Product Review: Pro-Grade Chin-up Bar by Beachbody

I was unsure if I wanted to endorse any products here at the Jerd at first; after thinking about it though, this entire endeavor is a response to questions I constantly get asked by people – “How do I lose weight?“, “What should I eat?“, “Why are you so awesome?” One of the other questions I get asked a lot is “What equipment should I buy?” so while this will be a rarity, I felt it was time to highlight one of my most used pieces of home fitness equipment.

Pro-Grade Chin-up Bar by Beachbody

This is a high quality pull-up/chin-up bar by the company that markets the P90x workout system. It provides multiple grip positions for varied workouts and fits easily in standard door frames (unlike many home chin-up bars, this does not require bolting anything into the frame itself. It locks into place in seconds… Score!)

While there are a lot of potential options for an in-home gym, I can’t imagine giving up my Pro-Grade Chin-Up Bar for another brand.

Over the years I have owned several pull up bars, and none of them ever came close to the quality and versatility of this product. From the quality materials (I have had this installed in my house for over two years and the grips are still as good as the day I took it out of the box) to the ease of assembly there really isn’t anything bad I can say about it, other than the fact that it is more expensive than other pull-up bars on the market (and to be honest, as I do not mind paying for quality, that isn’t necessarily a bad thing.)

I was skeptical of the way it locks itself into the door frame at first, having been burned by inferior bars in the past, but was pleasantly surprised at how snug it fit and that it did not damage the frame/wall or mar the paint. Even after months of use, removing it showed no ill effects on the appearance of the drywall (and yes, I have had some of my “larger” friends hang on it for me to make sure that no frame or wall damage occurs when more than my 160lbs is dangling from it).

The other thing that sold me on it was the grips! Being able to vary your pull-up and chin-up workout is key to staying fresh and fending off stagnation, so having the 12 grip positions available is a big plus in my book. I personally only use 4 different styles of grips on a regular basis, but knowing that I can include wide-grip pull-ups or other such exercises into my repertoire is nice.

Pros:

• Very high quality materials
• Installs quickly with no door/wall modifications necessary
• Mulitple grips allow for varied workouts

Cons:

• A little pricey compared to competitors
• Bulky to store if you plan on taking it down inbetween workouts

While I don’t have a defined grading scale, I would give the  Pro-Grade Chin-up Bar by Beachbody a resounding two thumbs up, and I would highly recommend that anyone doing workouts at home (which I know all my Jerdlings do… right?) gets one!

Also, it should be noted that since this product hit the market a lot of companies have copied the design and there are many options out there for about half the cost (you can browse them all through the related products in the Amazon link to the right). While I can’t speak to them in terms of fitment or quality, I will say that if you are going to invest in a home pull-up bar definitely get one with this grip design. It is the only way to go!

Let me know what equipment you have in your home arsenal! Drop a comment, follow me on Facebook or Twitter and Sign up for our free newsletter!