Questions about pull-ups and new tower

S

snocone bella

Active Member
The pictures of the pull-up tower look very cool, as everyone has mentioned - it makes you want to get one just for that!

But some practical questions. Is the device mainly to get people to where they CAN do one regular pull-up, and then is not so useful? (in other words, if someone can already do 4-5 overhand pull-ups on a regular doorway bar, is there any point in getting this?) Will it be used for other exercise sets, like supine pull-ups as a valuable exercise in and of itself that is considered part of the STS routines? Should you always do the hardest version you can up to as many reps as you can, or sometimes choose less intense versions to meet a specified (greater) number of reps?

If someone does increase their strength enough to get to a regular pull-up, won't they need a higher bar anyway (as the next logical step)? I saw the examples of Cathe doing the vertical "seated" version, but it looks like that involves significant core strength as well...harder than a vertical "straight to the knees" version. If someone is making gradual progress through this exercise, isn't skipping over a step a pretty big jump?

Another concern is the large diameter of the bar, especially for small hands. Has anyone commented on this - comfort, grip-strength, etc, compared to a standard thinner pull-up bar? It doesn't look like their hands can even reach all the way around the bar. Has it been shown to be not an important issue, from their experience?

I know that the other purpose of the device (the barbell rack) is still there if someone "outgrows" the pull-up trainer, so if someone doesn't have one of those already, maybe that is enough.

TIA for addressing these questions!! Looking forward to STS.
 
Thanks for posting this. I had the same questions myself so I hope they get a chance to answer them.

I currently have a doorway pull-up bar and can do 5 chin-ups with a short rest in between and only 1 close grip pull-up. So I was wondering if it would be better to use the tower to do supine pull-ups to build strength or just continue to use the doorway bar with chair assistance when needed.

JJ
 
First, some things to know when you look at the Push Pull Tower on the Blog. These are just prototypes and not actual production pieces. The Towers you see are very close to what the final version will look like, but there will be differences. For instance the bar diameter that you hold onto will be much smaller. This was one of the first things Cathe had changed when she first tried the prototype unit. The rubber around this bar will also be thinner and will be of higher quality than what you see in the model. There will be flat folding cross pieces on the bottom of the tower that will lock in place to improve stability. There will be fewer bolts as the final production piece will use bending machines for the metal pieces and welds. …and so on.

The tower is also not just for beginners. Even if you can do more than 10 pull ups you can still be challenged by the tower. Intensity really depends on how high you set the chin up bar and how your legs and feet are positioned.

There are many ways to change the intensity of doing a pull up on the tower, but we’re not trying to replace a vertical Pull Up for those who can do multiple sets at 15 reps. Our target market is to help those who have trouble doing pull ups or who don’t want a pull up bar in their house.
 
Thanks SNM -- that's good to know. I thought the tower in the blog was the finished product.

I have a few more questions:

1. What are the dimensions, especially the width of the pull up bar itself?

2. Is the width adequate to accommodate larger women and men? Would they be able to fit between the end posts and still get a wide enough grip?

3. And finally, for those of us who may want to use it for a bench press, will it include safety pins?

Thank you :)
 
>2. Is the width adequate to accommodate larger women and men?
>Would they be able to fit between the end posts and still get
>a wide enough grip?

That's one concern I had in looking at the pictures. It doesn't seem wide enough to accomodate wider-than-shoulder-width (and I'm not talking really wide, just a bit wider) pull-ups (hands pronated). Not just for 'big women,' but for anyone average size or larger.
 
The width of the pull-up bar is 29 inches which is plenty big for almost anyone to do a chin up or a standard grip pull up. This is not much smaller than most bedroom door frames. To do a wide grip pull up you really need a bar that is between 40 an 46 inches and this is not something our invention is designed to do as this is a very advanced exercise that few can do. We’ve tested the Pull Up Tower on people over 6 ft tall and weighing over 220 lbs and nobody has had any problems with chin ups or standard grip pull ups. Yes, It does come with safety pins to lock in each barbell catch.
 
>The width of the pull-up bar is 29 inches which is plenty big
>for almost anyone to do a chin up or a standard grip pull up.
>This is not much smaller than most bedroom door frames. To do
>a wide grip pull up you really need a bar that is between 40
>an 46 inches and this is not something our invention is
>designed to do as this is a very advanced exercise that few
>can do. We’ve tested the Pull Up Tower on people over 6 ft
>tall and weighing over 220 lbs and nobody has had any problems
>with chin ups or standard grip pull ups. Yes, It does come
>with safety pins to lock in each barbell catch.

Thank you for the detailed answer! My credit card is ready :D

ETA I asked about men and larger women because I saw questions about it on another forum, and I also wanted to know if my DH could use it. He's 6'4" and probably too heavy for it ;)
 
We've have designed the push pull tower to handle people up to 300 lbs. For Supine Pull Ups he would be fine, but for heavy Bench pressing over 100 lbs he really should use a regular bench press.
 
>We've have designed the push pull tower to handle people up
>to 300 lbs. For Supine Pull Ups he would be fine, but for
>heavy Bench pressing over 100 lbs he really should use a
>regular bench press.

PERFECT!! My DH is very tall, but he's well within the weight limits. Thanks again :)
 
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