Negative Parallel Bar Dip HBP/PE5

The Negative Parallel Bar Dip video for HBP/PE5 shows the guy with legs hanging straight down while performing the exercise.  I don't have any bars high enough that will allow me to keep my legs straight in the down position.

 

In my pre-F1 days I bought this fold up walker to do dips:

 

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005YS4N6U/ref=oh_details_o05_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

but I need to bend my legs when performing dips on it.  Is that acceptable for this exercise or s/ I look for a way to raise the legs of the walker higher off the ground?

 

Also, I'm wondering if parallel bars will play a prominent role in future Foundation Series so maybe I should look at investing in some parallel bars for my apartment?  If so, does anyone have any suggestions for a good space saver / portable set of parallel bars because I live in a studio apartment with already half of it devoted to exercise equipment.  Thank you.

I don't believe there would be any problem with bending at the knees.

 

 

If BTGB is any indication, the foundation series might feature many variations of dips on p-bars. Unfortunately I don't have any good recommendations. 

Yeah this is the one piece of equipment that there isn't a compact solution for that is readily available/inexpensive.  There are dipping stations on amazon for ~100-150 dollars, but as you pointed out - they are mostly too short to dip without bending your knees, which I would think changes your center of gravity.  Also the handles are very short and might preclude you from being able to do things like russian dips.

 

People have made PVC solutions, but not really at the height we're talking about.  I don't think that they're very practical for this purpose.

 

The best DIY solution I've seen is outdoor Pbars like

.  I would love to create a solution to this problem that I could put in my garage - I think a possible solution that might work would involve attaching metal or wooden bars to wall-mounted hinges that would fold up when not being used and then fold down to a support of some kind when in use.  Kind of like these.

 

I'm finishing up building stall bars today so I'm not going to be ready to build these for a while, but with these and some way of getting a rig to hang a climbing rope and I'll be all set!

I'm also finding PBs the most difficult equipment to figure out. I don't worry so much about bending knees in dips. And I could get a dip station, even a tall one at home, or I could go to any gym in the city to use one.

 

But if BtGB is any indication, there will be exercises later on the F-series which will require more space along the PBs. The dipping station they have at the gym where I go has all kinds of weird handles in many directions. These handles are just in the way when doing anything but regular dips.

 

I'm defering my PB solution until the whole F-series is out so I can plan for the whole series. I don't want to waste money/time/space on equipment which I have to replace later on. Same goes with stall bars. I'll just buy them, but I need to see how much space is required around them in each direction since my place is small and with funiture.

A dipping station can be made or bought to attach onto stall bars, and could be adjusted to any height.

A chiming attachment can be bought / made in a similar way (and a rope could be attached to it, albeit a short one)

Michael Taylor said:

A dipping station can be made or bought to attach onto stall bars, and could be adjusted to any height.

 

Oh man this is a really good idea!  Why didn't I think of that? Doh!

Yes, the stall bar attachement is a great idea. I was already thinking of that for a pommel horse substitute.

 

But this gives me a good idea for the PB. The simplest/cheapest option for me might actually be to build some kind of PB end holder attached to the wall across the room from the stall bar. Then I can hang the bars across the room between the stall bar and the holder.

 

The the trouble with PB is otherwise that they need so much weight and construction complexity to make them stable. This problem goes away if they are solidly attached to a wall.

 

The only problem with this is that the ends of the bars are not free. I think there will be exercises which make use of the ends. But I could have another, shorter set attached just on the stall bars for that.

Actually I was thinking about this for long time...the best attachment I found is:

 

 

You can turn it other way and also have pull up bar and if you set it lower on stallbars it can be use for example for single bar dips as well.

 

This is only attachment I found that is straight ... usually they make them that handles are angled.

 

What do you guys thing? Good option? I don't really want angled dip bars cuz I think it will be bad for russian dips, but I am also worried if the width is appropriate and will not destroy my shoulds (is only only a myth?)

Michael Taylor said:

A dipping station can be made or bought to attach onto stall bars, and could be adjusted to any height.

