DIY: Home-Made Gym Equipment
Ready to build your own? Here's how.
by Scott Andrew BirdFollow @scottbird
Filed in : Equipment
Tags : brain, clubs & maces, conditioning, DIY, grip, grippers, Highland Games, leverage, Olympic Weightlifting, stone lifting
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Parts list.
Big Steel - Building a thick dumbbell handle Tom Black
Making wooden handles for your dumbbells. You'll find more great stuff on Tom's article page including notes on the construction of a plate-loading sledgehammer and a modified adjustable gripper.
Brian's Strength Training site
Equipment for Janda Sit-ups and other fun things.
Everything from bars to a belt squatting setup.
Building a Lifting Platform (Ironmind)
Randall J. Strossen
Now all you need is a set of bumper plates.
Building Your Own Set of Atlas Stones
Jason F. Keen
Making stones using an old - but effective - recipe of plaster, cement and water. And a couple of inflatable balls. A similar article appears at Body Results.
Some good discussion on the ins and outs of equipment, both store-bought and home-made.
Edgewalls - How to Build a Home Climbing Wall
Construction of a bouldering/traverse wall.
Plastic shopping bags, pipe, a tennis ball and of course lots and lots of duct tape.
A forum for DIY gymrats everywhere.
Building a spring loaded mat. Superb.
If you've ever considered the idea of having your own Glute-Ham Raise, take a look at this. While you're there, check out the home-made slammable medicine ball (based on instructions [.pdf, 1.21mb] from Pierre Augé).
Free instructions for building squat stands and plyometric boxes.
Some great articles here, including Make Your Own 200m Track [.pdf, 204kb]
Plans for a home-made squat rack
Bill McBride
What more could you want?
Want to know the exact dimensions of that bar you're about to transform? They're all here.
Photos of various home-made equipment.
How-to articles on construction of Hammers and Weight for Height/Distance equipment.
Assorted DIY goodness including photographs of a home-made pulldown attachment and a Reverse Hyper bench for the rack.
Ross Enamait forum - Training Equipment
Some great ideas here (start in this thread). If you're hungry for more, take a look at his articles on constructing (and using) a waterball and a sandbag [.pdf, 344kb].
Notes on the construction of various Highland Games equipment.
Excellent advice on joining materials to other materials.
Construction history of many items in the outdoor Toffe's Gym (which is in a superb forest setting, incidentally) including calf-training equipment, a heavy-duty bench and of course the power rack. Excellent stuff.
After reading those, it's time for a trip to the nearest hardware store. Plenty of fun things to experiment with.
Scott Andrew Bird is a writer, photographer and a guy who just loves this stuff. He's been at home in front of a computer for more years than he cares to remember (OK, 32) and is now making amends for years of many mistakes noted in the De-constructing computer guy articles (part 2) on T-Nation.
Stalkers may wish to track his every move via Twitter, Google+ or Facebook; everyone else is cordially invited to hop over to his online home. Enjoy.
Like this? Check out :
From the archives : DIY Gym Equipment
This series looks at some of my favourite articles from this site; updated to include new developments and other changes. I hope you enjoy it. There's something inherently satisfying about building things yourself. Perhaps this is best seen in the...
The Bulgarianization Experiment
Recently a very strong and more importantly very promising and dedicated client of mine was going to take a holiday weekend in Las Vegas. She was not happy to be missing training. Nor was she actually interested in Vegas. She is someone who wants to train as frequently as possible and since I had watched some interviews with John Broz and read a bit on his site, I suggested she pay a visit to his gym.
Little did I know that she would follow through with my suggestion. And little did I know how spending two days with Broz would change her and profoundly influence how I coach my athletes.
70 of the Best : 7 Years of Straight to the Bar
This site - Straight to the Bar - has been around for an incredible 7 years (the first post was on Jan 17th, 2004), and to say I'm grateful is a gross understatement.
Thank you.
And if you've got a strength-related competition or seminar coming up, or you'd love to be on one of the weekly Gymchats - get in touch. Look forward to hearing from you.
Over to you. Leave a comment below, or send us a tweet :
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Are You as Strong as You Could Be?
Grab the Straight to the Bar Strength Kit.
Training Guides, eBooks and of course the Strength & Fitness Newsletter. Absolutely free.
This week :
Gymchat 253 - Alpha Aesthetics (Personal Development In The 21st Century with Omar Atlas)
Monday, starting at 8pm Eastern. See you there.
NB : if you'd like to be interviewed in an upcoming discussion, we'd love to hear from you. It's great to find out how other people train. And if you'd like to add your comments and suggestions on the Gymchats in general, you can do that here. Cheers.
setting up a home gym?
If you're getting ready to put together a solid Home Gym (fantastic thing), here's how.
And for more, swing by the full guide. Absolutely free.
also on this site
Muscle-Ups For Reps
Nice one. btw, if you're currently unable to do them, here's the basic progression.
Gymchat 253 - Alpha Aesthetics (Personal Development In The 21st Century with Omar Atlas)
Ready to become number one?
Looking At : Jul 13, 2014
During the past week we've discussed a number of great links; on Google+, Twitter, Facebook and so on. Here are a few of my favourites.
Gymchat 252 - The Power of Mental Strength (Dru Patrick)
Think about it.
Pec Poppin' Pushups
Pushups with a twist.
