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Bodyweight Power tower rec

BigSurGirl

First Post
Hello Strong Friends-
What brand of power tower do you use and love? I am looking to do pull-ups and chin-ups, dips and leg raises. It is so hard to tell what is a decent piece of equipment from the reviews on most sites. I can't quite afford Rogue, nor do I have the space for a big cage. My husband will likely use it also for the same exercises- he is 5'10" and 165 and I'm shorter and lighter. My main concern is that the unit sits solidly, if it's wiggly, I know I won't like it. Won't trust it. Thank you!
 
My tower is around 20yrs. Rusty, paint peeling but still solid as a rock. I remember when I bought it I didn’t consider brands but the thickness of the steel & size of the bolts holding it together. If you are in a position to go to an actual physical shop that sells equipment rather than online I would recommend that. Then you can see it put together & if you ask nicely they’ll probably let you test run it.
Edit: they’re also something that pops up second hand regularly, cheaper option & if it’s close you can go have a look
 
If you or your husband are DIYers you could make something like the set of stall bars that I made. Doesn't take up space and it easily holds my near 200lbs. The bar can be moved up and down, it also is a dip station. The board I use for HLR/OAPU regressions. It all folds neatly into place after. It's also great to attach bands for prehab/rehab and also for some stretching etc. Takes about a day to build with the right tools. PM me for details if ever you feel like building something like this. More pictures in this thread. Recommendations/Reviews/FS/WTB - DIY Stall Bar with construction file. Pull-up/dip attachment


IMG_5766.JPG IMG_5788 (2).JPGIMG_5767 (2).JPG
 
If you or your husband are DIYers you could make something like the set of stall bars that I made. Doesn't take up space and it easily holds my near 200lbs. The bar can be moved up and down, it also is a dip station. The board I use for HLR/OAPU regressions. It all folds neatly into place after. It's also great to attach bands for prehab/rehab and also for some stretching etc. Takes about a day to build with the right tools. PM me for details if ever you feel like building something like this. More pictures in this thread. Recommendations/Reviews/FS/WTB - DIY Stall Bar with construction file. Pull-up/dip attachment


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I have had that bookmarked and plan to have one someday when my husband retires and finishes his wood shop in the next year or two. I should probably tell him :)

It's so beautiful, too! Imagine if everyone had one of these in their living room. Kids would love it and would encourage them to play, be strong, and move well.
 
If you or your husband are DIYers you could make something like the set of stall bars that I made. Doesn't take up space and it easily holds my near 200lbs. The bar can be moved up and down, it also is a dip station. The board I use for HLR/OAPU regressions. It all folds neatly into place after. It's also great to attach bands for prehab/rehab and also for some stretching etc. Takes about a day to build with the right tools. PM me for details if ever you feel like building something like this. More pictures in this thread. Recommendations/Reviews/FS/WTB - DIY Stall Bar with construction file. Pull-up/dip attachment


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That looks awesome, and I know you have posted it before but I have a couple questions. How do you use it as a dip station? And is the pull-up bar strong enough to hang rings from?

Great work by the way. I want to clear up some wall space in my garage just for this.
 
I have had that bookmarked and plan to have one someday when my husband retires and finishes his wood shop in the next year or two. I should probably tell him :)

It's so beautiful, too! Imagine if everyone had one of these in their living room. Kids would love it and would encourage them to play, be strong, and move well.
Thanks Anna! I always found stall bars to look good too. The link to the file always seems to malfunction for some reason, even though I make it public. Just shoot me a pm if ever you get around to making it with your husband.

My 4 kids have been using them to work on pull-ups for a couple of years. They only use them sporadically though. My 2 sons got pretty good at them. Here's a clip of my oldest son, he eventually made it to 10 strict reps.

 
That looks awesome, and I know you have posted it before but I have a couple questions. How do you use it as a dip station? And is the pull-up bar strong enough to hang rings from?

Great work by the way. I want to clear up some wall space in my garage just for this.
For dips you just move the bars down. Like these picture.

IMG_5770 (2).JPG IMG_5772.JPG

As for rings it all depends what you are doing on them. The attachment is hooked onto the stall bars by metal hooks. If you swung really hard they could move the whole piece backwards. If you angle the front bar lower by playing with the height of the angles piece you could get it more stable. But besides that, it's pretty sturdy. Like I said it easily holds my 195lbs and more. I'm sure I could go up to +50lbs without issues, not that I'm able to use that kind of added weight though.

I can shoot a few extra pictures if it's not clear enough.
 
For dips you just move the bars down. Like these picture.

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As for rings it all depends what you are doing on them. The attachment is hooked onto the stall bars by metal hooks. If you swung really hard they could move the whole piece backwards. If you angle the front bar lower by playing with the height of the angles piece you could get it more stable. But besides that, it's pretty sturdy. Like I said it easily holds my 195lbs and more. I'm sure I could go up to +50lbs without issues, not that I'm able to use that kind of added weight though.

I can shoot a few extra pictures if it's not clear enough.
That is quite clear, thank you!
 
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Thanks Anna! I always found stall bars to look good too. The link to the file always seems to malfunction for some reason, even though I make it public. Just shoot me a pm if ever you get around to making it with your husband.

My 4 kids have been using them to work on pull-ups for a couple of years. They only use them sporadically though. My 2 sons got pretty good at them. Here's a clip of my oldest son, he eventually made it to 10 strict reps.


That's great! His is such a pro! And he knows when to stop, too :) No flailing around trying to get another as most kids would do. You've taught him well.
 
If you or your husband are DIYers you could make something like the set of stall bars that I made. Doesn't take up space and it easily holds my near 200lbs. The bar can be moved up and down, it also is a dip station. The board I use for HLR/OAPU regressions. It all folds neatly into place after. It's also great to attach bands for prehab/rehab and also for some stretching etc. Takes about a day to build with the right tools. PM me for details if ever you feel like building something like this. More pictures in this thread. Recommendations/Reviews/FS/WTB - DIY Stall Bar with construction file. Pull-up/dip attachment


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Wow Benjamin! That is so elegant and useful. My hubby and I are far from handy but I have a friend that just retired from the construction game and maybe he would take a stab at something like this! Thanks for sharing the photos!
 
I'd love to stay in the $250 to 300 range.
Just a little more than budget ($332 + local sales tax, free shipping)

Honestly though, I don't like most pull-up/dip stations because the frame is often where I would normally grab the bar for pull-ups. I have a CAP pull-up + squat stand and I have found it to be more than adequate for pull-ups and bench press. Accessory-wise, I have safeties and plate loaders and they do the job. I haven't tried the dip attachment, but it would probably be fine.
CAP pull-up/squat stand ($167):
Amazon product ASIN B00HYQP72O
Dip Attachment ($41)
Amazon product ASIN B08XN5NX1W
 
I have this and I like it quite a bit. I’m not strong enough to put a significantly heavy barbell on the rack yet but so far it’s really sturdy. It says 800lb weight capacity but I’m pretty sure if I was squatting anything above 300 I might want an actual squat rack. It has adjustable barbell racks, dip handles and safety racks. The only thing I did to make it better was wrap parts of the pull-up grips with racket tape to make the grip better (it’s kind of a small diameter so not super comfortable on the hands).

Amazon product ASIN B08LBQHRRT
 
The google drive links keep closing down when I post them here. This is my original post from 6 years ago. You can find the link to the construction details in there.

 
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