Best Tools for Pull-Ups at Home

Pull-ups take stamina, strength, and a lot of practice, which is why we’ve rounded up a list of tools to not only aid in your pull up journey, but also add an extra challenge when you finally need it.

Need to work your abs, back, biceps, and shoulders, but don’t know where to start? Want to workout from the comfort of your very own home? Maybe you already work out a lot but are looking for more variety in your exercises. With this roundup of pull up tools, you can enhance your workouts and even make your routines safer for your muscles and joints.

We’ve chosen pull up tools ranging from doorway pull up bars to bands to belts to even machines that help with both pull ups and push ups. And if you’re only interested in push up tools, check out our other roundup of Best Push Up Tools.

Best Doorway Pull Up Bar: ProSource Multi-Grip Pull Up Bar ($26)

Want to exercise without having to go to the gym? With this ProSource Multi-Grip Pull Up Bar, you can practice your pull-ups in any one of the 12 available grips. It will easily stay in place anywhere there’s a sturdy door frame, as long as the doorway is between 24” and 32” wide (so make sure to measure your doorway before buying). The assembly is quick and easy as well.

Practice your closed-, wide angle-, and hammer-grip pull-ups with this bar—and do them comfortably with the padded handles. Not only can you do pull ups and chin ups, you can even work on your leg raises and oblique curls on this bar. You can also take the ProSource and put it on the floor so you can do deep push-ups and tricep dips. Lastly, when placed at the base of a doorway, you can use this bar to focus on abdominal crunches.

This multi-functional bar lets you tone muscles that a normal, straight bar at your gym wouldn’t let you reach. Plus, the ProSource is made of a durable steel material that makes it long-lasting and safe, holding up to 300 pounds of body weight. Just note that this may cause paint chipping or even warping of your door frame if installed improperly.

If you want a home pull-up bar, but don’t want to have it installed in a doorway, check out this Ultimate Body Press Joist Moint Pull Up Bar that you can install on exposed wall joists.

Best Pull Up Bands: INTEY Pull-Up Bands ($33)

Resistance bands are great for not only static exercises but for assisting with pull-ups as well. When you first begin practicing pull-ups, you may not have the upper body strength to get the numbers you want—or any at all. This is why the INTEY Pull Up Bands are helpful for beginners. More advanced pull-uppers may use these bands to avoid injury as well. Just loop the resistance band around the bar, pull it through itself, and straighten the band out before placing your feet or body inside the hanging loop.

This set of bands comes with four different widths (and ultimately, resistances). The red band is 0.5” wide, the black band is 0.9” wide, the purple band is 1.3” wide, and the green band is 1.7” wide. As the width increases, the amount of weight that is taken off of your pull up to assist you also increases. So when you train with these bands enough, you will eventually lower your band resistance to the red band—and even do pull-ups without bands!

These INTEY Bands can also be used to help you stretch, do mobility training, and even help with strength training. But if you’re using them as pull up bands, don’t be afraid use multiple bands at once in the beginning so that you can build up your strength.

Best Pull Up Belt: Dark Iron Fitness Leather Weight Belt ($30)

If you can do pull-ups with your own body weight, and are looking to make your workouts more intense, then check out this Dark Iron Fitness Leather Weight Belt. Wear this belt like a normal lifting belt around your waist, adjusting the strap and buckle. With the 40” long, heavy-duty weight strap, you can attach up to 6 Olympic plates (or 270 pounds) to make your pull-ups harder and build more strength.

The Dark Iron Belt doesn’t dig into your sides or hips because it has pillow-like padding and is comfortable to use. When doing pull-ups (or even dips) with this belt on, just let the weights dangle between your feet. And if you need to let go of the weight, it has two quick release spring clips for your safety.

This adjustable belt fits all sizes and is made of real leather with strong, reinforced stitching for long-lasting use. Lastly, this belt has a non-slip waist so that it stays on your body without slipping off during your workout.

Best Push Up and Pull Up Machine: Stamina Power Tower 1690 ($90)

If you read our article on push-ups, you already know about all the beneficial push-up tools we added to our roundup—but we didn’t mention this Stamina Power Tower 1690 machine that lets you do push ups and pull ups. This machine has four stations that can help you do pull ups, push ups, dips, chin ups, sit ups, knee raises, and more. Just assemble the Power Tower and get to work!

This compact machine is 49” x  42.5” x 81”, so it can fit in your home, garage, or indoor gym—wherever you want to use it. Plus, it comes with non-slip end caps so that whatever surface you place it on will be protected.

The pull up station has padded grips to prevent you from slipping when you’re in either the narrow- or wide-grip pull up positions. Plus, the steel frame, which can support up to 250 pounds, is sturdy enough so that you can complete an intense workout without worrying about the machine knocking over or bending.

Best Pull Up Grips: Bear KompleX Hand Grips ($40)

Pull-ups can put a strain on your wrists and can cause pain on the skin of your fingers and palms. The Bear KompleX Hand Grips are genuine leather wrist straps that not only support the wrist during pull-ups and other activities (like cross training and weight lifting), but they can prevent blisters and calluses.

The Bear KompleX Grips come in two and three finger option, and different sizes depending on your hands. Plus, they have triple-stitched leather which not only supports and stabilizes you during your pull-ups, but reduces slipping so you can do more pull-ups effectively.

A lot of leather hand grips are known to discolor your hands, but The Bear KompleX grips won’t—even under the most intense sweating. So say goodbye to ripped palms and hands!