Jumping into Calisthenics with the Pullup Mate

Recently I had the chance to review the Pull Up Mate by a UK company specializing in the calisthenics demographic.

But back to the pullup bar.

No one cares about bodyweight anymore.

And that’s strange because I’m sure many of us started with bodyweight training.

I remember my dad would make us do pushups and when we’d go down to the basement to watch TV, we’d just start busting out push ups, dips, crunches, anything bodyweight )because thats all we had).

And when I started taekwondo and football, hundreds of bodyweight movements were deposited into the bank of training volume that our coaches and teachers created.

For some reason, going to the gym and gym culture changed that.

That is until calisthenic culture hit media with sites like BarStarz and CrossFit.

Now, external resistance and bodyweight training are neither new nor novel. People have been doing both for thousands of years.

Whether it be gladiators training for a fight to the death or Mongol horsemen getting in some strength training while mastering horsemanship, strength has been an area of physical development for ages.

People have always valued progressive overload.

So why only be great at weighted movements?

Using the Pullup Mate

Now, a jungle gym isn’t’ always available.

Part of of what got me excited about this item and the chance to use it was because of training with my dad.

He’s had bad experiences with using pull up bars that prop up against the doorway, leaving marks.

And using these pull-up bars was always limited.

You could only do pullups, nothing else.

The cool thing about this pullup bar ist he combination of: steel-built pullups and dips as well.

If you are thinking of replacing a power rack for this. You’re going to be very mistaken.

There is a 110kg limit on this bar.

However, for the vast majority of people who are looking to get a well-rounded workout with minimal equipment, this can be a great tool.

In fact, I’m really liking the portability of it as I attempt to create an out door bootcamp.

In combination to the sandbags and sleds that I have, this will be a nice additional piece to incorporate upper body movements.

There are easy clamps that go through holes from piece to piece for relatively quick assembly. It took about five minutes for me to put this together for the first time.

What is really exciting about this product is its potential use for bootcamps where you don’t have an area like a children’s playground to setup and use as part of a training regimen.

If you’re in the same situation as my dad, looking for a way to do pullups or adding something portable for a bootcamp, the pull up mate can provide a durable, convenient tool to progress your calisthenics and diversify your fitness.

Check out their website here.