Looking At : Jul 6, 2014
During the past week we've discussed a number of great links; on Google+, Twitter, Facebook and so on. Here are a few of my favourites.
Video for Gymchat 251 - Gaining Maximum Functional Muscle Mass (Bud Jeffries)
Gain size, gain strength.
images of strength
Want to see (and learn) more Feats of Strength like this? Dive in.
gift buying guide
When your spouse/sibling/friend is ready to 'get in shape' (or they already are), what do you get them?
No matter what sort of training they're in to, we've got a few suggestions. And if you're looking for something specific, we'll help you find out where to get it. Just leave a comment on any of the posts listed below.
There are a number of articles that may help you in your quest. Specifically :
- Grrl's Valentine's Day Wishlist (Kat 'The Mighty Kat' Ricker)
- The Bodyweight Aficionado's Guide to Gear (Jason Kirby)
- Recommended Books and DVDs on Strength-Training & Nutrition (The Straight to the Bar Authors)
- Clothing (Glenn Bird)
's still my favourite.
Now it's your turn. Let us know how you get on, and feel free to share any photographs of what you bought or how it's being used.
Look forward to hearing from you.
the writers
There are some superb writers here, looking at the world of strength training from a number of angles. The regulars :
Scott Bird (@scottbird, +Scott Bird)
Writer and Fitness enthusiast
Josh Hewett (@TopFormFitness, +Josh Hewett)
Strongman, Personal Trainer and Host of the Gymchats
Conor Doherty (@sfactoryfitness, +Conor Doherty)
Educator and Personal Trainer
Derek 'D-Rock' Peruo (@DerekPeruoCSCS, +Derek Peruo)
Personal Trainer and Creator of the Renaissance Fitness Supplement Kits
Dean Coulson (@DeanCoulson, +Dean Coulson)
Strength & Conditioning Coach and Martial Artist
Kat
'The Mighty Kat' Ricker (+Kat Ricker)
Bodybuilder and Writer
Jedd
'Napalm' Johnson (@jeddjohnson, +Jedd Johnson)
Grip champion and Strongman
NB : It's a big team - full list here.
In addition, articles are submitted from across the globe. Got a piece you'd like to share? Let us know.
community
talking about If you tweet a lot about fitness and would love to be on this list, let me know.
love your grip work?
Check out The Grip Authority. Fantastic site.
want to help out?
As you've doubtless noticed, in addition to the main site is a Community on Google+, Facebook and Twitter. Wherever you are, a daily dose of strength isn't all that far away.
To help run all of these sites, we're on the lookout for several additional Moderators. To welcome new community members, bring up new items to discuss and generally keep the conversations on track.
If you're already spending a bit of time at any of the above sites, and would like to offer your services as a Moderator, just drop us a line. And thanks for that, it really is appreciated.
in the wild
It’s always great to see how other people train.
If you’d like to send in a photo of yourself in action (wearing one of the Straight to the Bar Shirts of course - the latest design is here), just upload it somewhere and send us a link. Cheers.
the future of fitness
Over the years we’ve looked at the fitness industry from a number of angles - discussing the history, present approaches and potential future trends involved. Fascinating areas.
When it comes to the last part - discussing potential future trends - things get a little, well, unusual. If it’s an interest you share, or you just want to find out the types of things we think are likely, check out the posts tagged ‘Futurism’. And of course, Gymchat 224 (Roundtable) - The Future of Fitness. Superb discussion.
reading
Maximum Functional Mass
Maximum Functional Mass.Superb. If you watched the Gymchat last week, you'll know exactly what to expect. Bud Jeffries shares some truly incredible information. We'll post a full review shortly, but in the meantime, here's a piece from Bud's own site to help explain what Maximum Functional Mass's all about : The first in our new series on how to build muscles - Large muscles! Powerful muscles! Muscles that can do more than they look like they can do. Muscles that actually work, not just look impressive. Maximum Functional Mass.»»
If you're new to the world of nail bending, this is the perfect book to get. It'll show you the exact techniques you'll need to get started right away. Written by world-class bender Jedd Johnson.
The Diesel Crew's Card Tearing eBook
This is a fantastic book. If you've ever considered learning this incredible strength feat, the Card Tearing eBook is the perfect place to start. Love it.
If you ever wake up with that 'just run over by a truck' feeling, you need a copy of Tim Hull's Functional Correction Manual. Not only will it help you to locate and repair the problem, it'll help prevent it happening in the future.
When it comes to body transformation - whether that's an increase in strength, packing on a bit of muscle or losing a bit of excess fat - this is the perfect place to start. Dr Berardi's Precision Nutrition.
This is a fantastic book. As Josh explains, it superbly shows what's going on while you train. Love it.
101 Fitness Myths [Kindle Edition]
A superb combination of fitness mythbusting and no-nonsense advice. If you're not quite sure where to start, grab this.
The Art of Expressing the Human Body
If you've ever watched a Bruce Lee film and marveled at his strength, speed, agility, endurance, flexibility or muscularity, this book should take pride of place in your collection. Unlike many other writings covering everything from Lee's training methods to nutrition, this book is based not on the recollections of people around him; but on Lee's own notes. Brilliant.
For a full list of what we're reading and watching at the moment, just head over to the Recommended Books & DVDs page. See you there.