in the morning while my son's attendant is getting him ready for school. Because I work full time and have a disabled child I find if I don't get it done then there simply isn't time.
Making my workout simpler and more time efficient just means I am more likely to be consistent with it.

Thanks for the ideas. I am not the least bit handy but I will ask some friends if there is a way to drill in to the ceiling. Will it hold my weight though?

[iniQuity]

Thanks for the ideas. I am not the least bit handy but I will ask some friends if there is a way to drill in to the ceiling. Will it hold my weight though?

I hear you, I work in my apartment 90% of the time. It has its drawbacks but I do what I can.

I definitely can't help you with whether it would hold your weight or not, but hopefully one of your friends would have more knowledge with where to attach it so it wouldn't happen. Failing that, I'm definitely drawing blanks. Can you set up a low bar? I'm guessing not, but if you can figure out a way to rig up a low bar then you could do pull ups with your knees raised, or in an L-sit position (legs straight out) or something like that...

I can't visualize the type of doorways you're speaking of, but would it be possible to drill or nail something on each side then put a bar on top of that structure? I'm thinking something like the image below with a bar through it.

http://www.homedepot.com/catalog/pro...ec34ae_300.jpg

[sbhikes]

I have been wanting something similar. My office door does not have a frame, but the door itself probably weighs a 1000 pounds so could certainly hold me if somehow there was a way to simply hang some kind of thing from the door itself. Perhaps some large S-hooks?

[RobbyJ]

I have been wanting something similar. My office door does not have a frame, but the door itself probably weighs a 1000 pounds so could certainly hold me if somehow there was a way to simply hang some kind of thing from the door itself. Perhaps some large S-hooks?

You could use the door itself, just open it and grab the top of the door. You'll want to make sure and put a block of wood or something under the door on the handle side to prevent stressing the hinges.

For AlexAgain, if you have a balcony can you do pullups off the side of that? As long as you don't go to failure... hehe.

[Tribal Rob]

sbhikes - I'm sure you used to be able to get sit up bars that went at the bottom of a door to hook your feet through - bet you could mount that on top of a door and mis-use it like that (not sure I'd risk it at my weight but you are just a slip of thing compared to me )

AlexAgain - you need to find the joist in the celing to mount something that will take body weight - they hold the floor above up so are stong as feck - then you can just use big ass wood screws to mount anything you like. If you are not confident with DIY stuff it might be best to try to find a handyman - I'd offer myself but I charge milage over 5 miles so I think it wouldn't be worth it

ETA: You could also wall mount something like a bike rack, or ladder rack - if you pick a solid wall you should be able to mount it very strongly - you could do it on a plasterboard wall, but I would use a large wooden plate on the wall first with out 15 - 20 mounting points with plasterboard anchors to spread the load. But something like this could be fold away - in fact I might design one and go on dragons den

[RobbyJ]

Do'oh! I'm not sure how we all missed this, but what might be best for you is a "Power Tower". You can buy some of these online for under $100, and nicer ones will be $250-300. Basically it is a Dip station with a Pull-up bar on the other side, and many of them have hand holds for things like Push-ups. If you're going to be spending money on something like a wall or ceiling mounted bar you might as well get something that doesn't leave holes in the wall, doesn't require power tools to install, and can be moved or stored out of sight easily if you change locations or put it away when the weather is nicer.

Cheers!