- Push Up Bars vs Other Parallettes
- #1 GORNATION Mini Parallettes
- #2 Gravity Fitness Mini Parallettes
- #3 Pullup & Dip Premium Push Up Bars
- #4 Pullup & Dip Wooden Push Up Handles
- #5 Movement Made FatBars
- #6 Kensui Fitness YinYang Pro
- #7 Kensui Fitness YinYang Max
- #8 Gorletic Small Push Up Bars
- #9 RaMaSS Fitness Parallettes
- #10 Marmati Cloud Parallettes
- #11 ThenX Wooden Parallettes
- #12 Caliathletics Parallettes
- Pricing Comparison and Discount Code
- Push Up Bars Benefits
- Conclusions About the Best Push Up Bars
- Frequently Asked Questions About Push Up Bars
There are many Push Up Bars on the market, and making a quality choice can be challenging. Over the years, we’ve spent a lot of time testing and exercising with Push Up Bars, growing our collection substantially. The 12 best Push Up Bars we are reviewing include all-wooden Push Up Bars and Push Up Bars that combine wood with metal parts. Some are simple and robust, while others add innovations like interlocking shapes, magnets, and ergonomic grips.
You can also watch my best Push Up Bars Review on YouTube:
Push Up Bars vs Other Parallettes
I want to explain what I’m reviewing very briefly. We can typically distinguish between 3 types of Parallettes: Long Parallettes, High Parallettes and Push Up Bars (also called Mini Parallettes). They all have their applications. Long Parallettes have the highest stability, while High Parallettes give you the most exercise variety and range of motion. Push Up Bars or Mini Parallettes are the smallest type and are the easiest to transport. They still offer you a wide variety of Parallette exercises.

Push Up Bars are also referred to as Push Up Stands or Push Up Handles. These words are synonymous, though may be used by different brands to accentuate certain design decisions. The core function remains the same.
#1 GORNATION Mini Parallettes
Gornation makes great Calisthenics equipment and never disappoints. Their Push Up Bars are no exception. The wooden grip is smooth and feels pleasant, even when under load. The Push Up Bars stand solid during Push-Ups and Handstands, and the anti-slip feet prevent any back-and-forth. We’ve had these for a long time now, and they held up over the years, suffering the repeated abuse we subjected them to.
We did notice that the anti-slip feet can come off when you’re doing wide exercises, and sufficient side-to-side force is applied to them. The problem with slipping off happens when you’re doing things like wide handstands, and Push Up Bars are not the right tool for that kind of exercise, anyway.
Conclusion: The Gornation Mini Parallettes are durable, comfortable, and sturdy enough for exercises typical for Mini Parallettes or Push-Up Bars.
10% off with our code: CWW10
#2 Gravity Fitness Mini Parallettes
The wooden grips on the Gravity Fitness Mini Parallettes look similar to Gornation’s and are likewise exceptionally comfortable. They stand solid during all Push Up Bar exercises, such as Push-Ups and basic handstands. The anti-slip feet skid if you apply a lot of intentional forward pressure, but we don’t see this as possible during exercise.
The Gravity Fitness Mini Parallettes can start skidding during wide handstands or similar exercises where you put a lot of sideway force on them at shallow angles. It does so sooner than Gornation’s Mini Parallettes, but they aren’t meant for this type of exercise. The Gravity Fitness Mini Parallettes are structurally robust and will stand the test of time.
Conclusion: The Gravity Fitness Mini Parallettes are durable, comfortable, and well-suited for Push-Ups, Planches and Handstands with minimal sideways force.
#3 Pullup & Dip Premium Push Up Bars
The Pullup & Dip Premium Push Up Bars feature an ergonomic grip, which provides more surface area. This grip style is a matter of personal preference, but if it feels right to you, it is an advantage. These Push Up Bars are higher while retaining similar ground coverage. The additional height means the Pullup & Dip Premium Push Up Bars tend to be more top-heavy and prone to toppling.
During our exercises, we noticed this tendency to topple (sideways). Even a slightly wider Push-Up or handstand can trigger this, and you’ll feel the Push Up Bars starting to tilt. Typically, you’ll compensate for this by pulling the Push Up Bars inwards towards you, but this is still an instability you need to mind, and it takes part of your concentration away from the exercise.
