Build Your Bodyweight Pull Up Bar Station Under $450

I’ve talked about different pull up bars before — from doorway bars to freestanding towers.

If you missed that article, read: Mastering Pull-ups. Is This The King Of Upper Body Strength

But nothing beats having your own permanent bodyweight exercise station right in your backyard.

The benefits are massive: regular pull ups build that V-shaped torso we all want, and dead hangs improve grip strength. They decompress your spine after long days hunched over your computer, and hanging ab exercises torch your core like nothing else.

Plus, when your bodyweight training station is always there, staring at you every time you walk past, you’ve got no excuses but to bang out a quick set — well, maybe not every time…

But you can definitely hit morning and evening bodyweight training sessions without any hassle.

And definitely without having to waste your precious time jumping into your car and fighting the traffic every time you want to work out.

Table of Contents

My COVID Lockdown Project That Changed Everything

When my gym closed down in February 2020 for COVID, I knew I had to do something.

I’ve always wanted a proper pull up bar station that I could use multiple times per day — no setting up, no taking down, just there whenever I needed it to blast out a few reps…

Here’s the thing: this project was really cheap to do, and I’m no professional tradesman by any stretch of the imagination.

I did 90% of the work myself, and it didn’t take that long. Roughly about a week.

A neighbour welded the steel for me (cost: a box of beers), and I paid an artificial turf company to finish off levelling the area with a proper wacker plate and lay the turf.

The whole bodyweight exercise station setup has been a game-changer for my training routine ever since.

Planning Your Build

Design Decision: Bar Only or Full Bodyweight Station?

First, you need to decide what you want: just a simple pull up bar or a full bodyweight training station with parallel bars for dips.

I chose the full bodyweight exercise station because I wanted maximum exercise options. If you’re going to dig holes and pour concrete, you might as well go all out.

My One Regret

One mistake I made: I wish I’d made the parallel bars higher on my pull up bar station. They work fine, but a bit more height would have been better for certain bodyweight exercises, like dips.

Learn from my mistake!

Materials and Costs for Your Pull Up Bar Station

Getting the Steel

Main beams: I bought one piece of 4-inch square steel, 6 meters long, and asked them to cut it in half. Cost: about $20–25

Parallel bars: I bought 2-inch scrap metal poles. All rusty and horrid looking, but structurally sound. Cost: about $10–15

Pull up bar: 1.5-inch scrap metal for the actual bar. Cost: about $1

Pro tip: Scrap metal yards are goldmines for projects like this. Don’t worry about the rust — you can deal with that.

Perimeter Blocks: About $0.20 each. Maybe about $20 for the lot

Paint: rust protector, undercoat, top coat. About $40-50 (cheaper options available)

Stone and gravel: about 3 small trucks — total cost about $100

Artificial grass: There are many types, grades etc. I went for the higher grade. Total cost: about $150

Other Bits and Bobs You’ll Need

Mesh for the concrete
Black sheeting (goes under the turf to stop anything growing through)
Sandpaper for steel prep
90-degree elbow joints for the parallel bars
Box of beers (essential for neighbour payment!)

The Pull Up Bar Station Build Process

Preparing the Steel for Your Build

The steel yard cut my main beams into 2 x 3-meter pieces — saves you the hassle and gets perfect cuts for your pull up bar station.

Next came the dirty work: sanding all the rust off those parallel bar poles.

Very dirty job, but pretty easy if you’ve got decent sandpaper. Once clean, I painted them with rust protector paint — this step is crucial if you want your station to last.

My neighbour volunteered to weld everything together. Having a mate who can weld is worth its weight in gold for a pull up bar station build, but if you don’t have one, any local welder will do this job quickly and cheaply.

Preparing the Area for Your Pull Up Bar Station

Step 1: Remove the old turf — Took up all the existing grass where I wanted the bodyweight training area.

Step 2: Measure and mark — Used a string line to measure out the area properly. Only took a few hours to work out where the holes would go and dig them out.

Step 3: Level the ground — I leveled the ground as best I could — doesn’t have to be perfect, but decent is good enough.

Step 4: Build the perimeter — I built a perimeter wall with blocks, just 1 block high. First time building a wall, but it turned out pretty good — a nice level mini wall to contain everything for the pull up bar station area.

Creating the Exercise Surface for Your Bodyweight Training

Started filling the area inside my mini wall with the small stone/gravel I’d ordered. Wacked it down as best I could with a tamper. I did as much of this prep work as possible before the artificial turf guys arrived to keep costs down.

The artificial turf company handled the final levelling and they did a grand job laying the turf professionally. Money well spent for the bodyweight training area!

The Results and Final Costs of Your Pull Up Bar Station

The whole project cost a fraction of what a commercial bodyweight training setup would have cost, and it’s built exactly how I wanted it. More importantly, it’s been absolutely bulletproof through all weather conditions ever since.

Having your bodyweight pull up bar station right there in the garden means I actually use it. No excuses, no setup time, just walk outside and train. It’s become an essential part of my daily bodyweight training routine.

The total cost: About $400–450

Why This Pull Up Bar Station Beats Any Store-Bought Option

Cost: A fraction of the price of paying a proper company to install a commercial pull up bar station

Customisation: You can build your station exactly to your specs

Durability: Proper steel and concrete foundation for your pull up bar station

Convenience: Your bodyweight training is always accessible to blast out a few reps or decompress the spine throughout the day

Transform Your Bodyweight Training

If you’re serious about bodyweight training and building an awesome physique, building your own pull up bar station is the way to go.

Yes, it takes about a week of work, but you’ll have the best single piece of bodyweight training equipment on the planet. And your pull up bar station will last decades and doesn’t cost much.

And remember — I’m no professional tradesman. If I can build a bodyweight pull up bar station, so can you. The key is planning it properly, getting decent materials, and not being afraid to ask for help with the bits you can’t do (like welding).

Your future self will thank you every time you walk past your pull up bar station and bang out a quick set of pull ups.

Whether it’s:

Morning dead hangs on your pull up bar to decompress your spine after sleeping
Afternoon pull up sets to break up your workday
Hanging leg raises when you want to torch your core with bodyweight training

Having a professional bodyweight pull up bar station that’s always accessible is an absolute dream.

And once you can do a few sets of 10 perfect pull ups on your station, your physique will be starting to turn heads and have people wondering if this ol’ dude is ‘on the juice’.

Ready to Build Your Ultimate Bodyweight Training Setup?

Building your own pull up bar station is just the beginning of your bodyweight training journey.

At Grey Top Warriors, we understand that men over 40 need smart, efficient training solutions that work with their busy lives.

With your new bodyweight pull up bar station, you’ll be ready for:

GTW’s complete bodyweight training programs designed for men over 40
Progressive pull up training that builds real functional strength
Time-efficient workouts that fit around your schedule
The warrior mindset that turns obstacles into opportunities

Don’t let another year slip by wishing you had the perfect training setup.

Ready to maximize your new pull up bar station?

Discover how Grey Top Warriors can help you build the strength and physique you deserve, using nothing but your bodyweight and the station you just built.

Your transformation starts with your ultimate pull up bar.

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