Customer Reviews

Creative Fitness Door Gym

5 star:		(149)
4 star:		(51)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(11)

 

 

I was very skeptical of this "cantilevered" doorway chinning bar. I thought it would slide, not really stay up, be unsafe or unstable to use. Well, the thing actually works as advertised! It's basically a chinning bar sitting on 2 J shaped braces. The tops of the braces connect with a flat crosspiece. The crosspiece sits on the opposite side of the doorframe, resting on the top of the doorjamb. On the your side of the doorway, the ends of the chinning bar press against the doorframe. Your weight pushes the chinning bar against the doorframe on one side, presses the crosspiece against the doorjamb on the other. I was nervous pulling my 190lbs up on this thing, hearing all kinds of creaking from the doorway...but, in fact it was stable and held my weight like a champ. I live in an old apt., and techinically I think my doorframe is a bit two narrow for the specifications--there are foam pads at the ends of the bar that are suppose press against the doorframe molding. In my case, the doorframe hits the metal bar itself, and the padded ends extend beyond that. Probably not technically as safe as it should be (metal against wood, instead of non-slip foam against wood), but it still works great.

I was also scared that since your weight holds it in place, it would fall off while you're not applying a lot of force. So you would have to do some kinda balancing act to hold it in place until you start chinning, and it would fall off as soon you're done. Not so. It rests fairly securely on the jamb, but a quick upward motion removes it right off. If you're paranoid, it comes with a little hook that you wedge in between the molding and the wall that will hold the unit in place while you're not chinning.

Two complaints: There are foam grips (including two perpendicular grips), but I wish the whole bar was foamed for a wider range of grips. If you're serious you'll probably want to buy the broad-grip accessory that's sold separately (I have not yet, so far this is plenty). Secondly, there's no assembly instructions, just an exploded view of what screws go where. There's only 4, so that's trivial, but they include some locking washers (2 metal, 2 plastic) that are essential to use, and the diagram does not indicate to use these. Otherwise, a very nice product.

I've had the Door Gym for about a month now and have been very pleased with it. It really does just hang on the opposite top of the door. However, the cantilever design does not rest your body weight on the door trim, but against the door frame both sides of the door frame. You can easily put it up or down in seconds.

Door Gym comes with a small metal tab that can easily be inserted between the wall and trim molding on the side opposite where you do your chin ups. This tab is not noticeable and makes a safety stop for the top part of the door gym that is pressing against the top of the door. The instructions recommend this if children will use the Door Gym, but I put it up even for my use since I always use the same doorway. You do not have to have it, but it adds a little safety measure to insure it won't slip off the trim. I have used the Door Gym many times now and have not seen any wear on my door and I feel very comfortable with its safety.

You do need to pay attention to the door dimensions they recommend for use. There are definitely some doors in my house it won't work with (too wide, not enough top clearance if there is a very low ceiling above door, etc.)

I really like the push-up feature for deep push-ups on the floor, they're more effective than regular push-ups.
I have not used it as a sit-up spotter since I don't have a door convenient for that, but it basically can sit on the floor and the long bar normally used for chin-ups locks against the door frame on the side opposite where you are doing situps.

Great idea and product. If you're in a hurry you can get a decent upper body work out in minutes with just this one handy device .

Received my Door Gym yesterday, had it put all together in about 5 minutes, and I was up and hanging. Also worked great for pushups. With such poor directions, it took a couple of minutes to figure out what bolts should go where, but once I did, it was a cinch.

For those that had problems with assembly, or are considering purchasing the Door Gym, here's the deal. The hex head bolts are installed vertically, where the 90 degree bend tubes connect to the horizontal bar. Use the silver washers with these. The rounded bolt heads are the ones used to attach the plastic bar to the two 90 degree bend tubes together at the back, and will be installed horizontally. Use the smaller black washers with these. Looking underneath the rounded bolt head, you will see that it is four-sided for a short length, and not round. Now, looking at the plastic bar with the pad, if you look in the holes where the bolts go, you will see that they have a square opening. The square part of the bolt HAS to be pushed into the square opening. If it's not, you won't have the length necessary to securely screw on the cap nut. This is why several people had issues with it.

