I'd rather not anger those that can evict me.

August 9, 2008 11:54 AM

Is there an apartment friendly chin up bar? If not what is a good substitute?

So I'm trying to get my flabby self in shape but I'm a renter and every chin up bar I've seen (save for one that looks not so useful) involves doing something I'm sure would call down the thunder from the apartment overlords. Recommendations?

posted by zennoshinjou to Health & Fitness (8 answers total)

This might be pricey but it will work.

Or, you might be able to make your own on the cheap using readily available screw-together black piping from a hardware store.
posted by Fuzzy Skinner at 11:59 AM on August 9, 2008 [1 favorite]

I had one in an apartment once. Yes, it screwed into a door frame. But once I removed it, I filled the holes with spackle (wood filler shrinks too much), then sanded it smooth, then painted over the spackle with a cheap set of kids' watercolors. There's some trial and error involved in getting the color just right, but watercolor washes off easily enough. Once it was all finished, you couldn't tell that there were holes there.
posted by mudpuppie at 12:10 PM on August 9, 2008

Best answer: The door gym -- also available on Amazon and probably on eBay and the like. No retrofitting required, apartment friendly.
posted by Clyde Mnestra at 12:16 PM on August 9, 2008

Best answer: Try googling "door gym". I've got a chin-up bar that I bought awhile back from Amazon, which is its own unit that hooks into the doorframe much like the ones in the photos. No damage.
posted by the luke parker fiasco at 12:18 PM on August 9, 2008

I bought the Everlast Chin Up Bar for $20 bucks at Big 5 a couple years ago. Not as wide as I would like it but it works great. There is two circular brackets that screw into the wall and you twist the bar(unscrew) the bar open into these brackets. I didn't want to worry about my weight shifting and possibly unseating the bar as may happen with the Door Gym.
posted by P.o.B. at 12:49 PM on August 9, 2008

Along the lines of what Fuzzy mentions, a couple of my pals have freestanding 'dip stations,' something along these lines. They seem okay, though they're much more stable after you pile a few plates on their bases.
posted by box at 1:26 PM on August 9, 2008

On a related tangent, this askme thread is chock full of home exercise goodness.
posted by mecran01 at 3:01 PM on August 9, 2008

Excellent alternative to the door gym

The door gym didn't look like it would work on my door, but the powertrainer is fine. Caused no damage to the door at all.
posted by timmow at 12:09 PM on August 10, 2008