Review of the Door Gym

The Door Gym is an interesting little piece of gym equipment that is remarkably versatile, cheap, and a worthwhile purchase for someone who is hesitant about getting a gym membership or buying loads of expensive home fitness equipment.

What exactly is the Door Gym? Well, when assembled, it's a small apparatus consisting of a retaining bar, a padded crossbar, and two curved handles. It is advertised as a way to have a chin-up bar in the house without having to damage your walls or doors. The most interesting feature about this piece of equipment is its ability to be used with most doors with trim in a house. This means that as long as you have a trimmed door in your house, you could install the door gym anywhere that best fits your preference.

The Door Gym requires no structural damage to door trim, hinges, or siding. One might be a little dubious about the apparatus' ability to support body weight, but its design covers that nicely. The cantilever mechanics of the Door Gym distributes downward force in such a way that the stress is put not on the door trim at the top of the door, but on the padded bar that stretches across it. In this way, even a 300 pound person can pull themselves up on the Door Gym without damaging the door frame. Of course, I've only tested the device out with my own slender 165 pound frame, but I have read reviews of others weighing much more having no difficulty with preserving the structural integrity and appearance of their doors.

The Door Gym requires some construction, but the instructions are easy to follow and the entire assembly process only took me about fifteen minutes. Once assembled, the Door Gym can be installed and removed from a doorway in a few seconds with minimal effort. The box also comes packaged with a wrench for tightening bolts, so extra tools are not required for the assembly.

Finally, this piece of fitness equipment can be used for exercises other than chin-ups or pull-ups. If you place the Door Gym on the floor, it makes an effective pushup bar that allows for multiple hand and arm positioning to work different areas of the chest and triceps. Also, if you put the device low in a doorway, you can hook your feet under it to facilitate sit-ups. There are a few add-ons that are available online including arm stirrups that allow you to do hanging crunches that work the lower abs.

If you're looking for a cheap way to perform some exercises in the privacy of your own home, the Door Gym is a great way to start. So far it has not let me down and allows for easy completion of some core body part workouts.