The Ultimate Body Press Elevated XL is an over-the-door pull-up bar with upward-curved handles, an adjustable 24 to 36-inch crossbar and a 300 lb rating, and it doubles as a floor brace for push-ups and dips. Wirecutter names it its top pull-up bar: the sturdiest of the doorway bars it tested, with thick grips and raised handles that give taller users more room, plus a 10-year warranty. David's Review Roundup says his has held up well over more than five years of use. It suits tall users and anyone wanting the steadiest no-drill bar; people with little storage space or who want a quick, simple setup should look at something smaller.
Full review
Raised handles give taller users room to hang
Wirecutter, which says it has tested 16 doorway-mount bars and four in-doorway bars since 2015, calls this the sturdiest bar it tested and its most versatile. Its handles curve up and away from the crossbar, so the main grips sit higher than on flat designs and taller people are less likely to bend their knees at the bottom of a rep. The grips measure almost an inch thicker in circumference than those on Wirecutter's other picks, and the bar barely shook on the test door. The flip side is that shorter users with a tall doorway may need a step stool to reach the top grips.
Fits doorways from 24 to 36 inches and works on the floor
With the included extenders the crossbar fits doorways up to 36 inches wide, and without them as narrow as 24 inches, which Wirecutter says is three inches wider than most bars allow. Flipped onto the floor, Wirecutter found the thick, curved handles steady for both push-ups and dips. David's Review Roundup, who has owned one for more than five years, reports it attaches easily, offers wide, chin-up and neutral grips, takes leg-lift attachments for ab work, and still holds up well despite the wear he has put it through. He also notes the bar's height can be adjusted from the back.
Slow to assemble and hard to put away
Wirecutter's main complaints concern size. Assembly took about 30 minutes longer than other bars, and the instructions were a single diagram with no written steps. At 36 inches long with four large front handles, it is a behemoth that testers nicknamed the Texas pick; in one tester's New York studio it would not fit under a bed or in a 28-inch-wide closet, so it lay in a corner when off the door. For anyone who leaves it on the door, that matters less, and Wirecutter notes the 10-year warranty is far longer than the one year most pull-up bars carry.
Strengths
- +Wirecutter found it the sturdiest bar it tested, with very little movement
- +Handles curve upward, giving taller users more room for full pull-ups
- +Crossbar adjusts from 24 to 36 inches to fit many doorways
- +Thick grips stay steady on the floor for push-ups and dips
- +Covered by a 10-year warranty
Watch-outs
- −Took Wirecutter about 30 minutes longer to assemble, with a one-diagram manual
- −Very bulky to store when off the door
- −Shorter users with tall doorways may need a step stool to reach the top grips
How it compares
Where the Iron Gym Total Upper Body Workout Bar is aimed at users under six feet, this bar's raised, upward-curved handles are built for taller people, and it competes with the ProsourceFit Multi-Grip Pull-Up Bar for that buyer. Like the Ally Peaks Pull-Up Bar it adjusts to the door, here from 24 to 36 inches, but it is a large bar that needs real storage space when taken down.
Rating sources
Our 4.4 score is the average of these published ratings. Ratings marked * were derived from the reviewer’s written analysis or video transcript — the publisher didn’t print an explicit numeric score, so we inferred one from their own words. Click through to verify. More about methodology.
