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So you don't want to buy a gym membership but you still want to build some great muscles. For those of you looking to blast your biceps, back and chest you don't have to even buy a pull-up bar to get those exercises done right. Save a bunch of money and time by following these tips for doing pull-ups without a pull-up bar.
One of the best ways to accomplish this magical push-up feat is with a simple hardware store item. C-clamps are inexpensive and readily available at a number of stores in your local areas. Usually intended for woodworking, these C-clamps are made of heavy-duty iron, so they can handle a good deal of weight.
You simply clamp them onto a very solid and sturdy structure in your house and the C shape creates handles with which to pull yourself up! With a big enough clamp (four inch clamps are usually sufficient) you can easily attach these to basement rafters. You can even take them outside and attach them to various, stable structures around your yard for some nice fresh air workouts. To ensure that you don't scratch or wreck any surfaces that you've attached the clamps to, you can slip in some thinner pieces of wood in between the clamps and the beam surface to distribute the weight and cause less stress on the surface. Now you can do pull-ups without a traditional pull-up bar.
Or, if you don't really have anything surfaces strong enough to clamp to or are really worried about damaging the surface, you can always use a tree in your yard! Just make sure you test the limb before you put your full weight on it. It's best to find a limb that's not too far off the ground. The ideal height of the limb would actually be below your neck-you would simply hold on to the limb, gradually let yourself down so that your arms are fully extended and then bend your knees so that they don't touch the ground.
Another inexpensive, free actually, option is to do pull-ups directly from solid steel or heavy wood beams in your basement or garage. You can do a traditional pull-up and get just as much of a workout on these. If you find that you're having trouble getting a proper grip on such beams, then trying throwing a long, thick towel over it and wrapping it around so that it fully entwines the beam and leaves both ends hanging down for you to grab on to.
