One of the pieces of equipment that is used for improving various skills is the parallette. It is a small set of mini parallel bars that can be used for pushups, L-sits, planche moves, handstand pushups, and more. The set of parallettes demonstrated on that site are simple Do-It-Yourself models created out of PVC.

Today I set out to create my own set of parallettes so I could begin practicing various movements from the Beast Skills site. The cost to build a set of PVC parallettes is only about $20 and take 10-15 minutes to assemble.

I built mine out of 1 1/2″ PVC pipe and the pieces needed are:

• 10′ section of 1 1/2″ PVC pipe
• 4 T-joints
• 4 90 degree elbow joints
• 8 end caps (though I’m an idiot and only bought 4)

Here are 2 great tutorials about the actual build process though it is pretty self-explanatory.

Homemade Parallettes

DIY Parallettes

I did not use cement to put mine together and it doesn’t look like it will even need it. Plus, no cement, means I can disassemble them for easy storage. I used 18″ pieces for the parallel portion of the parallettes and 6″ pieces for everything else. I will probably change it to use 12″ pieces for the vertical sections to get a bit further off the ground and be able to do L-sit dips. 6″ is a bit low for that. Other than that I’m very happy with how they turned out.

As far as exercise routines for the parallettes, American Gymnast has a set of workouts on their site here (requires free registration).

This is their recommended beginner training guide (though I think I need the remedial training program):

• Tuck Sit 3-5 sets of 10 seconds
• L-Sit 3-5 sets of 10 seconds
• Tuck Planche 3-5 sets of 10 seconds
• Straddle Press to Handstand Against Wall 2 sets of 3-5 reps
• Handstand Against Wall 2 sets of 30 seconds
• Handstand Pushups Against Wall 2 sets of 5-7 reps
• Push-ups 2 sets of 7-10 reps
• Handstand Forward 1/2 Pirouette 5-7 reps

Probably take me a year to get worked up to that level of fitness (especially pirouettes without killing my self) but it is a good start and a great way to build my core. If you have a free afternoon, put a set of these together and get to training.