When you think of pull-ups, you most likely imagine a straight bar and an overhand shoulder-width grip. While there’s absolutely no problem with this image, truth is, this setup is quite artificial compared to what you find in nature. And here is where multi-grip pull-up bars come in, offering variation, which in addition to being more enjoyable in the long run, is even healthier for the shoulders.
Multi-grip pull-up bars can come equipped with a wide range of different grip options, including spheres, thicker or thinner bars, and various grip angles. For rock climbers, it’s a must, but also for anyone who is looking to improve their grip strength as well as maintain a healthy shoulder adding variety to their pull-up workout.
For other options, read my thorough home pull-up bar guide.
Quick List of the Best Multi-Grip Pull-Up Bars for Home Use Worth Investing In
| PRODUCT | BEST FEATURE | WEIGHT LIMIT | DIMENSIONS | OUR RATING |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 
|
X-Mark Comercial Multi-Grip Pull-Up Bar
|
N/A |
|
|
 
|
ARCHON Fitness Wall-Mounted Pull-Up Bar
|
500 lb |
|
|
 |
Rogue Monster Crown Bar
|
N/A |
|
|
 
|
Valor Fitness Chin-Up Bar
|
400 lb |
|
|
 
|
Gronk Fitness Wall-Mounted Pull-Up Bar
|
800 lb |
|
|
The XMark Commercial Multi-Grip Bar is the overall winner of this roundup and represents the best value.
Runner-up is the Archon Fitness Multi-Grip Bar. Designed for kipping it is a great choice for adding more freedom and variety to your home workouts and calisthenics training.
However, if you have a Rogue power rack and want to save space, the Rogue Monster Crown pull-up bar would be my third recommendation with its globular-shaped grips and Rogue quality powder-coat finish.
REVIEWS
XMark Commercial Multi-Grip Wall Mounted Chin-Up Pull-Up Bar
The 48-inch XMark Multi-Grip Pull Up Bar provides plenty of stability with two 23.75-inch vertical supports. Each has four bolts to mount to the wall. These are the longest supports of all the products reviewed. TheThe two frames of the XMark Multi-Grip Pull-Up Bar are completely welded together, there’s no need for excess screws.
The bar itself has knurled handgrips all over to increase sure-handedness, and it comes with neutral, straight, and angled grip options at varying widths. The ends of the bars are also angled downwards, making wide-grip pull-ups more comfortable and joint-friendly. The outer bar is also positioned 23 inches from the wall, giving you plenty of wall clearance to perform repetitions on either side of the bar.
PROS
- 48-inch wide bar
- Options for wide, narrow, neutral, and angled grips
- Four bolts on each 23.75-inch vertical supports for stability
- Knurled material to provide increased grip
CONS
- None
Archon Fitness Wall Mounted Pull Bar
The Archon Wall Mounted Pull Up Bar is fabricated of heavy-duty steel, with a weight capacity of 500 pounds which is decent for most users. The mounting brackets when assembled are 45 inches wide and welded together, avoiding the need for excess bolts.
They come with two crossbars; one single and one multi-grip pull-up handle, so if you want to switch up styles later it’s an option. The multi-grip bar provides an ideal grip due to its medium knurled finish and the 6 different handle positions allow for multiple pull-up variations.
With the multi-grip option, the outer bar is positioned 34 inches from the wall, giving you plenty of wall clearance to perform repetitions on either side. The extra distance from the wall and the sand surface of the single bar is an optimal combination for kipping pull-ups. The ends of the multi-grip bar are angled downwards, making wide-grip pull-ups more comfortable and joint-friendly.
PROS
- Plenty of wall clearance
- Options for wide, narrow, neutral, and angled grips
- Three bolts on each vertical supports
- Medium knurled material to provide increased grip
CONS
Weight capacity falls behind compared to other bars
Gronk Fitness Wall Mounted Pull Up Bar
The Gronk Fitness Wall Mounted Pull Up Bar boasts a whopping 800-pound weight capacity, providing enough support for most exercise. Its two 17.5-inch vertical supports each mount with three bolts, and they are separated by 48 inches for mounting on any standard stud spacing.
