UKC

Anyone got a Powerbar? One of those pull up bars for your house that rest on the door frame.

Just wondering if it is possible to do "skin the cat" exercises on them. Looking at videos on you tube it sort of looks possible, but they don't demonstrate.
Thanks.

In reply to toasted:

Bump

In reply to toasted:

You could...but nudge the doorframe, spin round too wildly or if the bar/door breaks then you risk the whole thing coming down and you landing on your head on the floor! I always try to keep the right way up on my bar and just stick to different variation pull ups. Anything more adventurous I save for a properly secured bar in the gym!

Ben

In reply to toasted:

I don't know what "skin the cat" exercises are but I, perhaps stupidly, hand upside down off mine reasonably regularly and haven't broken my neck (yet)!

In reply to toasted:
I got one, never tried the exact exercise but tried let raises etc and was fine, obviously need to be controlled which to be honest leads to better form than just kicking up with no control.

I tried (almost) inverting and touching the door frame with my feet on another bar (not a powerbar but similar idea, that one actually came with fittings you could screw above the door but I didn't bother). Again I was really controlled and balanced though.

I guess it also depends a bit in the width/strength of your door frame etc but I think if you stay balanced and move slowly, I think it'll probably be fine but personally I got fairly nervous hanging upside down from it, had i come down I am sure it would have been a pretty serious injury on a hard floor (i am sure i wouldn't stand a chance of reacting so i'd land on my head - ouch) so I'd leave them for the gym if I were you - especially since I think the biggest risk would be on bringing your legs back through...

In reply to Simos: I was told a story about someone doing something similar and the door frame breaking while the person was inverted. The fall from the bar resulted in quite a serious back injury. I would only use my power bar for pull ups and leg raises based on that.

In reply to jonnyblindsign:

Based on unconfirmed rumors of someone falling over? Best hadn't go climbing then, people fall all the time there! :x

I do a decent amount of hangs on mine including various levers and skin the cat etc. No problems.

In reply to toasted:

Regarding the "someone falling", it was probably this:

http://www.heatfund.org.uk/p/hannahs-story.html

Here was the original UKC post too requesting donations:

http://www.ukclimbing.com/forums/t.php?t=515044

This was with a traditional pull up bar screwed in to the door-frame though.

Regardless, this story alone has made me MUCH more careful when I'm using my powerbar at home, especially as it's someone that, whilst I didn't know, I had seen in Harrogate climbing wall before. Certainly brings it home.

It is a tragic accident, and I'm not saying that everyone's pull up bar is going to break, chances are this is one in a million, but it's worth being careful.