Body weight exercises such as calisthenics have become more popular in recent years, especially during the COVID pandemic, when people couldn’t go to the gym and needed to stay fit at home. Experts have recommended these exercises due to their convenience, affordability, as well as providing a more functional workout by engaging multiple muscles at once.
As part of the growing exercise-at-home movement, many people have bought pull up bars mounted on door frames. However, there are many videos online where those pull up bars break or get torn off the mounts, causing the user to fall in dangerous and humiliating ways. The bars can also ruin the door frames, both on the surface and structurally, resulting in expensive repair costs or penalties, especially for people who are renting their residences.
Not wanting to destroy his door frame or become part of those workout fail videos, inventor Mike Alfandre began thinking of a robust solution for doing pull ups at home. In 2017, Alfandre, who was in college at the time, came up with the initial idea and sketches for the BULLBAR, a compact, free-standing pull up bar that requires no assembly. At the time, the free-standing pull up equipment on the market took hours to assemble and occupied too much space to fit in the average bedroom or apartment.
Alfandre took his sketches to a friend who was studying animation, and they created 3D renderings of the sketches and some realistic photos. He posted these online to gauge whether there would be interest in the product, which returned positive. With the concept validated, he set out to work with an industrial design and engineering firm for prototyping. This took around three years to complete, and the first physical prototype came out in 2021.
Once it was ready for production, Alfandre successfully raised more than $85,000 through an online crowdfunding campaign to produce the first version of the BULLBAR, and he began shipping orders in early 2022. Having received significant attention, Alfandre has launched the patent pending BULLBAR 2.0, which includes various upgrades to the previous edition. He listened to every comment from the product’s beta users, incorporating them into the updated design.
The BULLBAR 2.0 stands 81.5 inches tall with a footprint of only 38 x 58 inches, and it can be set up in just one minute, without the need for any tools. When folded, it’s small enough to store in a closet or fit in the trunk of a car. It weighs less than 50 pounds, making it the only pull up bar which can be moved easily from indoors to outdoors. Made from industrial steel, the BULLBAR can support up to 300 pounds and it is secured with heavy-duty safety pins, similar to those used for hauling trailers.
Aside from pull ups, the BULLBAR is also designed for other exercises, such as chin-ups, leg raises, dead-hangs and more. It comes with removable and adjustable handle bars to be able to do dips, push ups and inverted rows. Users can even hang gymnastics rings on it for core strength exercises. This makes the BULLBAR an extremely versatile piece of exercise equipment, saving on space and enabling a more complete workout for users.
According to Alfandre, who has a patent pending on the BULLBAR’s design, current competitors’ products require complicated assembly, weigh more than 100 pounds, and are very bulky, making them not as dynamic and portable as the BULLBAR.
“I wanted to create a system that could fit anywhere, was super easy to set up, and didn't require drilling holes in the wall,” Alfandre says “I've worked for years to bring my vision to life and, with the help of an amazing group of people, the enhanced second version of BULLBAR is now available for customers in the US and overseas.”
“What started as a journey to create a better pull up bar ultimately turned into a full body workout solution that can literally be used anywhere. BULLBAR aspires to become one of the world's top brands in calisthenics and bodyweight exercise equipment,” he adds. “It provides a safer, portable, and free-standing solution for pull ups, catering to the rapidly growing segment of people who prefer to work out at home, rather than going to crowded gyms that may have an intimidating atmosphere. We are in the process of designing accessories and products that complement our flagship BULLBAR. We have several other innovative equipment designs in the pipeline, as we seek to create the most convenient, easiest, and safest home exercise system.”
The BULLBAR 2.0 is now available for delivery in the 2023 holiday season.
Media contact:
Name: Mike Alfandre
Email: mike@bullbarfit.com
Email: jared@bullbarfit.com
Published by: Pathos Communications Ltd