A chiming attachment can be bought / made in a similar way (and a rope could be attached to it, albeit a short one)

Please let me know if you know of a place to buy parallel bars that hook up to stall bars.

spyro7800 said:

Actually I was thinking about this for long time...the best attachment I found is:

 

20090312104256.jpg

 

You can turn it other way and also have pull up bar and if you set it lower on stallbars it can be use for example for single bar dips as well.

 

This is only attachment I found that is straight ... usually they make them that handles are angled.

 

What do you guys thing? Good option? I don't really want angled dip bars cuz I think it will be bad for russian dips, but I am also worried if the width is appropriate and will not destroy my shoulds (is only only a myth?)

It looks nice for dips; however I'm wondering if we might need more handle length, for example like parallel bars, for various F1 to F4 exercises.

spyro7800 said:

Actually I was thinking about this for long time...the best attachment I found is:

 

20090312104256.jpg

 

You can turn it other way and also have pull up bar and if you set it lower on stallbars it can be use for example for single bar dips as well.

 

This is only attachment I found that is straight ... usually they make them that handles are angled.

 

What do you guys thing? Good option? I don't really want angled dip bars cuz I think it will be bad for russian dips, but I am also worried if the width is appropriate and will not destroy my shoulds (is only only a myth?)

It may be a little on the wide side; you want approximately shoulder-width or maybe a little more. Length is another issue; short bars might make korean and bulgarian dips difficult. 

I built these parallel bars a while back. Five feet high they are pretty awesome. Like anything " It pays to play" and to play, " You've got to give some to get some"

Dynamo asked :

"Please let me know if you know of a place to buy parallel bars that hook up to stall bars."

-Artimexsport sell these and the chin-up attachment on their site. They are not cheap and I have not got one to comment on quality but it will give you the idea

dynamo said:

Please let me know if you know of a place to buy parallel bars that hook up to stall bars.

I have these from Artimex Sports, but I ordered mine modified. Here is a picture of my personalized version:

 

I had the upright grips and the cushioning removed and altered the distance between the bars to fit my shoulder width - I'm very happy with my purchase

Hari_Seldon said:

It may be a little on the wide side; you want approximately shoulder-width or maybe a little more. Length is another issue; short bars might make korean and bulgarian dips difficult. 

wouldn't widening the grip through favoring facing one of the dip bars as they do in BtGB be advisable? I also heard mention in the book on how to go about balancing the sets by performing them facing in both directions

KeilaniG said:

wouldn't widening the grip through favoring facing one of the dip bars as they do in BtGB be advisable? I also heard mention in the book on how to go about balancing the sets by performing them facing in both directions

I assume that you're talking about bulgarian dips. You are correct; bulgarian dips on pbars are generally done by turning to the side. This places one hand further forward than the other, which is why length is a concern: if the bars are too short, you won't be able to turn far enough to do bulgarian dips at proper width. 

 

For korean dips, length is a concern because the bars need to be long enough that you can face fully sideways without rubbing against the stall bars. 

If you have the pull up attachment for those, couldn't you set it low and use it for Single Bar Dips etc?

 

I'm the worst about taking pictures, but will try to post a pic of my custom dip bar solution soon. Similar idea, but different.

I was considering this to put on my doorway pull-up bar.

 

http://www.thewarriors.ca/power-gym-universal-dipping-bar.html

I am thinking about having mine custom made...

 

but I have no idea how to determine dimensions so I will be able to do Bulgarian dips...any idea?

 

what is the official distance between PB used in competitions or by coach's athletes?

spyro7800 said:

I am thinking about having mine custom made...

 

but I have no idea how to determine dimensions so I will be able to do Bulgarian dips...any idea?

 

what is the official distance between PB used in competitions or by coach's athletes?

 

Parallel bares are adjustable; individual athletes change the width based on their preference. In general you want them to be just wide enough for your hips to comfortably fit between your hands when in a support position. 

 

To figure out how long the bars need to be: have someone measure the distance between your elbows when your arms are held out to the sides. This will be slightly longer than the bare minimum length, but it should make for a reasonable estimate.  

great, thanks