Pull Up Bars

First choose a bar that suits your home. If you can drill into a load-bearing wall, a multi-grip wall-mounted pull-up bar lets you vary your grip from the start. If you can't drill, a door pull-up bar is held in a solid door frame by pressure, and a free-standing pull-up bar does the same job on the floor. Add a resistance band if you can't do a full pull-up yet.

Yes, in two ways. A door pull-up bar is held in the door frame by pressure, with no screws or wall plugs: fit it in a solid frame (solid wood, masonry or metal), never on plasterboard or a hollow frame. A free-standing pull-up bar, such as the foldable power tower, stands on the floor: it does need space, though. The wall-mounted bars in this collection are all fixed with screws and wall plugs into a load-bearing wall.

Fit it high enough to hang with straight arms without your feet touching the floor, with bent legs if needed. Then keep enough space above the bar to get your head and chin over it without touching the ceiling. In a low room, do your pull-ups with bent legs rather than reducing that clearance.

A load-bearing wall made of concrete or solid brick. Avoid plasterboard partitions, and hollow bricks without suitable wall plugs. Locate electrical cables and pipes before drilling. If you're unsure what your wall is made of, ask a professional before installing.

Choose a wall-mounted bar if you mainly want to do pull-ups and you can drill: it's discreet and keeps the floor clear. Choose a power tower if you also want to do dips in the same spot, with no drilling. It takes up more space, but you can move it, and fold it away if it's foldable.

Overhand and underhand pull-ups, hanging knee and leg raises, and dead hangs for grip. With practice, the bar also works for the muscle-up and the front lever. Master the full pull-up before moving on to skills.