push/pull tower or assisted chin up bar??

khegrenes

khegrenes

Member
I know this is a common concern, and i have read all about it on the forum, but still need help deciding. I need help deciding which one to get. I want to start sts and didn't know which one to get. I am getting the red bands that attach to a door to start off with. I cannot do a pull up/chin up, and am not even close. But I am hoping to change that someday. I think if I could do pull ups than I could do anything!! They are that hard for me! The bands look great, but I am hoping to ditch those after a while and to the modified versions Cathe gives with her pull up tower.

However I have seen the assisted (with a band) pull up/chin up bars that go above a door. I thought I could use the band as assistence and then work up to do it w/o the band. My thought is that Cathe's tower looks a little akward to do a "regular" pull up because of how your lower body has to be elevated to do it, because it is closer to the ground. Is it more awkward? How does a pull up on the tower compare to a pull up bar above your door?? Is there a benefit or disadvantage to either the tower or over the door chin up bar? Is the band as assistance on the over the door bar better or worse than modifications on the tower?
The tower takes up room, that honestly I could make room for, but then it would sit right smack in my living room :( However I also understand that I could use it as a barbell rack to help me with chest presses, (when I ever get that strong). Chip up bar looks like a less akward chip up/pull up to do, and it takes up far less room. Although I couldn't use it in the future for bench presses. I am tempted to do the chip up bar over the door because when I am not doing sts I can still do some pull ups, w/o dragging out the tower.

Oh,,,,, what to do? :confused:I know i am making this harder than it needs to be, but my money needs to be wisely spent!

Thanks so much for your input and helping me with this decsion. I need to rely on wiser people than me in this instance!
Kristy.
 
hi! I havent started sts yet but will be soon:D. I think that you will be fine without the tower. I just wanted to let you know, I bought my tower about 6 months ago and havent even come close to using it as much as I thought I would. I like it and would reccomend it but I dont think that it is a must have to start out with. I cant answer you question about the pullups since I havent done a whole lot of them on it ( they are so hard even when modified) but I am sure someone else will answer.
 
I've done the pull-ups both ways, and although using the tower is a bit awkward @ first, it's more convenient and you get used to it. It will also come in handy when doing other exercises as your weights progress, especially your bench presses. I find that it becomes most useful in Meso 3 when you go back and forth between chest and back exercises because you can leave the barbell on the tower after doing bench presses and go straight into standing rows. But I lift extremely heavy, so this was a factor for me in helping me get those weights up, without having to strain my back because they were already in the air. Granted I don't have the actual tower, I have a actual Olympic gym bench press station, but it's the same set up.

On the other hand, if you don't feel your weights are heavy enough just yet, to warrant having the whole tower, then the door frame option is much cheaper, & should get you through the program just fine. If you wanted to do the "assisted" option, just put a chair in the doorway underneath you, to support your feet, then gradually increase the amount of your body weight that you are pulling up, until you don't need the chair. This is what I did when I first learned to do pull-ups. From what I've heard, the band just doesn't give as good of a workout. If all else fails, there are a ton of "rowing" type exercises that you could do in place of the pull-ups, that will hit the muscle a little more than the band pulls, until you could afford the tower.

HTH
 
Does Cathe give those "rowing" options that you talked about?

I don't need help with the bar for bench presses.....yet ;)
And I am not sure if I want to substitute something else for pull ups for long, because my goal is to be able to do them someday. I saw this pull up bar that someone on this forum recommended. You can see it here, if oyu'd like. http://www.pullupbar.com/
The band looks pretty good, and it says it helps hold 60lbs of your weight. I thought that then I move to the chair and hopefull nothing at all :)

Are pull up as great for your upper body as I think they are? They seem daunting, and it's a HUGE goal for me. Am I focusing too much on them? THey seem like the Mac Daddy of upper body strength to me!

Thanks for your help!!!!
Kristy.
 
khegrenes said:
Does Cathe give those "rowing" options that you talked about?

I don't need help with the bar for bench presses.....yet ;)
And I am not sure if I want to substitute something else for pull ups for long, because my goal is to be able to do them someday. I saw this pull up bar that someone on this forum recommended. You can see it here, if oyu'd like. http://www.pullupbar.com/
The band looks pretty good, and it says it helps hold 60lbs of your weight. I thought that then I move to the chair and hopefull nothing at all :)

Are pull up as great for your upper body as I think they are? They seem daunting, and it's a HUGE goal for me. Am I focusing too much on them? THey seem like the Mac Daddy of upper body strength to me!

Thanks for your help!!!!
Kristy.
Click to expand...


Ahh, ok I see what you're talking about with the bands. My bad, I was assuming you meant the "band lat rows" option that Cathe gives in the pull-up section of the workout. That one you're looking at looks like a pretty good option, although for the $$ you might be better off getting one of the Perfect Pull-up bars or something similar ( I see them all over the place for like $20) & using the chair. The chair will support as much of your body weight as necessary. Then maybe save the rest to eventually put toward your tower? (or just pocket it, lol).