The Gronk Fitness pull-up bar has downwardly-angled grips at the ends, and various neutral and angled options as well. The entire bar is powder-coated to provide plenty of traction, but without tearing up your hands.
One complaint that some consumers noted was that some of the mounting holes were drilled out of position. This is not an issue for all products, but some may require re-drilling.
PROS
- Weight limit of 800 pounds
- Powder-coated finish to provide extra grip
- Grips available for wide, neutral, angled, and narrow pull-ups
CONS
- Predrilled holes may need to be re-drilled
- Wall-clearance could be bigger
Rogue Monster Crown Pull Up Bar
The Rogue Monster Crown Pull Up Bar boasts the widest range of grip options, including wide, neutral, angled, three- and four-inch spherical grips. It also utilizes 1.25- and two-inch bar thicknesses so that you can further challenge your grip.
Also, don’t worry about the 0.375-inch thick mounting plate. It may look like a narrow attachment surface, however, the heavy-duty bolts and steel-to-steel snug fit, provide more than enough stability allowing you to perform any variety of exercises.
While this is the most complete all-around product on our list, it does come at a slightly higher price and is designed to be mounted to a power rack. This mounting style is a limiting factor for many users. It is possible to convert this product into a wall-mounted option, but this would require some extra work and experience in skills such as welding.
PROS
- Includes bars with varying thicknesses and spheres to challenge grip strength
- Grip options for wide, neutral, and angled-grip pull ups
- Heavy-duty steel provides plenty of stability for any exercise
CONS
- Must be mounted to a power rack or converted to be wall-mountable
>>CHECK PRICE ON ROGUEFITNESS<<
Valor Fitness CHN-UP Pro Style Mount Chin Up Bar
The Valor Fitness multi-grip bar is 48 inches wide and boasts a 400-pound weight limit. The whole bar is powder-coated to improve grip, and the setup allows you to perform angled-grip exercises at various widths.
As usual, the ends of the bars are also bent downwards to provide more comfortable and joint-friendly pulling mechanics for wide grip pull-ups.
The lower curved support bar is only mounted to the wall with a single bolt, and some consumers noted that these bars came bent, making mounting difficult. In addition, the mounting hardware that comes with this product is of lower quality and should be replaced to increase safety.
PROS
- Grip options available for close, wide, neutral, and 45-degree angle pull ups
- Powder-coated grips
CONS
- Bottom mounting bars may be bent and must be bolted to top support
- New mounting hardware most likely required
Benefits of Multi-Grip Pull Up Bars
If you haven’t tried so, changing up your grip can make significant changes to your pull-up routine. The little factors such as the width of your hands, pronated or supinated grip, and the angled bars all add up by repetition. This causes a different muscle stimulus which means more gains. Let’s see how multi-grip pull-up bars take their effect.
More Effective Targeting of Specific Muscle Groups
Simply flipping your hands from a pronated to a supinated grip can make a difference in which muscles are used.
The classic pull-up uses an overhand grip, more specifically a pronated grip with your palms facing away from you. This hand placement changes the way your arm and back muscles support your weight by forcing the brachialis and weaker brachioradialis muscles in your upper arm to carry most of the load. This leaves the stronger biceps brachii relatively unused however puts a larger emphasis on the lower trapezius, rhomboids, and rear deltoids.
On the other hand, facing your hands towards you with a supinated grip—known as the chin up—, causes increased recruitment of the biceps brachii and brachialis muscles, allowing your arms to provide extra assistance. This also increases activation of the pectoralis muscles.
Many multi-grip pull-up bars also include neutral grip or angled bars. Neutral grip pull-ups, performed with your palms facing each other, provide a hybrid of the two grips mentioned above. It places a larger emphasis on the brachialis muscle in the upper arm and allows for the recruitment of both the pecs and muscles in the back.
Angled grips are bent generally at a 45-degree angle, and they allow for a partially supinated grip. This slightly increases biceps and pec recruitment over the neutral grip, and it also places your shoulder in a more joint-friendly position. With the variety of grip options these pull up bars offer, you will be able to fine tune which muscle groups are targeted based on the results you are looking for.