We noticed no stability issues with back-to-front movements, like getting into a Push-Up position. The anti-slip pads work well but are lower quality than some of the competition’s anti-sleep feet. Our verdict for the Pullup & Dip Premium Push Up Bars is that they suit all groundwork, like Push-Ups and basic L-Sits.
#4 Pullup & Dip Wooden Push Up Handles
The Pullup & Dip Wooden Push Up Handles are all-wooden and feature the same ergonomic grips as the Pullup & Dip Premium Push Up Bars. The wood feels nice, and the grip gives you a lot of surface area to hold. These Push Up Bars remain standing during regular exercises like Push-Ups, L-sits and handstands. They also perform well with wide variations like wide Push-ups and handstands.
The anti-slip pads on these wooden Push Up Bars are set into the wooden feet and do a good job of preventing skidding or slipping. The Pullup & Dip Wooden Push Up Handles are cheaper than the Pullup & Dip Premium Push Up Bars but perform better.
Our verdict is that the Pullup & Dip Wooden Push Up Handles are stable, sturdy and well-suited for all standard Push Up Bar exercises, handstands, and wide variations of both Push-Ups and handstands.
#5 Movement Made FatBars
At first glance, the Movement Made FatBars appear similar to the Pullup & Dip Wooden Push Up Handles. However, they feature a whopping 50mm grip, 10 mm more girth than our other Push Up Bars.
The Movement Made FatBars offer a sturdy foundation for all regular exercises like Push-Ups, handstands and L-sits. The inset anti-slip pads prevent skidding and slipping even when intentional force is applied. Their low profile makes them stable enough for wide variations like wide Push-Ups and wide handstands. We can even see them being used for the Maltese due to their immovability unless picked up.
The thick grips feel good and give you more purchase on the handles. They also help train grip strength by necessitating a more open hand to grip them. Our verdict for the Movement Made FatBars is that they are excellent, rock-solid Push Up Bars with many exercise varieties, including wide handstand variations.
#6 Kensui Fitness YinYang Pro
With just 20cm in length, the Kensui Fitness YinYang Pro are easily the smallest Push Up Bars on our list. Kensui Fitness always surprises us with its innovative designs, and these Push Up Bars again impress. The Mini Parallettes neatly fit into each other’s base and are held together with magnets. Coupled with their size, this results in a very compact package that will fit into any bag.
The wooden finish feels nice, and the Kensui Fitness YinYang Pros are stable for normal floorwork, like push-ups. They can also do your regular shoulder-width handstands without any trouble. However, the compact size means sacrificing stability, so we would not recommend them for any exercise beyond shoulder width.
#7 Kensui Fitness YinYang Max
The bigger cousins of the YinYang Pros, the Kensui Fitness YinYang Max, are larger and feature ergonomic grips. The grips interlock at the base, resulting in a compact carrying package. The ergonomic grip reminds us of the Pullup & Dip Wooden Push Up Handles, which feel similar. The woodwork is also of comparably high quality.
We performed our standard Push-Ups and static handstands without any issues. The dimensions of the Kensui Fitness YinYang Max are upscaled from those of the Kensui Fitness YinYang Pro without changing the height-to-width ratio. Despite its larger size, the Kensui Fitness YinYang Max has some of the same issues with side-to-side tilting and toppling. The Kensui Fitness YinYang Max is more stable, especially with back-to-front movements, but we do not recommend it for wide exercises.
#8 Gorletic Small Push Up Bars
Gorletic makes some of the highest-quality wooden equipment on the market, and the Gorletic Small Push Up Bars fit into this category. We like Gorletic’s classic KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid) approach, which allows them to utilize their 30+ years of furniture-making experience and create superior Calisthenics equipment.
The Gorletic Small Push Up Bars interlock at the base but have a simple Velcro strap instead of magnets to keep them together. The grips feel rougher than the other wooden grips, but that helps with traction. They feel good, and we like the overall, simple style of these Mini Parallettes.
