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Homemade Equipment IdeasAxle Mounted Wrist Roller The good old "wrist roller" was a good tool for thickening the forearms and strengthening the wrists. It's construction was simplicity itself - take an 18 inch piece of old broomstick or wood dowel. Drill a hole in the center of it and pass a rope knotted on one through the hole. Tie the other end around some barbell plates. Hold the stick at arm's length or let it hang down. Now, roll the weight up and down. Simple, cheap and effective. This modification takes that idea one step further. If you have a power rack or some similar type of device to hold a horizontal bar, you can easily construct an axle mounted version of the wrist roller. (You could use squat stands and your barbell bar with revolving sleeve, for instance.) Materials Required Sufficient thick wall PVC tubing to span the uprights of your power rack. (Mine is 24 inches wide in between the uprights, so I used a piece of 1 1/2 inch diameter PVC tubing.) It needs to have a large enough inside diameter to fit over one of your power rack's safety bars and freely rotate. 1 radiator hose clamp 1 carabiner clip or similar style "quick release" fastener about six feet of poly or nylon braided rope These materials may be easily purchased at your local hardware store or home improvement center for less than ten dollars.    Follow the link for a thread on this piece of equipment, construction details and photos.
Homemade Sled Sled pulling was a featured activity at the recent "Mini-Bash"... here are some "wild-eyed" musings on the equipment: Since I'm too che... er, uh, FRUGAL to drop $100 - $200 on a pulling sled, I naturally sought about examining alternatives to the purchase of a pulling sled. One idea is to take the metal bed of a children's wagon. Remove the wheels and all associated hardware, attach an "eye" bolt to the front and pile plates into it. Similar to that is the use of the metal or plastic pan of a wheelbarrow. Remove the staves and wheel, attach the "eye" bolt approximately midway on the slanted front surface, load 'er up and pull away. Finally, if most of your pulling is going to be on pavement or a similar hard surface, take an old tire and drill through the tread, to attach the "eye" bolt. Fit a circular or square piece of plywood into the tire, so that the plates won't fall through...a loading post isn't 100 percent necessary but it is nice. This is probably the cheapest sled of all and you have a nasty "friction factor" to overcome as well. (It will really tear up loose dirt and grass, though.) Poly rope, nylon straps or maybe even a water skiing tow rope and you're good to go. More on the cheap sled discussion is here, and the wiki sled pulling page is here. One-Hand Deadlift Handle A special set up for one hand deads is nice but not absolutely necessary. Lately, I've been doing my deads with an exercise bar (non-revolving, so they're a tad easier on the grip.) It is imperative that your grip be centered on the bar and that the movement be done slowly enough so as to not introduce any unnecessary movement to the bar. The difficulty in stabiilizing the bar adds to the grip work. I do them with the bar in front like a conventional dead, with the off hand braced on the thigh and providing some power. I squat down to the weight, so the emphasis is mostly on the legs. You can make a set up similar to mine for about $20. Requires a cable handle (Play It Again Sports - about $12,) a long threaded eyebolt, nut and a LARGE fender washer, (about $6) and a carabiner clip or an "O" fitting (about $1-2) If you use Olympic plates, you'll need a 1 1/4 lb. plate also to bridge the large hole in the Olympic plates. Calf Raise Yoke I was influenced by pictures in the Rader Master Bodybuilding and Weight Gaining Course by Peary Rader. They used to do standing calf work by backing up to what they called the "sliding post" which looked like a long piece of 2x6 that was anchored at a very slight angle to the floor and wall. Then they would simply lean back against the 2x6 and slide up and down against it. Did the same thing for certain types of squats, also. Here's another idea I have worked on for a calf machine. Take the safety bars for your rack and insert one at just above shoulder level. The other goes just above knee level (both on the same side, of course.) Take two pieces of 2x4 that you've drilled a pivot hole through near one end. Fasten these two pieces together with a sturdy crossbar arrangement. (should look like a big "H.") A