Grip Strengthening
Multi-grip pull up bars not only contain bars at various angles but with different thicknesses or other types of grips, including spheres. Generally, thicker bars, which usually have a diameter of between two and three inches, are more difficult to hold onto. This forces your forearms to work harder during workouts, increasing your grip strength.
Some products can utilize sphere-shaped grips. These spheres are often three or four inches in diameter and provide an added challenge for your forearm muscles and grip strength. These grip variations can be especially useful for rock climbers or those who participate in obstacle courses, like the Tough Mudder.
For more information on how different grips affect muscle recruitment take a look at this video. Even though he is relating these grips to grappling, the effects on grip strength are true for everyone.
More Joint Friendly
As a whole, pull-ups are already quite joint-friendly when compared to exercises that cause joint or spine compression, like squats.
However, the way you position your hands can have an impact on your shoulder joint and ligaments. Grips with your hands in a neutral or partially supinated position place the least strain on your shoulders.
Adds Variety to Your Workout
Pull-ups are beneficial in so many ways that they should be a must in everyone’s workout plan, but doing the same motion day in and day out can seem boring and redundant. A multi-grip pull-up bar can help to get rid of these problems, providing you with many new variations to add to your workout, and it can also make your workouts more fun.
In addition to the extra grip options, you could also consider adding extra weight to your reps or holding onto towels wrapped around the bar for more challenge.
How to Choose the Best Multi-Grip Pull-Up Bar
Mounting Style and Hardware
One of the most important things when it comes to wall or ceiling pull-up bars is how they are mounted. First and foremost, using studs during the mounting process is critical. There’s nothing worse than hopping up on your new pull-up setup for the first time only to have it snap off the wall and crash down on top of you. Many products measure 48 inches in width, making for easy installment for 12-, 16-, or 24-inch stud spacing.
Even if you mount your product directly into the studs, extra reinforcement is never a bad idea. Placing extra pieces of wood along the studs to increase stability can be helpful. Also, while most pull up bars come with mounting bolts, they are not always the best quality. Many user complaints are about this very thing. The pull-up bar frames themselves are often very well constructed and provide plenty of stability.
Because of this, you shouldn’t take every negative review as an accurate representation of the product itself. Purchasing more robust mounting hardware can be beneficial for even the highest-ranking pull up bars. Having bolts that are thicker or longer provides increased stability, and they can be a worthwhile investment as they can lengthen the life of your product. In addition, drilling extra holes and installing more bolts can further increase the stability of your pull up bar.
Workout Preferences to Determine Bar Style
Multi-grip pull up bars can vary in construction, and noticing the subtle differences is important. One of these differences relates to hand spacing. The additional grips that these pull up bars include may limit your hand spacing options. If you prefer to use specific grip spacing, you may want to double-check that the product you select will allow this.
Another important thing to keep in mind relates to the 45-degree angle grips. If you prefer to use these bars, the position of the other bars can result in less space for your head. Many pull-up bar options utilize two bars running parallel to each other, which causes you to keep your upper body farther away from the grips. But, other products, like the Rogue Monster Crown Pull Up Bar, and most common wall-mounted pull-up bars do not have this extra bar and give your body and head more space.
Conclusion
Now, you see, choosing the best multi-grip pull-up bar is not that cut and dry, as everyone has different needs. Though the XMark Commercial Multi-Grip Wall Mounted Chin-Up Pull-Up Bar somewhat stands out with its superior quality and usability. While all of the multi-grip bars in this review fully satisfy home workout standards, the X-Mark bar scores the best value.
This product contains a variety of grip options, all of which are knurled to provide extra grip even when your hands are sweaty during a workout. These grip options allow you to target specific muscles during workouts and switch up your routine.
The support arms are fully welded together, and the length of nearly 24 inches is the longest of all the products we tested. This increased stability and the four mounting bolts on each side make this product both sturdy and safe. The XMark Commercial Multi-Grip Wall Mounted Chin-Up Pull-Up Bar is a great all-around product, and its stability and grip variations make it the winner of this multi-grip pull-up bar review.