But, whatever you decide, the answer to your ? is yes! Pull-ups are excellent for you. Definitely as good as you think ;)

Cathe doesn't give the rowing options, only the band pulldowns, but here's a link I found for someone who didn't have a pull-up bar the other day
http://www.bodybuilding.com/exercises/finder/lookup/filter/muscle/id/4/muscle/middle-back
(make sure middle back AND lats are checked in order to see all the options)
 
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I have just started STS but have had the tower and a pull-up bar for quite some time. I cannot do an unassisted pull-up but I am working on it.

The pull-up bar I have is the Iron Gym.

I bought bands to go with it: a large (starter band), a medium band, and a small band.

The plan is to start with the large band which provides the most assistance, then go to the medium band, then the small band, and finally a full unassisted pull-up! :eek:

I am still on the large band but I can tell you that before I had the band, I used the chair method and it is very easy to cheat that way. You cannot cheat with the band and use your legs to push yourself up above the bar like you can with a chair. I have also used the tower to do pull-ups as shown in STS and they are awkard and I feel work your muscles just a little differently than the band-assisted pull-up. I have also read in a couple of different books, magazines, blogs, that the best way to get to a pull-up is to use the bands (assuming you don't own an assisted pull-up machine like they have at gyms ;)).

Good luck with getting a full pull-up in! They are certainly the king of bodyweight exercises in my opinion. I can do 40+ military style push-ups in one set but not a single pull-up to save my life. I too feel that if I can do just one pull-up, there isn't anything I can't do!
 
Yes, the Iron Gym is the one I was thinking of. I used to have that one, I wish I'd known of the bands then :( That would've been great, it's such an awesome idea. I have the one that screws into the door frame now (new workout room, different door frame). I still use the chair from time to time, as I try to increase the amount of reps I can do, & yes, depending on the position of the chair, it's quite easy to cheat :p . The key is: the further out you put the chair, the harder it is to cheat. If it's right under you, its very easy to cheat because it's almost like doing a squat. But, if you have it further out, so that your feet are barely on it, it's more like the option that Cathe shows w/ the feet out at an angle on the floor. Another option is to only have one leg on the chair at a time. But, again, that band is genius. It's much more like the machine at the gym.

I LOVE being able to do pull-ups now, my teen son and I have regular competitions now, lol (I always win ;) )
 
KIKI: Thanks for letting me know how wonderful pull ups are for our upper bodies!! You have confirmed my determination to one day be able to do them,,,,although it may take me a while :) I am goign to check out the body building link for the rows you sent me. I bet they will help me get to the real deal some day!!!!
Thanks for your help and you time!! I love this Forum. Everyne is so helpfull!
 
That's awesome that you have contests with your son! What a wonderful example you are for him!
I think I am goign to get a cheaper bar with one of the bands that Julie suggested.
 
Thank you sooo much!! I am going to get the 75lb. band for now, and when I need the next one I'll get it. It may take me a while before i need the next band! :0

I am goign to get a bar from amazon, and was going to get the Iron Gym one you suggested, but I have read that your elbows scrape the side of the door. Is this true? I was thinking of this one instead, (http://www.amazon.com/Maximum-Fitne...=sporting-goods&ie=UTF8&qid=1304619225&sr=1-3) cuz it sits out away from the door. ANy thoughts or advice?

You have helped me, Thank you!
Kristy
 
I have never had a problem with my elbows scraping the door or even coming close (using either the normal or wide grip positions). I wonder if this is more common with males with large forearms? :confused: My DH tried the bar because he didn't believe it would actually hold his weight being that it just attaches to the door frame with a small hook. He did not scrape his elbows either.

The one you linked looks like it would keep you farther away from the door jamb and still gives you the option to do normal, wide, and hammer grip pull-ups just like the Iron Gym. The reason I went with the Iron Gym is because they sold it at Bed, Bath, & Beyond and I could use a coupon (so it was less than $20)! :eek:

I think you can't go wrong with either bar.
 
Hmmm. I loved my iron gym. I'm tryin to think if I had any issues with it.... Oh, the only issue I had was actually an issue w/my door rather than the bar. My doors all sit on corners (as in a direct right angle to the wall), so my grip had to stay pretty narrow or else my elbow would hit the wall on the side that ran into the corner. But I tried multiple bars and the problem was the same (even the bar I use now). The door frame that I use now is probably the only one in the house that sits out away from the corner. So that is something to consider w/any bar you decide on.

I'm glad to have a new location for the bar now, because although the narrow grip hits the middle back really good, the wider grip really hits the lats to give that v-taper look that makes the waist look nice and tiny ;) . And a girl like me (who is built more square) needs to build that upper lat width to help a girl out :p
 
I'd love to get a door pull-up bar, but the closest door to where I exercise is over a dip in the floor ( multi-level house ) and I fear for my safety.... any hints?
 
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