suitable hook is affixed to the crossbar. Thread this assembly on your top safety bar...dig? This is your yoke. The bottom safety bar uses a doubled length of 2x4 with a hole drilled near each end. One hole is the pivot hole, the other is for the weight holder bar. Dig? Near the weight holder bar is a suitable hook. Thread this on the lower safety bar. A length of chain travels from the top hook arrangement to the bottom hook arrangement. Weights are mounted on the bar and this basically creates a leverage bar for the machine. Dig? Adjust the chain length to suit, shoulder the yoke (suitably padded of course) and do your calf raises. A step up from using the rack to slide against, you've now created the poor man's standing calf machine. Might cost all of twenty dollars. Weighted Dipping Belt Make your own dipping belt...here's the patented, Wicked Willie Cheap Bas..er, uh frugal Person way: Get an old hand towel or small bath towel. Tie a length of cotton clothesline rope on one end. Pass the rope through the barbell plate(s) and tie to the other end of the towel, adjusting the length so that the towel hangs comfortably off your hips, resting centered in your lower back. This will work just as well as a commercial unit...for a short while. Eventually, the sharp edge of the plate(s) hole will cut through the rope. If you have a lifting belt, it's a simple matter to buy some chain at Wal Mart and a clip or two to suspend weights from. Here's more of that discussion. A Poor Man's Hip Belt by Wicked Willie Currently, I'm using a homemade hip belt that consists of the following: A leather weightlifting belt Two equal lengths of chain Two snap boat clips (mine were rated for 350 pounds) Two nylon bushings, two carriage bolts, 6 fender washers and 2 regular washers and two lock washers and nuts Here's how it's assembled. While wearing the belt so that it fit snugly just above my hips, (not at the waist) I marked a point on each side, in line with my hip. I then drilled a 1/2 inch hole at each mark. I fit the nylon bushing in this hole. Taking one of the bolts and hardware...I assembled it in this order: First a regular washer, then the end link of the chain, then a fender washer. I pushed the end of the bolt through the belt and the bushing from the inside. On the outside, I placed a fender washer, the loop from the boat snap clip, another fender washer, a lock washer and finally, the nut. Then I tightened everything down till the lock washer was compressed. I repeated this assembly on the other side. Here's what it should look like and how it's used. When wearing the belt, you should have a length of chain dangling from the inside of the belt. You thread barbell plates onto the chain and then hook a link in the boat snap clip (which is on the outside of the belt.) You should have plates hanging from the chain, which is attached to both sides of the belt, stressing it equally so that the belt doesn't fold over from the weight. Load your left and right side equally, grasp a sturdy upright and squat, while maintaining a very erect posture. You may stand on cinder blocks or benches if you need the height to get sufficient depth, without the plates hitting the floor. With a little work, it is possible to hang the weights at a length which will contact the floor when you reach your desired depth. When the going gets heavy, you'll want to pad underneath the belt with a folded towel. You can do them in any style that you wish. By leaning back, keeping the knees wide and going so deep that you come up on the toes...all of these factors serve to decrease the contribution of the gluteus group and to place the stress on the lower quads and vastus groups. Alternate between flat footed and other styles, occasionally.    IronMind's belt is nearly one hundred dollars with shipping. Mine cost just under thirty nine dollars. (Cheap is good!) So far, it has worked well and allows for reasonably fast plate changes. Poor Man's Reverse Hyper Bench/Spider Rowing Bench Materials needed: Power Rack 1 8-10 ft. 2x6 My power rack is about 44 inches between the uprights. I purchased an 8 ft. piece of 2 X 6 and had it cut in half when I purchased it. Placing the two pieces side by side, you now have a platform that is a little less than 12 inches wide...by about 1/4 to 1/2 inch. Secure the two pieces together using the wood stringers or metal strapping and drywall screws. Now place this assembly in your power rack, resting on the pins , evenly spaced. Mark this location. On the bottom side of the platform (stringer side) mount two