Creating a family-friendly home gym
Editor kate reveals how a wall ladder has turned her downstairs lounge room into the most popular spot in the house.
Most mornings, my five-year-old son Harry is halfway up the wall of our downstairs lounge room. He is back up there again in the afternoon and has told me he wishes he could “sleep on the wall”. He calls himself Spider-Man and has the brightly coloured suit to prove it.
He transforms into Spider-Man with the Gym Plus Wooden Swedish Ladder. Since it went up a few months ago, it has been used by every member of our family, me included.
So, what is it? The sturdy timber frame consists of horizontal rungs and fixes flat to the wall. You may also know it as a stall bar or wall bar. Gym Plus makes this one from beech wood and finishes it with a clear coating the company says is certified non-toxic.
It stands 210cm high and 80cm wide, the bars are 35mm thick and the stall bar is rated to a maximum load of 130kg. The set also comes with a rope ladder, a rope trapeze and a climbing rope, all of which Harry is obsessed with. It costs $649.95 and makes for the perfect Christmas or birthday present for siblings.
The many uses
Harry gets the most out of the ladder – for now. He climbs it twice a day and has started inventing gymnastic moves like “the nappy” and “ooo ooo monkey style”. All that climbing and hanging has improved his core strength and his grip strength, and I can see the difference in how long he holds on.
He loves hanging from the top rungs. He loves hiding up there even more. His stuffed toys have moved in as well, and I often find them sitting on the rungs after he has gone to bed. His favourite soft toy is a red monkey, creatively named “Red Monkey”, who loves to hang in the “jungle gym”.
My youngest boy Arley is 20 months old and he loves playing on it too. Between the two boys, the ladder gives us hours of fun and play. I did not expect one piece of equipment to hold the attention of a five-year-old and a toddler at the same time, and this one does. Harry ensures the soft landing mat has been folded out to protect them from any falls.
My husband also does chin-ups on it every day. I am attempting a few of my own, and I will be honest that they are a work in progress. But I do like hanging on there as I know it’s so important to maintain your grip strength as you age.
The 130kg load rating is what makes it a family purchase and not only a kids’ toy. It is really sturdy. Nothing shifts or creaks when an adult hangs from it, and the quality of the timber and the build is excellent.
How it looks
The ladder lives in our lounge room, so I look at it all day. It’s the first thing you see when you walk through the front door. Thankfully, it’s beautifully designed, and the pale wood blends in with the aesthetic of the room. Visitors tend to notice it as a feature of the space before they realise it’s play equipment.
Setting it up
The setup is a little tricky, because the ladder must be fixed into the studs in your wall and you need to find them first. I had a friend help me out with that part, and I would not have wanted to do it alone.
Gym Plus says the standard wall fixings it provides may not suit every wall type, and recommends checking with a professional before installation. I would take that advice. Children and adults will be hanging their full weight from this ladder, so the fixing needs to be right.
If you have a spare 80cm of wall, a ceiling high enough to take 210cm of ladder and someone handy to help with installation, I highly recommend this crowd-pleasing equipment.
Our wall ladder is used every day by my whole family. I can’t wait to see the boys use it more and more as they get older – and for me to master an unassisted chin-up!
For more, visit gymplus.com.au
