I started training advanced calisthenics exercises in February of this year. With this type of training, there are several pieces of equipment that can be very useful, but the one essential item is something to pull yourself up on. I find that a good pull up bar or a set of gymnastic rings fits the bill perfectly. But with a quality bar this cheap, it's easy to get both!
Initially I used one of those doorway pull up bars, and in all honesty it is an excellent piece of equipment that you can use to train many pull up variations, and is even suitable to train front levers and back levers. Heck, I still use my doorway bar in my bedroom closet. However, if you spend a lot of time doing this stuff and you want a little more versatility and elbow room, this tower fits the bill nicely without costing an arm and a leg. I am about 5'8 at ~135, so if you are a huge guy this may not be stable enough for you to do advanced exercises such as muscle ups, but if you are slow and controlled you can probably work around it. Keep in mind, though, that this equipment was not designed with muscle ups in mind, so do them at your own risk! However, it would still be great for all of the standard exercises, and even front and back levers.
First, this thing does have its limitations. The first thing I noticed is that the pull up bar is rather thin, which is not a huge deal it just means that pull ups will be easier. Besides that, the two bars that attach to the pull up bar are pretty close together, and you may have to work around them with some advanced exercises. This is something to be mindful of when doing full hanging leg raises. To that end, the sit up bar has a way of getting underfoot, but again, it's nothing that can't be worked around. Also, if you want to do muscle ups on this thing, you will have to do slow muscle ups as this thing is just too wobbly to do them explosively. I have 130 pounds of dumbbells anchoring this thing down under the pull up handles just in case. All together, the tower doesn't feel "cheap", but it doesn't feel solid like a boulder or anything like that. Considering that it is not anchored to the ground, it's pretty lightweight and thus fairly easy to move around, and the ridiculously low cost, it is up to the standard that I expected going into it, and I do not feel as though my safety is compromised doing advanced exercises. I would have higher expectations if this were several hundred dollars, but for a piece of equipment that can give you an excellent full body workout for under $100 and that will take up such relatively little room in your home, all of the aforementioned points are minor quibbles; footnotes to keep in mind when considering a product of such high value. Again, if you are a bigger guy, this may be too unstable for you to do muscle ups, but it is definitely sturdy enough for the standard exercises, and even levers. I can do one arm chin up negatives and things like that, so I can testify that the bar feels very solid under the pressure of a heavy hand.
I bought gymnastic rings and it is quite suitable to hang them from the bar. Granted it doesn't give you the same clearance as a tree branch, if you're like me and don't have access to a big sturdy tree or a convenient strong, high bar, this thing works excellently for ring training at home. I learned slow muscle ups on the rings before I was able to pull one off on the bar...which is a feat I have yet to replicate so I still train them with the rings. If you go this way, note that the tower is more stable when doing muscle ups on rings hanging from the bar than doing them on the bar directly.
The dip handles are a very convenient way to help yourself get over the bar if you wish to practice slow muscle up negatives or straight bar dips. As for the dip handles themselves, it is worth noting that they are substantially thicker than the pull up bar. The spread between them seems a tad wide however they give you plenty of ground clearance when doing dips, and I find it pretty comfortable to go nice and deep on them. If you have an elevated surface to place your feet, they can easily be used for bodyweight rows. All in all, a solid dip station.
The push up handles I have only used a couple of times. It does allow you to go pretty deep on the push ups, but unless the feet are highly elevated there are harder push up variations that don't require any equipment at all, or you could just do dips, which are harder. However, the push up handles are excellent for training planche and L seat progressions, especially at first. I honestly haven't spent much time on planche training, frankly I'm still working on the back lever, but there is substantial height to these pull up handles, enough to be utilized as one would parallettes.
Ah, the sit up bar. Up until recently, I had practically no use for this thing. I personally never do sit ups or crunches and thus this particular tool found great levels of disuse...until I realized it was just about perfect for glute ham raises. The glute ham raise is one of the most hardcore bodyweight exercises you can do for the posterior chain. It hits the calves, hamstrings, glutes, and lower back (in my experience, pretty much the whole back and core) directly with the resistance of your entire weight. With sufficient padding under your knees, it is very simple and straightforward to hook your feet under the ankle pads and start practicing this move. Although, I found that I had to weigh down the base on the opposite end of the push up handles for this, otherwise I would start to lift the tower at a certain point. But that's not a big deal, considering that the cheapest GHR machines I've seen are several hundred dollars. Couple this exercise with pistol squats, and you have a fully comprehensive lower body training regimen that can be done without weight or, if you wish, can easily be weighted.
Bodyweight rows, push ups, dips, Pull up variations, leg raise variations, muscle ups, back levers, front levers, planches, L seats, glute ham raises...this tower does it all for an extremely low price. Hang a pair of gymnastic rings from the bar and the possibilities are practically endless. Throw in some handstand push ups and maybe a few other advanced push up variations, along with some pistol squats, and you have a very capable and fairly comfortable home gym that will give you a total body workout, developing levels of strength that can not be beat by practically anything else near this price range. The only other thing I would consider is gymnastic rings, but again unless you already have a great, convenient place to hang them from, this tower is your answer, especially since it can facilitate rings. With a tower this good for this cheap, why not buy both?
| Brand | Stamina |
|---|---|
| Material | Solid steel frame, vinyl upholstery |
| Color | Black |
| Product Dimensions | 40"L x 35"W x 80.25"H |
| Handle Type | Fixed |
| Maximum Weight Recommendation | 250 Pounds |
| Included Components | Stamina Power Tower 1698 |
| Item Weight | 54 Pounds |
| Item Package Dimensions L x W x H | 54 x 15.5 x 5 inches |
| Package Weight | 61 Pounds |
| Item Dimensions LxWxH | 80.25 x 40 x 35 inches |
| Brand Name | Stamina |
| Warranty Description | Stamina Products, Inc. (“Stamina”) warrants to the original purchaser that this product will be free from defects in materials and workmanship that arise under normal use, service, proper assembly and proper operation in accordance with product warnings/instructions for a period of 90 days on the parts and three years on the frame from the date of the original purchase from an authorized retailer. |
| Model Name | Power Tower 1698 |
| Suggested Users | Unisex-Adult |
| Number of Items | 1 |
| Manufacturer | Stamina Products |
| Part Number | 50-1698 |
| Style | Power Tower 1698 |
| Size | One Size |
| Sport Type | Exercise & Fitness |