of the U shaped conduit straps using the lag screws, at each end of the platform where you marked the pin location. (Your rack pins will pass through these and prevent the platform from moving.) Determine the height that you will use and place the pins at that level, passing them underneath the platform and through the conduit strapping. You should have a nice, strong platform that evenly spans the pins and uprights of your power rack, now. You can do hypers or reverse hypers off this...pad the contact points with an old pillow, blanket, rug or what have you. Some strapping or rope can secure your feet for hypers...none is necessary for reverse hypers, just hold unto the sides of the platform. You can also lay on the length of the platform and do dumbbell or barbell rows.   I haven't weight tested mine yet, but it was easily able to support me while I jumped up and down on it and I weigh just a tad over 200 pounds. I already had some drywall screws and the wood for the stringers...so my total materials bill for this attachment was $6.70 from Lowe's Home Improvement. Assembly time was about twenty minutes or so...spent most of the time trying to find appropriate tools. Deadlift Blocks As in the old Roger Eell's Chest Expanding course...I built a deadlift "hopper," per the diagram Eell copied from Joseph C. Hise. Off the top of my head, I think the dimensions and materials were as follows: 4 4 foot lengths of 2x8 Lay two pieces of 2x8 on top of each other, to form a plank roughly 4 inches thick and 48 inches long. Do the same with the other two. Place these two planks so that 36 inches separates them, at their inside edges. (or the space between your Olympic bar inside collars. You may even wish to load your bar with some plates and then mark where the center point of the plate stack is) Lay the two 2x4s across these planks, one at each end, so that the edge of the 2x4 and the ends of the planks are flush. Now, carefully drill through the 2x4 and the planks, making two evenly spaced holes at each end, for a total of eight holes. Insert the bolts, washers and nuts and tighten everything together. (you may wish to counter sink the hardware) Turn the whole assembly over, so that the 2x4's are on the bottom. The raised 2x8s form a deadlifting platform that has some "spring" to it, since it can flex slightly from resting on the 2x4s. Since you're starting nearly six inches higher, you can use heavier weight. The spring of the platform prevents the "jarring" that is common in the power rach. It also is much kinder to your floors. As my wise friend Dan Martin said, the harmonics are entirely different from what you experience in the rack.  If you really want something different, check out this article for a hopper deadlift apparatus using old wheels and tires. I'm a happy, frugal camper.... Gym Rings  After a recent thread discussing (in part) ring training, Jim C writes, "gym rings can be very easily made from 1" PVC pipe. I heated a couple 26-inch lengths in the oven for 5-minutes at 350 F, then wrapped them around 8-inch diameter iron weight plates (10 pounders). They are cheap and sweet." Home Gym Equipment Made From Wood with Common Hand Tools Recently, my friend Lon Baldridge (Lonster of the IOL) sent me a series of plans for home gym equipment constructed of wood...no welding required. Some of these ideas are pretty creative and all should be within the abilities of anyone that can follow a diagram or has completed a wood working class. I'm happy to post them here, in order to give you information and ideas. (You may have to enlarge them a bit using some type of graphics software, in order to see small details and to easily read text.) This is Lon.  The Complete Home Gym Station  That's what the whole thing looks like...now, let's examine some of the component parts, as well as ideas for additional equipment: Power/Support Rack and Lat Pulldown Attachment  Next, we have the chinning bar supports and the calf machine attachments. (Note: Most of this stuff can very easily be adapted to a commercial power rack, if you have one.) Chinning Bar and Calf Machine Attachments   Following are plans for a fixed incline bench and also an adjustable incline bench. Benches  OK...those five diagrams pretty much cover the home gym station. Now, (in no particular order) are plans for some other pieces of equipment.      (These plans were originally conceived by Peary Rader and offered for sale through Iron Man magazine in the 1960s. If there is any problem with copyright or domain...please contact us and we'll rectify the situation.) Thanks for sharing those plans with us, Lon. For those few "Doubting Thomas" types that may question the strength and integrity of wood equipment - Lon said that his power rack (constructed from these plans) is over twenty years old! Get out that saw and drill and get to work. Another Homemade Power Rack Recently, Plate Loader of the IOL posted pictures of his homemade power cage that was constructed of wood. His was a pretty creative solution that was simple to build and didn't cost a lot - less than $100. (I imagine it could be built for even less with salvaged lumber - Wicked) Here is a picture of the rack and of the dipping bar attachment:   Here's what Plate Loader had to say about its construction: "I made this one out of wood until I could get a commercial rack. It worked so well I ended up keeping it there. I had 465 lbs. across the supports with no creaks or squeaks. The whole thing set me back about $95-$100. It's 2x6s, black 1" pipe and all 1/2" hardware. The pipe is used for chin bar, dip bars and plate holders etc. The removeable supports attached with big wing nuts. The 2nd photo is a close up of the dip bar attachment. You can see the smaller upper supports for squats or overhead presses. Crude but strong - and CHEAP." Step-up box Many if not all of the Home Depot-type places have a panel saw for cutting plywood. In my experience, if you go when it isn't too busy, it's free with a little gratuity. This will do it in nine cuts off a sheet of 3/4" plywood, which with their panel saw will take about five minutes. For those of over 30" inseam: First cut - 12.5"x4' strip Second cut - 18"x4' strip Cut the first srtip into three pieces, 15.25", 15.25", and 17.25" Cut the second strip into three pieces, 12.5", 16", and 16" Trim 3/4" off the 12.5"x18" piece so it's 12.5"x17.25" This will make a 14"x16"x18" box from a half sheet of plywood. For those of less than 30" inseam: First cut - 10"x4' strip Second cut - 14"x4' strip Cut the first strip into three pieces, 13.25", 15.25", and 15.25" Cut the second strip into three, 10", 16", and 16" One extra cut: Trim 3/4" off the 10"x14" piece so it's 10"x13.25" This will make a 11.5"x14"x16" box and takes just a 2'x4' sheet. Glue and screw the piece together, and if you're going to put heavy weight on it, reinforce the joints with some scraps of 2"x2" or something for extra strength. Mike (Plateloader) adds another option: Cut some 1x8 or 1x10 boards to 24" lengths. Drill a hole about an inch in on each end in the same spot. Stack the 24" boards until the height is right. When you stack them up the holes should line up. Cut a dowel to length and slide it through the holes to keep the boards from sliding apart. When you progress, stack a couple of more on top - or if need be take a couple off to lower the height. Three 8-foot boards will give you 18" of height (twelve 24" pieces stacked). They'll cut them for you at Home Depot. Versatile, adjustable. Concrete Tire From Vince over at Vince's Muscle Shop we get easy instructions on how to make a tire filled with concrete for heavy carries.  You don't need the big drill - you can get a cheap 3" hole saw for a regular 3/8" drill. The rubber will grab at the bit, so don't let it torque your arm. A 16" knobby tire would work well and would be over 200. You can also just lay the tire flat and fill up one side of the wheel with concrete. If you are really clever, you could 1/2" x 3" bolts through the lug holes cast into the concrete so the center piece can be removed. You would probably have to lay some padding in first so the concrete does not bond to the steel. Vince's Sumo deadlift shin gliders Vince writes: I made some 3 inch PVC Sumo rollers which made the lift much more efficient. I have been using the correct form for the Sumo, scraping up my shins like all the Westside guys. But scraped shins are not the goal of the lift, just the result. I used my power chop saw to cut 2 pieces of standard 3 inch schedule 20 Home-Depot type PVC pipe to 12-1/2". Then I slipped the PVC over the inside collars of the Olympic bar and moved them out against these collars. With my legs out in the wide Sumo stance the pipe rolls right up my shins. For standard deadlifts I slid the PVC over the inside collars and against the 45's which made the distance between them about 4 inches wider, enough to spread my hands to the outside of my knees. The T-Handle A homemade device that is cheap, easy to make, and very useful; the T-Handle
Last edited by Wicked Willie. Contributors: Laree, Wicked Willie, and ccrow |