We had no problems performing exercises like Push-Ups, L-sits, and handstands. The anti-slip pads are very effective, and the low profile of the Gorletic Small Push Up Bars makes them very resilient to toppling. They stood perfectly still, even with wide handstands as our exercise of choice. Despite our efforts to intentionally push them over while in a static wide handstand, the Gorletic Small Push Up Bars remained standing.
Our verdict of the Gorletic Small Push Up Bars is that they are amazing. You get a solid base for all your exercises, even those we’d typically associate with Long Parallettes. Choosing the Gorletic Small Push Up Bars over anything else on this list will be hard to beat.
#9 RaMaSS Fitness Parallettes
The RaMaSS Fitness Parallettes remind us of the Pullup & Dip Wooden Push Up Handles and the Movement Made FatBars. Aside from appearances, that’s where the similarities end. The grips are the thinnest on our list of best Push Up Bars, coming in at 36mm. They also feel lighter when you pick them up. The finish is good, though, and they feel nice in the hand.
The RaMaSS Fitness Parallettes performed well in Push-Ups and static handstands and stayed stable. The anti-slip pads, which look like stickers, perform remarkably well and effectively prevent slipping and skidding. However, they will start to slide and topple when you do wide handstands, although they will take push-ups well enough. The thinner grips are slightly less comfortable, especially if you’re accustomed to 40mm grips.
These RaMaSS Fitness Parallettes are a decent option if you’re on a tighter budget. They provide a stable platform for basic exercises and allow you to do a handstand.
#10 Marmati Cloud Parallettes
These aluminum parallettes by Marmati come in various colors and rely on cork inlays to provide anti-slip features. They also cost the most on our list of best Push Up Bars, coming in at 130.-. For that kind of cash, we expect top-notch performance only.
Being a metal design, the Marmati Cloud Parallettes are very durable and strong. It took all our standard exercises well, like Push-Ups and handstands. However, the cork inlays do not provide much traction on the floor. The Push Up Bars were prone to slipping with even a slightly wider Push-Up.
The aluminum gets slippery when you’re sweaty, which you can mitigate by using Liquid Chalk or Calisthenics Gloves. We prefer wooden grips since those soak up your sweat much better and retain enough traction.
Marmati is known for using sustainable materials, as evidenced by the Marmati Garbage Rings. However, these sustainable materials do not come together to make effective Push Up Bars here, especially not at this price point.
#11 ThenX Wooden Parallettes
ThenX Wooden Parallettes pleasantly surprised us with their affordable price and capable performance. They even perform up there with the best on our list, like the Gorletic Small Push Up Bar. When we received the ThenX Wooden Parallettes, we had to apply the anti-slip strips ourselves and tighten the handles onto the feet (they provide the hex key). Luckily, the Thenx Wooden Parallettes is a book you can’t judge by its cover.
The grip feels nice and is slightly coarser than most wooden grips. The Push Up Bars perform well during regular Parallettes exercises like push-ups and handstands. The anti-slip strips perform well. These look like the ones RaMaSS uses but have considerably more surface area. We could not make these Push Up Bars slip intentionally by force. Another similarity with RaMaSS is the thinner grip size, which is 38mm for ThenX (still thicker than RaMaSS).
The biggest surprise came with wide exercises like wide handstands. The Thenx Wooden Parallettes performed excellently during these exercises, even up there with the top. Even when we tried to make them topple during a wide handstand intentionally, they remained standing. We can safely recommend the Thenx Wooden Parallettes for all your floorwork, handstands and wide variations.
Our verdict on the Thenx Wooden Parallettes is that they’ll pleasantly surprise you. For a very low price, you get the maximum variety you could ever expect from Push Up Bars.
#12 Caliathletics Parallettes
The Caliathletics Parallettes are low and long, almost a hybrid between Long Parallettes and Push Up Bars. The advantage of their height-to-width ratio is stability. Even before testing them, it was clear that these would be rock solid. Being so low to the ground comes with a downside, though. We constantly had the feeling that our knuckles were going to touch the ground.
Stability is perfect for the Caliathletics Parallettes. They stand firmly on the floor during all your exercises, including wide handstands. During specific exercises where our grip slightly shifts during the movement (like handstand push-ups), our knuckles might have grazed the floor. It could have been our imaginations, but it’s undoubtedly the case that our fingers are so close to the floor that we can feel the cold radiating up.