Great product, and would be even better if it had easily understood, and complete directions.

This is a pull-up bar. If you want to do pull-ups it is the best solution for your home. Put up and take down in seconds with no tools. Comfy foam padding, sturdy design. Some assembly required.

As a bonus you can also use the thing as a push-up bar. You may ask why you'd need a push-up bar when you have a floor. Well, you don't. It's just a bonus.

The Door Gym and other items like it need to have way more specific descriptions of their requirements. This product would probably work great if you had the right kind of molding. The molding in my house is too tall and too thick for this product to work. Also, the walls themselves and therefore the door frame is too thick for this to fit.

The only requirement they tell you about is the width of the door. I have many doors fitting the width requirement, but none fitting the molding requirements. Lots of houses in New England have molding just like mine. In fact, I'm hard pressed to think of anyone I know whose doors this would fit. I think you need to have doors that have only the simplest modern-looking cheap molding in order for the Door Gym to fit.

I have used the door gym for several months (exclusively for pull-ups, but also useful for deep pushups and situps), and have found it to be an excellent cost effective workout for the upper body. It can be installed and uninstalled literally in seconds on your doorway. (Caution: measure your doorway of interest to assure compatibility with the Door Gym's specifications). The foam padding on the bar that provides support over the doorway is more than adequate to protect your wall's paint. In fact, the padding that rests on the door jambs also do a commendable job of not ruining your door's finish. That said, use common sense (ie, it's not a monkey bar) and don't horse around on it, and your door should be pristine. The door gym comes with four screws, 2 are shorter than the others, and at first glance, seem to be a mistake (as some of the reviewers stated). The two shorter screws (if I recall correctly) are for securing the door gym to the red padded bar that goes over the door. You need to push fairly FIRMLY on the screw (which has been threaded through the door gym and red padded bar) in order to secure the nut onto it. Once it's on, tighten with a wrench, and the opposite side will be easier. Areas for improvement? The instructions could obviously be clearer, judging from the previous reviewers' comments about assembly problems. Also, padding the wide grip areas would permit even more choices (in terms of comfort to the hands) of grips for pull-ups. Effective, relatively cheap, portable, and kind to your door is my take on the Door Gym:)

I have used my Door Gym for 5 years and it has worked without problem, or injury all that time. I think that I will still be able to use it for a good 20 years. A note about the paint above the door frame, it can do a little number on the paint, but only slight wearing, not even noticeable in my house unless you're looking!

Overall, a very good product, easy to use and very sturdy. I weigh in at about 225, and have felt very safe with it. Putting it up and taking it down takes literally no time.

However, it has left small marks on my door frame, not TOO noticeable, but present nonetheless. And I find myself wishing for foam pads on the wide grip location (outside the handles) as well. I purchased the wide grip bar, but have yet to use it.

4 Stars.

DOES NOT NEED ANY HARDWARE DEFACING YOUR DOORWAY, IT TAKES ONLY A SECOND TO SET UP AND A SECOND TO TAKE DOWN. Works in 24 to 32 inch doorways, requires trim up to 3.5" wide around the door. Door width, with trim, must be at least 4 inches thick (may not be suitable for older doorway moldings).

Latches on without screws, bolts or fasteners, so you won't leave holes in your door trim. A cantilever design uses your own body weight (up to 300 lbs.) to keep it in place.

I purchased the door gym and I was ready to return it. I didn't think it would be good. To my surprise the Door Gym was perfect. Everything you need is in the box. No tools required. The instructions are a little vague, but if you put any furniture together in your life, this item will not be a problem. The foam padding protects your door,no markings or scratches. The door gym goes up in 1 second, and comes down in half the time. Never leave an ugly pull up bar in the door again. It is very strong. It holds my weight (190) no problem. I feel very safe while using it. I would definately buy it again.