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Are Portable Chin-Up Bars Safe?
Diane Goettel
Diane Goettel
Portable chin-up bars can be safe if they are used properly. Most of these kinds of chin-up bars are designed to fit over a door or door frame. As long as the door is quite sturdy and level, there should be no problem. If a door frame is being used, then the frame must have a lip that is adequate to hold the chin-up bar, made of strong material.
One of the major problems with portable chin-up bars is that it is not always possible to know if the most convenient door or door frame is sturdy enough to use. Before using this kind of equipment in a new space, be sure to complete at least a few checks. You should check the material of the door or frame, the quality of the construction, and the condition of the material. If a door is made out of thin boards, is hollow, and has evidence of dry rot, for example, you should absolutely not use it to mount a portable chin-up bar. A sturdy door made of strong wood or metal and no signs of damage, on the other hand, is a much better choice.
Using a portable chin-up bar on a weak door frame or door can not only damage the door and wall, but can lead to personal injury. If this piece of exercise equipment were to come loose during exercise, it could cause the user to fall and could also easily strike the user in the head and upper body area, leading to serious damage. Furthermore, if a chin-up bar was used on a door that was not strong enough, it would likely damage the door and possibly even the frame and surrounding wall. For this reason, it is best not to use portable chin-up bars in hotels or rented living quarters unless the door can quite clearly withstand the stress.
Most portable chin-up bars come with instructions for safe use. Before using this kind of exercise equipment, be sure to read these instructions completely and follow them. Some even come with a DVD with tutorials on using the equipment in a safe way that also provides the best fitness benefits. Be sure to watch these Also, if the equipment comes with a guarantee or warranty, be sure to keep it in a safe place in case the bar breaks or somehow malfunctions.
Diane Goettel
In addition to her work as a freelance writer for WiseGEEK, Diane is the executive editor of Black Lawrence Press, an independent publishing company based in upstate New York. She has also edited several anthologies, the e-newsletter Sapling, and The Adirondack Review. Diane has a B.A. from Sarah Lawrence College and an M.A. from Brooklyn College.
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Diane Goettel
In addition to her work as a freelance writer for WiseGEEK, Diane is the executive editor of Black Lawrence Press, an independent publishing company based in upstate New York. She has also edited several anthologies, the e-newsletter Sapling, and The Adirondack Review. Diane has a B.A. from Sarah Lawrence College and an M.A. from Brooklyn College.
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![Portable chin-up bars are safe as long as they are in a stable position.]()
By: milanmarkovic78Portable chin-up bars are safe as long as they are in a stable position.
Discussion Comments
Most doorway chin up bars may be perfectly safe, but I still don't want to take that risk myself. I am not enough of a fitness buff to want to carry around all that portable gym equipment, anyway. I'd much rather stay in a hotel with its own exercise room than bring my own door chin up bar. What if something went wrong and I accidentally broke the door frame?
I guess my point is that chin up bar exercises can be duplicated with other pieces of equipment that aren't as unreliable as a portable pull up bar.
I had a doorway chin up bar fail on me one time, and I did get hurt pretty bad. I wasn't prepared for the fall, and I landed hard on my back. I don't think the pull up bar itself was the problem, though. The door frame itself was not as strong as it looked. The lip over the top of the door suddenly snapped when I put weight on the bar.
I now have a wall-mounted chin up bar at home, but I still take a portable doorway chin up bar whenever I travel. I just make sure to inspect the doorway more carefully before I set it up.
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