Author: Office Manager

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Designing a Monkey Bar Gym in Your Garden

  • Product Purchased : Monkey Bars with 2 x Pull Up Bars
  • Tallest Bar Height : 2.4m
  • Added Extras : Swing, 4 x Ladder bars for accessing Monkey Bars
  • Who is using : Adults and children (recreational fun and family exercise)
  • Age : 4+
  • Customer Case Study : David – North London

Synopsis – The following post is by Project Manager Amy. It looks at how we designed an outdoor gym for a customer and what happened when we had to change it on the installation day…

What Gym Design was our Customer Looking for?

David got in touch with Xorbars, already a design in mind for a Monkey Bar installation and two separate Pull Up Bars which he had provided a sketch of.  The design had one low pull up bar for the kids to roll over and hang upside down on (a kids favourite pastime!) and a high pull up bar with the intention of pull ups for the adults. Based on his design I suggested our hugely popular Cube Gym as it was the difference of adding one bar, it would add strength and stability to have all bars joined together and another bar for even more exercise and fun.

The Cube Outdoor Gym didn’t work with the Garden Design!

After discussion about the space/location the gym was being installed into, it was decided that for useability, the Cube Gym wasn’t going to be the best option this time. The garden was a narrow rectangular shape with the gym required to fit lengthways, it would mean one bar of the Cube would be unusable. 

A Monkey Bar it was to be, running parallel down the garden in line with the boundary fence and two 5ft Bars in an L shape off the corner of the Monkey bars. 

4 x Ladder bars were added to the gym for the children to access the Monkey bars, we always recommend having three bars at one end to climb up and then one bar positioned mid height at the opposite end for jumping down or perching on for a return journey.

The Cube Outdoor Gym from Xorbars

How far should the monkey bars be from a fence?

The plan was to install the monkey bars along the fence.  In small gardens we generally recommend a minimum distance of 500mm away from a fence or boundary, 800mm in an ideal world just so you have full usability round the gym.

On the day of the monkey bar installation we made some changes

Access to the site of the Gym wasn’t an issue at all with a private access leading up to the back gate, unloading the van and setting all materials out was simple and straight forward, water easily accessible which makes installing much easier. 

Upon seeing the layout of the garden and having a quick chat with our customer David,  installer James made the suggestion to have the Monkey Bars run across the garden width, this enabled the full length of the garden to be useable access, it also created the perfect football goal area underneath ! 

The pull up bars were separated and located either end of the monkey bars creating a Z shaped gym. David wanted to add a swing on the high bar also, so this gave the space between the bars meaning both could be used simultaneously.

Design really doesn’t stop in the office! We always try and be as flexible and adaptive as possible.

And What did the customer say about us?

Another happy Xorbars customer with this feedback ” The Xorbars are a big success, all 3 of our children love playing on them and my wife and I have been trying some ‘assisted’ pull-ups and other exercises. “

The Cube Outdoor Gym from Xorbars

Please get in touch if you would like my help designing your outdoor garden gym.

Amy Sercome – Xorbars project manager
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Monkey Bars with Two Pull Up Bars

Case Study : David – North London

  • Product Purchased : Monkey Bars with 2 x Pull Up Bars
  • Tallest Bar Height : 2.4m
  • Added Extras : Swing, 4 x Ladder bars for accessing Monkey Bars
  • Who is using : Adults and children (recreational fun and family exercise)
  • Age : 4+

About the Customer

David got in touch with Xorbars, already a design in mind for a Monkey Bar installation and two separate Pull Up Bars which he had provided a sketch of.  The design had one low pull up bar for the kids to roll over and hang upside down on (a kids favourite pastime!) and a high pull up bar with the intention of pull ups for the adults. Based on his design I suggested our hugely popular Cube Gym as it was the difference of adding one bar, it would add strength and stability to have all bars joined together and another bar for even more exercise and fun.

