Pullup Bar For Doorframe...

[mcs5280]

I am looking for a decent pullup bar that will mount on a doorframe in my apartment. I am a college student who does a lot of running/biking, which ultimately has caused me to be insanely thin. My goal this semester is to add some mass to my upper body. Last time I checked I was 6'0 and 138 pounds. I am looking to bulk up, and I want prefer to do it in the privacy of my apartment. We do have a nice gym/workout facility at my school, but I really don't feel like showcasing my amazing lack of upper body strength to the world yet.

Also, would you guys recommend any dumbbell sets? I don't have a huge budget, but I want something that will give me some decent results.

 

[erdawe]

You'll probably ruin your door and have to pay a good chunk of money getting the door fixed if you use the bar regularly. At least, you'll gouge pressure marks into the top of the door and pay for that, this will be expensive by the time your year's up, and you already mentioned you don't have much of a budget.

You're already paying good money to for the gym by going to the school, why waste it by not using it? Grow some testicles and use the facility. Who gives a **** if you're skinny, they all started somewhere. The facilities will be much better for your goals of adding mass, than whatever you can throw togeather in your small apartment. You'll have acess to a good bench, squat rack, dumbell sets, pull up, dip bars, ect that when used well will do wonders for adding mass.

If you're self concious workout at odd hours when few people are there like early in the morning, during the middle of the day when you don't have class, ect. Aviod the rush from 5-8 and you'll have less people to worry about seeing you. Most people won't care anyway. They're focused on their own workouts. Use the money you saved by not spending it on gym equiptment and save it so you don't have debt when you get out, or towards a new car/house/whatever when the time comes.

 

[Matt]

yeah, I would agree with that. For every embarrassed underweight guy, there are probably three embarrassed overweight guys who would kill to have your problem.

 

[bach]

go to the ******* gym.

as a fellow skinny guy (6'3", 170 lbs, used to be 145), i have to tell you that you'll just be wasting your time if you don't go to a decent gym. moreover, you're not going to be able to anaerobically exercise your legs, which is crucial for stimulating muscle growth.

 

[mbc]

Originally Posted by erdawe

You'll probably ruin your door and have to pay a good chunk of money getting the door fixed if you use the bar regularly. At least, you'll gouge pressure marks into the top of the door and pay for that, this will be expensive by the time your year's up, and you already mentioned you don't have much of a budget.
FYI I got around this by wrapping a couple of old socks around the parts of the pullup bar that rest on the door frame - so far, no pressure marks 2 years and running. I use this one:

http://www.amazon.com/Creative-Fitne...0844670&sr=8-1

The dumbbell set I use at home is one of those modular sets with a pair of handles with screw-on clamps and a collection of 2.5, 5 and 10 pound plates. If you get decent handles (mine are from Cap Barbell) they can handle up to 80 pounds each. That plus an adjustable bench or exercise ball and you can get a pretty decent core workout going at home. You'll need to go to a gym if you really want to load up on squats, deadlifts, or other heavy bar exercises but otherwise you're set.

That said - nobody at the gym cares about how little you can lift. Nobody. The people who can lift more than you are too busy either watching themselves in the mirror or flexing for spandex-clad gym bunnies.

 

[erdawe]

Fine he might be able to get around the marks. I still think anything he can throw togeather in this apartment is a waste of money and less productive, than a better equipped facility that's nearby and already payed for in tuition fees. Financially it's like shooting your self in the foot twice.

 

[Milhouse]

Two issues here:

First, you pay for the gym, use it.

Second, if you really want to train pullups, there is no way around having a pullup bar somewhere in your apartment as you need to do pullups regularly. I got one that permanently mounts in a hallway (screwed it into studs on each side of the hallway). When I move, I'll slap some filler in the holes, sand it a little, and run some paint over it.

 

[mcs5280]

Alright well the general consensus is that I need to grow some balls and go to the gym on campus. Right now I do go to the gym on campus, but I usually tend to avoid the weight area because its mainly full of muscle heads. All the frat guys seem to go together, and they basically take over the entire weight area. I usually hit up the stationary bikes, climbing wall and treadmills if the weather isn't cooperating during my normal run/bike times. The one thing I hate is having to remove weights from every single machine before I use it. It really just messes everyone up and people get annoyed. I might start checking it out in the early mornings to see if its less busy. A lot of people are saying no to the door frame thing. My apartment is 30 years old, so I am guessing the door frames are 30 years old as well. The place is in really condition though, and I don't want to damage anything. Besides wrapping the pull-up thing in socks, what other precautions can I take? Would I still benefit from getting a set of dumbbells for when I can't make it up to the gym (especially when it starts snowing here)? Finally, should I cut down on my running and biking? I do a 7 mile run 3 times a week, and mountain bike 10-20 miles just about every other day. Lately I have been trying to incorporate more sprints/high intensity climbs into my workout to build muscle, but I kind of feel like I might be overdoing it a little. edit: Forgot to add that I usually spend sundays stuck in the library doing engineering homework, so only my brain and patience get a workout on that day. Sorry for writing you guys a book here.

