Optimum Fitness Fitness News and equipment reviews
What do I need to do Pull-Ups at home?
Pull-Ups are considered the ULTIMATE exercise for strengthening the back and arm muscles.
Fitness experts regard Pull-Ups as one of the three ‘holy grail’ exercises for whole body strength and tone (the other two are Squats and Press Ups).
When you perform a pull-up, you are working a range of different muscles including:
- Lattismus Dorsi (big back muscles)
- Biceps
- Forearms
- Core strength muscles that help you obtain a flat stomach!
Not only do stronger back muscles look great, but they give you great posture and help balance out strength work on the chest and abs.
Performing a PULL-UP at home is SIMPLE AND CHEAP. You only need two things:
- A Pull-Up Bar
2. Pull-Up Assistance Bands
Why do I need Assistance Bands?
Maybe you don’t! However, it is estimated that only 1 in 5 men and 1 in 100 women are able to perform just 1 single pull-up.
This is an incredibly hard exercise that relies on great upper body strength and an excellent strength to body weight ratio.
Here are some of the benefits of using resistance bands for pull-ups:
- The beauty of assistance bands is that they allow you to do pull-ups with a bit of help!
- You might be able to do 10 pull-ups with assistance bands, but only 1 pull-up without.
- The bands will help you develop strength and build up the back and arm muscles.
- In time you will get stronger and be able to use a lighter resistance bands and eventually perform more pull-ups without assistance!
Which Pull-Up Bar do you recommend?
Any pull-up bar that fits onto a door frame is ideal for the home.
This is such a simple idea. They are very easy to attach and usually require no screws or damage to the frame itself.
With a slip-in design, these pull-up bars can be installed in less than one minute!
Deceptively strong, they can hold body weights up to 300lbs.
We like this one from Prosource. It’s simple, cheap and effective.
Features include:
- Made of high-grade steel
- Lifetime guarantee
- Holds up to 300lbs
- Multi-grip positioning
- Exercise guide included
What do users say?
“I love this bar. It can easily be used for multiple exercises. I workout at home with just this and some weights, and I get so many different exercises in”
“I’ve been using this pull-up bar for over a month now, and couldn’t be happier. It fits well over standard molding”
Any negatives?
Some users have reported that the bar can leave black marks on the door frame. Many have got round this by placing strips of cardboard or cloth under the parts that hang on the door.
Which Pull-Up Assistance Bands do you recommend?
We recommend the Mummystrength assistance bands.
These are rated 4 – 5 stars on Amazon with over 760 reviews!
Features include:
- Variety of colors and resistances ranging from Blue (easy) to RED (tough)
- Choose the best band for you with the quick reference chart (see below)
- Premium grade latex rubber
- FREE digital guide with warm-up exercises and guide to 11 muscle-toning exercises
- 30-day money back guarantee
- Product replacement FOR LIFE
To Buy the BLUE BAND, click here: MummyStrength Blue Band
To Buy the BLACK BAND, click here: MummyStrength Black Band
To Buy the PURPLE BAND, click here: MummyStrength Purple Band
To Buy the GREEN BAND, click here: MummyStrength Green Band
To Buy the RED BAND, click here: MummyStrength Red Band
How do I attach the assistance bands to the pull-up bar?
Easy! You simply loop the band around the frame and insert a foot or a knee to use.
Try to tighten your core muscles to prevent you from swinging back and forth too much.
You can perform close-grip, normal-grip or wide-grip pull ups in this position.
Close-grip pull-ups focus more on the bicep muscles while wide-grip pull-ups focus more on the back muscles.
Summary
Doing Pull-Ups at home is simple and cheap! With only two items – the pull-up bar and some resistance bands – you can do the ULTIMATE upper-body exercise with ease!
- A Pull-Up Bar
2. Pull-Up Assistance Bands