The Cube Outdoor Gym didn’t work with the Garden Design

After discussion about the space/location the gym was being installed into, it was decided that for useability, the Cube Gym wasn’t going to be the best option this time. The garden was a narrow rectangular shape with the gym required to fit lengthways, it would mean one bar of the Cube would be unusable. 

A Monkey Bar it was to be, running parallel down the garden in line with the boundary fence and two 5ft Bars in an L shape off the corner of the Monkey bars. 

4 x Ladder bars were added to the gym for the children to access the Monkey bars, we always recommend having three bars at one end to climb up and then one bar positioned mid height at the opposite end for jumping down or perching on for a return journey.

How far should the monkey bars be from a fence?

The plan was to install the monkey bars along the fence.  In small gardens we generally recommend a minimum distance of 500mm away from a fence or boundary, 800mm in an ideal world just so you have full usability round the gym.

On the day of the monkey bar installation we made some changes

Access to the site of the Gym wasn’t an issue at all with a private access leading up to the back gate, unloading the van and setting all materials out was simple and straight forward, water easily accessible which makes installing much easier. 

Upon seeing the layout of the garden and having a quick chat with our customer David,  installer James made the suggestion to have the Monkey Bars run across the garden width, this enabled the full length of the garden to be useable access, it also created the perfect football goal area underneath ! 

The pull up bars were separated and located either end of the monkey bars creating a Z shaped gym. David wanted to add a swing on the high bar also, so this gave the space between the bars meaning both could be used simultaneously.

Design really doesn’t stop in the office! We always try and be as flexible and adaptive as possible.

Another happy Xorbars customer with this feedback ” The Xorbars are a big success, all 3 of our children love playing on them and my wife and I have been trying some ‘assisted’ pull-ups and other exercises. “

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Bespoke Bootcamp Jungle Bar Gym

  • Case Study : Will at Cultivate Fitness / Bootcamp
  • Product Purchased : Bespoke Jungle Bar Gym
  • Tallest Bar Height : 3.3-3.4m
  • Added Extras : 4 x Grab / Foot Holds / Height Extension Brackets / Rope
  • Who is using : Adults for group and personal training
  • Age : 18+

About the Customer
Will is a personal trainer and bootcamp owner based in Berkshire. With outdoor workouts being the best kind of escape during lockdown, he had been using a rig made out of scaffolding for the last couple of years and was looking for a more permanent, professional outdoor gym set up.

Designing the perfect Outdoor Gym
Will had been on our website and had a go at designing his own Bespoke Gym using our Design Your Own Gym – XORBARS. It was a great layout which included our popular Jungle Bars (which are available in 3.5ft or 5ft width options), parallel bars, an assortment of pull up bars and also, a high bar was included for a rope climbs or Olympic rings to be added. 


Only a few tweaks were needed for this gym with Amy – Xorbars Project Manager adding two further bars to the design to give extra strength to the overall structure but also adding further options for the workouts that could be done with the bars, incline press ups being the added bonus…

Sourcing the longer 15ft length posts has become increasingly difficult over the last two years so to get around this obstacle, we have developed new Height Extension Brackets. These achieve the 3.6m height needed for rope climbs or Olympic rings. The posts themselves are 3.6m in length, these are installed into the ground at 700mm deep for stability, so with the extension brackets fitted on top, it gives the 3.6m needed out of the ground. Will was happy to proceed with this option and we think the outcome looks pretty great !


Space wasn’t an issue for this bootcamp, the bespoke gym measures just under 5 metres by 2 metres in size, it is a great layout and can easily accommodate several people practicing various exercises all at the same time. 
The Pull Up Bars were installed at a standard height of 2.4 metres with two lower bars added to under the Jungle Bars for Incline Press Ups, this is also great for strengthening the entire structure further.
Grab Hold/Foot Up Bars were added to allow easy access to the Jungle Bars and Pull Up Bars, if height wasn’t on your side to access them with a little jump up. A ladder bar was also added at one end of the parallel bars to enable access up onto those also. These are positioned higher than people realise.


