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The Iron Gym Extreme Upper Body Workout Bar is one of the most popular doorway pull up bars, with a design that’s strong enough to support 300 lbs.
Multiple grip positions allow you to perform pull ups and chin ups with neutral, supinated, and pronated grips, to strengthen your biceps, shoulders, and back muscles.
But how does the Iron Gym Extreme compare to wall mounted or straight pull up bars, like the GoFit Chin Up Bar? Also, considering the price difference, should you buy the standard Iron Gym workout bar instead of the Extreme version?
In this review, we’ll walk you through the features and installation process, to help you decide if this is the best pull up bar for your own home workouts.
Design Features
The Extreme version of the Total Upper Body Workout Bar provides you with additional grip positions that you don’t get with the standard version. This includes the full wide grip, and a second set of neutral/hammer grip handles.
There’s usually a price difference of around $20 between the two, with the standard bar being the most affordable.
However, even as the more expensive pull up bar, we still prefer the Extreme edition.
Having the full wide grip position means you can challenge your lats and target your back muscles from a different angle. This change in exercise selection is important to keep your strength increasing and prevent a plateau in your training.
The second neutral grip position is also great for anyone that may be experiencing pain with their rotator cuff. It gives you more pull up options without having to flare your elbows out.
The bar itself is steel and suitable for residential doorways from 24 to 34 inches wide, with 3.5-inch door trim/moulding.
Iron Gym Extreme – Product Summary
- Upper body workout bar
- Designed to strengthen your chest, shoulders, back, arms, and more
- Installs in doorway for pull-ups and chin-ups
- Sits on the floor for pushups, dips, and sit-ups
- Sturdy steel frame mounts quickly and removes easily without tools or fasteners
- Fits conveniently in residential doorways 24 to 34 inches wide, with 3.5-inch trim/molding
- 5 total grip positions for versatile workouts
- Holds up to 300 pounds
Assembly and Installation
The Iron Gym Extreme instruction manual is relatively easy to follow. An exploded parts diagram showing how each of the bolts and bars fit together.
It shouldn’t take much more than 20 minutes to assemble, using the tools provided and following the steps in the manual. A copy of the assembly diagram can be found below.
Exercise Options
The Iron Gym Extreme supports a complete upper body workout, using only your body weight for resistance.
There are 6 grip positions to choose from, including pronated and supinated (overhand and underhand) pull ups. You can also use a neutral/hammer grip to target the forearms and brachialis. This makes it one of the most effective exercises for training your back and bicep muscles.
Chin ups can also be performed with the bar at the top of the door frame, or move it to the base of the frame for sit ups and ab crunches.
Because of its lightweight design, and fact that it requires no permanent fixings, you can also perform exercises away from the door. From the floor, you can perform push ups and tricep dips, to train your chest, tricep, and shoulder muscles.
What Do Other Iron Gym Extreme Reviews Say?
An important part of any pull up bar review is to look at the feedback from other people who have bought and used the bar in their home workouts.
How easy was it to fit? Did they have a good experience with customer service? Was the bar strong enough, and were the grips comfortable to hold?
But reading through hundreds or even thousands of reviews can be time consuming. That’s why we did the leg work for you, and created a summary of the pros and cons for the Iron Gym Extreme Upper Body Workout Bar, based on direct customer feedback.
Pros:
- Quick and easy to assemble and install
- Doesn’t require any permanent fixings – no damage to the door frame
- More compact and affordable than the P90X pull up bar, but supports all the same exercises
- Wide enough to fit most standard door frames
- Supports the most popular types of pull up, including wide, narrow, and hammer grip
- Instructions are easy to follow, and you can be starting your first workout within 15-20 minutes of unboxing
- Small clip provided helps to prevent the bar from slipping away from the door moulding
- Neutral grip option is an advantage over straight pull up bars if you have a rotator cuff injury and need to minimize stress on your shoulders
- Safer than doorway pull up bars that solely rely on tension, though modern straight bars are now reinforced with mounting kits
- Can be removed from the door frame to support exercises for your chest, triceps, and shoulders
Cons:
- Taller users (6ft+) may struggle to keep their feet off the floor at full stretch. If you think this might be the case, we recommend investing in an elevated pull up bar, such as the GoFit Elevated or Ultimate Body Press XL
- Contact points with the door frame are narrow, which results in the pressure all being applied to a small area, and black marks on the door frame
Review Overview
Overall Review Rating
4 / 5
So, is the Iron Gym Extreme the best pull up bar for you?
The original Iron Gym is still the most popular pull up bar on Amazon, with thousands of highly rated reviews. But this is often available for less than $20, while the Extreme version costs closer to $37.
For the money, all you’re getting is an extra neutral grip position, and the set of wide grip handles. Weight capacity is average for this type of pull up bar (300 lbs), and there’s no patented doorway protection system, such as the one you get with the Perfect Fitness Multi-Gym Pro.
That’s why we prefer the ProSource Multi-Grip. Usually retailing for around $27, it’s much cheaper than the Iron Gym Extreme, yet offers the same grip positions and 300 lb capacity. It also fits residential doorways from 24 to 36-inches wide, compared to 24 to 34-inches for the Iron Gym design.
Overall, the Iron Gym Extreme is a high-quality pull up bar that’s perfect for body weight workouts at home. But there are many other more affordable versions available, with an almost identical design. Our personal favorite is the ProSource Multi-Grip.
If you don’t need the set of wide grip handles, the standard Iron Gym Total Upper Body Workout Bar is an excellent choice.
Weight capacity: 300 lbs
USA Home Gym gives in-depth insights into gym equipment, supplements, and fitness training methods. The motivation behind USA Home Gym is to provide you with information that goes beyond what you can find in any user manual, customer review, or other online review sites.
We go to great lengths to ensure that our reviews are completely comprehensive, usually covering everything from the design features to the warranty coverage and exercise options. This is all to help guide you towards the home gym equipment that’s best suited to your goals and budget, whilst also being the highest quality option in your chosen price range.
