A pull-up dip bar is a piece of fitness equipment that enables an athlete to perform both pull-ups and dips. Pull-ups and dips require slightly different equipment, so a pull up dip bar will have separate grips for each exercise, and some designs will have grips that allow for variations of pull-ups and dips. As with all exercise equipment, there are several factors that go into choosing a pull-up dip bar for purchase, including safety, functionality and size.
There are several designs for a pull-up dip bar, but the basic premise is the same for all of them. First, the bar will include two handles that are a little bit wider apart than an average set of shoulders. Sometimes these handles will be adjustable to accommodate people with more or less broad shoulders. These handles will be parallel to each other and will be high enough on the machine that an athlete can use them to perform dips without his or her feet touching the floor.
A pull-up dip bar also will have some type of pull-up bar. This bar might be a simple, solid bar, or it could come in a more elaborate shape. Sometimes, rather than being a solid bar, pull-up bars will have a space in the middle so that the athlete can perform the pull-up without having to worry about hitting his or her head against the bar. The shape of the bar also might allow the athlete to use a variety of hand positions, all of which change the nature of the exercise slightly.
Whatever the design of the pull-up bar, it will be higher than the dip bar because, while performing pull-ups, the athlete hangs much farther below the bar than he or she does during dips. There will be differences, though, in exactly where the pull-up bar is in relation to the dip bar. In some models, the dip bar is directly below the pull-up bar, allowing the athlete to shift easily from one exercise to the other. In others, the pull-up bar is on the opposite side of the machine, which requires the athlete to move around when changing exercises but alleviates the problem of the dip bar getting in the way while performing pull-ups.
The most important thing to consider when purchasing a pull-up dip bar is the relative safety of the design. These pieces of exercise equipment must be able to support all of an athlete's weight, so it is important that the construction be solid. Also, while performing pull-ups and dips, there often is some lateral motion, so the equipment needs to be very stable.
It also is important to consider the functionality of the pull-up dip bar and the amount of space that it takes up. In order to provide the necessary stability, pull-up dip bars tend to have a wide base, so they take up quite a bit of room. Designs that place the dip bar immediately below the pull-up bar take up less space than those that place them on different sides.