Commercial 
With it being a training facility and bootcamp, it was advised that all posts needed to have a 3-5mm radius routered with a full sanding and oiling treatment. We advise this for all gyms being used by the public and private clients to avoid any scrapes and splinters.

On the day
Access to the site of the Gym wasn’t an issue at all with plenty of room for parking, unloading the van and setting all materials out, water easily accessible which makes installing much easier. 
James our installer even joined in with the Bootcamp session after a day of installing (yes he is a glutton for punishment!) 


5* Review
Absolutely top notch from start to finish! As an owner of an outdoor gym I can confidently say that using Xorbars for our new rig was the best decision I’ve made to date. After creating my own design, Amy was unbelievable fast in responding and getting the ball rolling. I was encouraged to make a few changes to the design which actually made it 10x better and sturdier.  When it came to installation day (which happened much faster than I had expected) I met James, who was beaming with enthusiasm about the concept we had created together. And that’s when I knew we were in great hands. It took James not even 2 days to get it all up, which considering he was a one man band and hand almost OCD precision, I was chuffed.  We’re now using it every day and we can have 5 adults hanging/swinging/climbing over it. And let me tell you, that thing doesn’t budge one bit.  So to conclude my rambling… The service from Amy was brilliant. The installation, superb. The quality, astounding! And the price… well, if I’m being honest, considering the above, I’d probably say it was a tad TOO good ????  Thank you so much guys, I can’t tell you how much I love it!

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Which Xorbars Gym is right for me ?


This gets asked a lot in the Xorbars inbox.  Choosing the best outdoor gym for your garden can be somewhat tricky, so we have developed this guide to help you. 


To start with, our first question will be about the usage.  Are children and adults using the gym? Or only adults? We know that children LOVE monkey bars so this is always a firm favourite to recommend but Monkey bars aren’t just for the kids.


Why would adults love Monkey Bars?  Well, pull ups…. the staple bodyweight exercise in any workout for both newcomers and advanced. Our Monkey bars provide two different sized holds due to the outer two bars being thicker. They’re also longer in length, with the advantage of being able to vary your grip width and hand positioning for classic chin ups with palms facing, pull ups with palms facing away, or even accommodating a neutral grip pull up with both palms facing each other. The inner rungs are a smaller diameter bars, the varying size also enables you to swap between wide hold and narrow holds for your pull ups. You have the option to work out the chest muscles with the narrower grip or shoulder and back muscles with the wider grip.
There is also the added benefit that of having four posts with a monkey bar which gives extra stability to your gym.

The Monkey Bar is a popular feature in many of our most popular gyms and there is a huge choice from the simple Monkey Bar to our very popular Cube gym, The Warrior or even the Assault Gym…. check them out on the link HERE.


If only adults are exercising….  Other very popular medium sized set ups include The Mini Multi Gym to the Multi Gym Max, these can be adapted into many gym layouts and provide a great work out for all major muscle groups. Parallel bars are often used as a dipping station in commercial gyms but having them at home enables you to complete a massive range of exercises, from simple support holds and dips to more difficult knee/leg raises or even more advanced full L-sit holds.

If space is a fundamental factor when deciding on your garden gym, then our more compact layouts such as Pull Up and Parallel gyms or Pull Up an Dip Bars are an ideal choice from a functional aspect. The choice of bar size is entirely customizable so all bars at the smallest option, could be 3.5ft length giving you a compact but impressive garden gym.

Perfect for beginners starting out with simple static holds to perfect your grip, progressing to negative dips (or as an interim step , use resistance bands to help build strength and stability to support your body weight). For the more advanced, there are also plenty of dip bar exercises for abs to add to your workout too. Knee raises to start, then onto leg raises which are ideal for working out the abs and obliques as well as your hip flexor muscles.