15 Best Pull-up Bars and Pull-up Racks to Build Strength at Home

When it comes to no-frills home training, the humble pull-up rack – or pull-up bar, if you’re short on space – is hard to beat. Simple, adaptable and totally unforgiving, it allows you to cultivate total upper body strength by pitting downward force of gravity against your own weight.

Not only will the pull-up rack smoke your abs, chest and arms, it’s especially great for growing a strong, broad back, which can be tricky without access to barbells, benches and cable machines. It’ll also deliver an ego boost, because let’s face it: there’s no greater feeling than passing the bar with ease.

Why Pull-up Bars and Pull-up Racks Are Great for Home Workouts

First and foremost, you can’t do pull-ups without them. Dubbed the ‘upper body squat’, pull-ups test every muscle fibre in your upper-body, and can be scaled up and down to suit your individual strength. Unfortunately, mimicking the same impact as traditional pull-ups can be hard to achieve without the right kit, especially if you’re short on space.

'Pulling movements that work the muscles of the back are notoriously difficult to work into your routine if you’re training with a zero kit approach,' says MH fitness editor Andrew Tracey. 'This leaves a lot of trainees stuck performing endless push-ups, burpees and squats. This can leave your programme – and body – unbalanced at best, and lead to injury at worst.

'Adding a pull-up bar to your work(out) from home arsenal will increase your movement selection 10-fold,; he continues. 'Not only will you unlock pull-ups and chin-ups – upper body-building royalty – into your repertoire, but you’ll also be able to add straps or rings, adding endless variety to your training.'

Suspension trainers — such as the TRX — are another option, but can often tip over into the triple-digit price range, so it could make more sense to invest in a pull-up rack or bar if saving cash is a concern. Handily, most of the pull-up racks and bars below can be stowed away after use, meaning that you needn’t be ducking underneath a metal frame every time you put the kettle on.

If you only plan on repping out one exercise, you’re wasting potential gains, because there’s more than one way to pass the bar. As well as the various pull-up variations available, there’s a huge variety of calisthenics training moves you can tackle on a pull-up rack, from hanging shoulder shrugs to L-sits and muscle-ups.

The Difference Between Pull-up Bars and Pull-up Racks

Pull-up bars either attach to your door frame or require mounting on a wall or ceiling, whereas pull-up racks are freestanding units. Each option has its own distinct benefits and drawbacks, but ultimately, the best bit of kit is the one you actually use. There’s little point splashing out on a pricy pull-up rack, only to wind up using it as a pitstop between the wardrobe and the washing basket for clothes you’ve worn once.

On the one hand, pull-up bars can be placed almost anywhere – transforming any door, ceiling or spare wall into a home gym – and they’re often the most wallet-friendly choice. However, they do have a tendency to restrict your range of motion and therefore your workout (as anyone who has ever attempted windshield wipers in their bedroom doorway will attest).

Mounted bars are more versatile than their door-filling counterparts, and can usually accommodate a heavy load – ideal if you’re thinking of adding external weights – but you’ll need to know your way around a Black & Decker to secure it safely in place. Door frame bars, meanwhile, require little DIY expertise, but they’re more liable to dislodge mid-rep, taking your rental deposit and dignity along with them.

With a pull-up rack you can expect to spend a little more, but they don’t require any drilling. They’re usually customisable, so you can perform a far wider range of exercises, including dips, leg raises, incline press-ups, and front levers. On the flipside, a pull-up rack will take up far more space, and they tend to have a smaller maximum load than mounted pull-up bars.

Best Pull-up Bar Exercises

Pull-up

Grab the handles of the pull-up bar with your palms facing away from you and your arms fully extended. Your hands should be around shoulder-width apart. Squeeze your shoulder blades together, exhale and drive your elbows towards your hips to bring your chin above the bar. Lower under control back to the start position.

Chin-up

Grab the pull-up bar with a shoulder-width grip, palms facing you. Pull yourself up until your chin is level with the bar, then slowly lower until your arms are fully extended

Climber Pull-up

Hang with a shoulder-width grip, palms facing forwards, and pull your weight straight up. Through the top half of the move, shift your weight to the right and aim your chin towards your right hand. Lower, and repeat to the left side.

Muscle-up

Create an “active” hang under the bar by squeezing down your lats and shoulders. From here, generate the kip swing by tensing your glutes and abs, while thinking about opening and closing your shoulders. Your legs should move in front (the hollow position) and behind you (the arched position), but your torso should stay centred. Pull down on the bar using your back and shoulders, your arms straight. Lift your hips to reach your hands, then drive your head forward over the bar. From the bottom of a dip position, call on the strength you built in the final progression move to press your body upward. Keep your core tensed and your legs in front.

Hanging Leg Raise

Hold the pull-up bar with your palms facing you. Lift yourself off the floor but keep your arms extended and your torso stable, then slowly bend at the hips and lift your legs until they are parallel with the floor.

Dead Hang

Grip the bar with an overhand grip and your palms facing away from you. Move your feet off any support you may be using, so you're hanging on to the bar. Keep your arms straight and hang for three to four total sets. Aim to increase the time you spend hanging each week.

How to Make Pull-ups Harder

Back to the king of bodyweight exercises. If you can comfortably rep out two to three sets of 10-12 pull-ups, you may want to consider cranking up the resistance to continue challenging yourself. On the flipside, you can regress the movement to build strength up to full sets. Handily, either tactic can be deployed at home.

You can add resistance bands to make pull ups easier, using the elasticity of the band to help you move upwards, eventually progressing to smaller bands and, later, none at all. To make pull ups harder, add extra load with a dip belt or a weighted vest. Once you hit failure, you can drop the weight (safely, mind) and continue repping out pull ups with just your bodyweight.

Things to Consider Before Buying

Inevitably, there are a few factors to consider before you part with your dough: do you have enough space for a freestanding pull-up rack, or just enough room for a telescopic pull-up bar? Can you use screws, or will a hanging pull-up bar suffice? Where will you store it when you’re not working out? And, crucially, if you plump for a pull-up bar, will your doorframes be strong enough for the weight of your body?

No matter your choice, we’ve covered all options below with a selection of pull-up racks and bars that are safe, perfect for home workouts and won’t break the bank. It’s time to do some homework.

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