We believe the Caliathletics Parallettes are a good choice if you want to combine the characteristics of Mini Parallettes or Push Up Bars with those of Long Parallettes.
Pricing Comparison and Discount Code
Here is a price and discount breakdown and discounts for each set of Push Up Bars.
Push Up Bars | Regular Price | CWW10 Discount (est.) |
---|---|---|
GORNATION Mini Parallettes | €69.90 | €62.91 |
Gravity Fitness Mini Parallettes | €59.95 | n/a |
Pullup & Dip Premium Push Up Bars | €56.80 | €51.12 |
Pullup & Dip Wooden Push-Up Handles | €59.95 | €53.96 |
Movement Made FatBars | €80.- | n/a |
Kensui Fitness YinYang Pro | €37.95 | €34.15 |
Kensui Fitness YingYang Max | €64.95 | €58.46 |
Gorletic Small Push Up Bars | €59.- | €53.10 |
RaMaSS Fitness Parallettes | €34.95 | n/a |
Marmati Cloud Parallettes | €129.- | n/a |
ThenX Wooden Parallettes | €39.95 | €35.96 |
Caliathletics Parallettes | 49.- | n/a |
Push Up Bars Benefits
Push Up Bars make Push Ups more accessible to beginners. Doing Push-Ups on the floor would either mean placing your hands flat or balling them into fists. Both can cause major discomfort. Grabbing the Push Up Bars is a much more comfortable way of doing Push Ups. It is by extension also a safer way of doing Push Ups by helping to prevent injury to your wrists.
Even seasoned Calisthenics practitioners will often prefer the use of Push Up Bars. The added comfort means higher gains can be achieved. Push Up Bars also allow for a slightly deeper Push Up, a small but not insignificant factor.
The benefits of Push Up Bars can thus be summed up like this:
- Comfort
- Joint relief
- Injury prevention
- Higher gains
Conclusions About the Best Push Up Bars
We are big fans of Push Up Bars, and all of these Mini Parallettes we tested have something going for them. A top 12 is still ambiguous, and we decided to dwindle them down to the top 3 best Push Up Bars. The results are surprising.
ThenX Wooden Parallettes are the best overall Push Up Bars. They combine all the best features we found in the other Push Up Bars. Like the Kensui Fitness YinYang Pro, the ThenX Wooden Parallettes are light and compact. They are as stable as the Gorletic Small Push Up Bars and similarly economically priced as the RaMaSS Fitness Parallettes. To top it off, the ThenX Wooden Parallettes don’t concede anywhere, and it’s not a matter of give or take as they combine all these pros.
Winner Best Push Up Bars
The Gorletic Small Push Up Bars are also a great choice. They are very stable and have an interlocking shape for easy travel. It’s hard to beat choosing Gorlectic, but they are 50% more expensive than the ThenX Parallettes. If that’s worth it to you, Gorletic is technically better.
The Gravity Fitness Mini Parallettes are a great choice if you want a metal and wood combination. Although they are bulkier than the wooden Parallettes and Push Up Bars, they are very durable and provide a sturdy and stable platform.
If you’re interested in any of these top Push Up Bars, make sure to use the discount code CWW10 at checkout for an additional 10% off the price.
Frequently Asked Questions About Push Up Bars
Here are a few more frequently asked questions about Push Up Bars, which we couldn’t place in the body of our article.
What are the best Push Up Bars for beginners?
The best Push Up Bars for beginners are the ThenX Wooden Parallettes. These Mini Parallettes combine traits like great quality, comfort and the stability to even do wide exercises with skidding or toppling. The ThenX Wooden Parallettes are also economically priced.
Is it better to do push-ups with Push Up Bars?
Push Up Bars allow you to use a hammer grip during Push Ups. A hammer grip straightens your wrists, causing less strain and fewer risks of injury than when you place your hands flat on the floor.
What is an alternative to parallettes?
Good alternatives to Parallettes are Push Up Bars and Push Up Blocks. These options all allow you to use a hammer grip for your Push Ups and similar exercises like L-Sits.