Best Parallel Bars for Home and Beyond

___TVE_SHORTCODE_RAW__

Best Portable Calisthenics Parallel Bars

Our #1 Recommendation: Lebert Fitness XL Calisthenics Dip Bar

Pros:

• Comes in different sizes: XL is recommended. The most common downfall with calisthenics dip bars is their height. This model offers a higher range of movements.
• Strong build, good durability.
• More stable than other versions of the dip bars.
• Relatively Portable and easy to set up.
• Comfortable grips
• Height: 31”

Cons:

• Height is not adjustable: If you’re up to 6 feet, this bar should allow you to do all the major exercises without many problems. If you are taller, you might hit your knees on your floor when doing dips.
• Price could be lower

In summary, this is a solid dip bar kit. It will cost you a bit more than other sets of bars listed in this article but will last longer. Given the difference is at most 20 to 30 dollars, we consider this investment to be worthwhile.

OUR SCORE: 4.5/5

2nd Place: Yaheetec Heavy Duty Dip Stand

Pros:

• Affordable
• Height: 33”
• Sturdy

Cons:

• Less Portable than its peers
• Distance between the bars is not adjustable. i.e. it is fixed with the structure
• Smaller range of exercises. Australian pull-ups, for example, can’t be done.

OUR SCORE: 4/5

This option is great for a home gym setup that needs to be semi-portable. It’s main disadvantage is the diminished flexibility that the fixed distance between bars gives.

 

3rd Favourite: Relife Dip Station

Pros:

• Adjustable Height: From 30.31” to 34.25”
• Very Stable

Cons:

• Despite the adjustable height, even at its highest mode, it can still be too short. Users over 6”2′ might still struggle to do dips without hitting their knees on the floor.
• Not as sturdy as the two previous options.

OUR SCORE: 4/5

Best Portable Parallel Bars (aka Parallettes) for Calisthenics

Portable parallel bars offer a smaller range of exercises. The all-important dips, for example, can’t be done with some of these smaller stands.

The best portable parallel bars are Parallettes that are at least waist high. These allow for the biggest range of exercises, including dynamic ones such as the dip, russian dip, amongst others, and statis exercises such as planches, l-sits, and handstands.

Our #1 Recommendation: Parallette Heavy Duty Dip Push Up Stands

Pros:

• Affordable
• Extremely Portable
• Strong and durable build
• Very Stable

Cons:

• No foam grip. This isn’t necessarily bad as some people prefer the metal grips. Personally, we prefer metal grips.
• Non-adjustable Height

OUR SCORE: 4.75/5

 

2nd Place: Jfit Stand with Foam Grip

Pros:

• Foam grips make it more comfortable for prolonged exercises.
• Affordable

Cons:

• Non-adjustable Height
• Less sturdy than our #1 choice

OUR SCORE: 4.5/5

 

3rd Favourite: Boundary Movement Heavy Duty Parallettes

Pros:

• Portable and easy to assemble
• Nice design.

Cons:

• Less affordable
• No foam grips
• Design is less sturdy
• Less affordable than previous options

OUR SCORE: 4/5

 

 

Parallel Bars Workout Exercises:

L-sit:

Difficulty: Medium

The l-sit is one of the most demanding and complete core exercises you can do using the dip bars.

It consists of grabbing the bars with your hands aligned and elevating your legs until they form a 90-degree angle with your upper body.

One possible progression is, to begin with your legs tucked into your chest, then move to a 1 leg extended l-sit, then a normal l-sit, and when you’ve mastered that, move to the v-sit, which consists of elevating the legs even further.

Once again, our favourite video on the l-sit progression is by Antranik:

Push-ups and Dips:

Difficulty: Easy to Medium

Dips are the quintessential exercises for working on your lats.

If you’re trying to get a V-shaped back, this is the exercise to obsess with.

The progression is quite simple: If you can’t do normal dips in the parallel bars, you can do a series of floor exercises, as shown in the video below. Though personally, we recommend working on a dip progression based on resistance bands.

When you can do dips without resistance bands, just add a weight belt.

ThenX has a great video on these two exercises:

Handstands:

Difficulty: Hard

Warning: Doing handstands in the parallel bars is for advanced athletes only. Controlling the fall can be hard and can result in serious injury.

If doing handstands in the floor is no longer challenging, bar handstands are a great progression. They will put a much higher emphasis on wrist control and strength

Seth Travers has a good tutorial on this progression:

Planches:

Difficulty: Medium to Hard

The planche is another great core and upper body exercise. The recommended progression is: Tucked planche, where your knees go up to your chest, one legged planche, and finally the normal plance.

Once this is easy peasy, you can combine the planche with a handstand.

The youtube channel Calisthenicsmovements, which is great by the way, has a very good tutorial on this move:

 

Final Thoughts

We hope that this article has helped you in your calisthenics journey towards a more flexible, lean, and strong body and mind.

The dip bars will undoubtedly take your home training to another level, opening the doors to a universe of static and dynamic exercises.

If you want more info on a solid calisthenics routine to do a home, read our article on the subject, and as always any feedback or comments are appreciated in the box below!

__TVE_SHORTCODE_RAW___