 

[bach]

you should cut down on running if you are serious about building muscle. what is your reason for running so much, by the way?

 

[mcs5280]

you should cut down on running if you are serious about building muscle. what is your reason for running so much, by the way?

I just do it to get rid of stress from school and to wake up in the mornings. No real reason I guess, but it has become part of my daily routine and it keeps me in decent shape. And mountain biking is just a hobby (and a money-pit).

I used to only run about 2-3 miles, but I found this really nice path along a creek that takes my mind off of the actual running, so now I am up to a 7 mile loop.

 

[Matt]

so when you are running, why don't you just stop in a park and do your pullups on the monkey bars or whatever they have there? Toss in some burpees and it is a pretty decent strength session.

edit btw - while I concur with the 'just use the gym' theory, I think people have been a little too aggressive with the guy. So he doesn't want to go there, lacks a bit of self confidence or whatever, fine...we all know how that feels...but 'grow some balls' posts hardly help the situation do they?

 

[mbc]

I am 6'1" - was 155 lb, now 190 lb. Put on a lot of muscle using only the following equipment:

Pair of adjustable dumbbells (currently maxed at 80lb each)
Pullup bar
Exercise ball

That's it. No gym. If you are a skinny guy, even working up to doing a 160lb squat or bench with dumbbells is a serious effort and will get you decent results as long as you are eating a bunch of protein-rich foods (usually where skinny guys fail in their muscle-gaining efforts) and lifting a challenging amount of weight in each session. If the choice is between being intimidated at the gym so he doesn't lift weights or lifting weights at home even if it means having fewer options - lift at home. Eventually you will need to go to a gym as you will outgrow the capabilities of your home gym, but that's a good problem to have.

 

[rjmaiorano]

It almost sounds like you go to my school. But I haven't started my quarter yet so probably not.

This is the bar I use at home: http://www.amazon.com/Everlast-Multi...0857174&sr=1-2

- its very similar to the bar someone else showed and both do a good job of evenly distributing stress around the door frame and on the above molding. The fact that you have a bar at home will allow you to progress quickly on the pullups, especially if you already climb some.

As to the gym thing, yes if its in the tuition then go, who gives a damn what frat guys think. I commute to school 3 days a week and use my school gym when there, otherwise I take care of things with free weights and pull ups etc at home. That said, you can gain plenty of muscle without a gym, you just have to be disciplined and creative.

If you want to look like a badass for the frat weiners start progressing to weighted pulls and chins and you'd be surprised how quickly you can get up to reps with a 35 or 45lb weight hanging from ya.

Also, I would limit cardio to 30 minute session with some high intensity every so often. If your gym has a rowing machine/concept 2, use it.

 

[Tarmac]

Come on man, grow some balls and go to the gym.

There are times in your life where you can justify pointlessly tedious exercise equipment, but during college is not one of them. Most colleges have Olympic quality exercise facilities and you are paying for it already, either through taxes or tuition. Go use them.

You can try different times of the day to avoid muscleheads, I would guess in the morning and during lunch time is a low-douchebag time slot. Regardless, you have a right to use the equipment. Maybe you can concentrate on the machines if there is a ***** Tit Brigade in the free weight section.

Pull-ups are not that popular with Fraternity Of Striped Shirts types anyway. You should be able to get to the pull up bar or at least the pull-down machine without bumping into many Gay Bashers on the way.

One additional note, I have found pull-up bars to be really sub-optimal for pull-ups. They are way too narrow, and you cannot pull up far past the bar due to a typically low door frame height.

Originally Posted by mcs5280

Alright well the general consensus is that I need to grow some balls and go to the gym on campus. Right now I do go to the gym on campus, but I usually tend to avoid the weight area because its mainly full of muscle heads. All the frat guys seem to go together, and they basically take over the entire weight area. I usually hit up the stationary bikes, climbing wall and treadmills if the weather isn't cooperating during my normal run/bike times.

The one thing I hate is having to remove weights from every single machine before I use it. It really just messes everyone up and people get annoyed. I might start checking it out in the early mornings to see if its less busy.

A lot of people are saying no to the door frame thing. My apartment is 30 years old, so I am guessing the door frames are 30 years old as well. The place is in really condition though, and I don't want to damage anything. Besides wrapping the pull-up thing in socks, what other precautions can I take? Would I still benefit from getting a set of dumbbells for when I can't make it up to the gym (especially when it starts snowing here)?

Finally, should I cut down on my running and biking? I do a 7 mile run 3 times a week, and mountain bike 10-20 miles just about every other day. Lately I have been trying to incorporate more sprints/high intensity climbs into my workout to build muscle, but I kind of feel like I might be overdoing it a little.

edit: Forgot to add that I usually spend sundays stuck in the library doing engineering homework, so only my brain and patience get a workout on that day.

Sorry for writing you guys a book here.

 

[brimley]

People in the gym don't care how much you lift. They care whether you remove the weights when you're done, whether you use the equipment correctly, and whether you work in a timely manner. Start a simple lifting routine and you will find that it gives you all the benefits of your morning runs.