DIY Garage Gym Pt.2
My first DIY Garage gym piece was a pull-up bar made of 3 pieces of 1.5" pipe, 2 elbows and 2 floor flanges. Not very technical, not very fancy, but in terms of doing pull-ups it's quite efficient. The unfortunate part is that I'm a bit limited by the exercises I can do with a single purpose pull-up bar. Solution? Build another piece for my garage gym.
Now, I don't have a lot of money or a tonne of know-how when it comes to construction. I need simple and efficient - just like my pull-up bar. I also want something a little more versatile. Recently I bought a used Olympic barbell and 265 lbs worth of weight, so hopefully my new DIY piece will allow me to incorporate that second hand purchase. Given my affinity for squats (despite a bum left knee) the decision is easy: build a dual purpose squat and bench press rack!
What you'll need:
9 - 2x4's (8')
40 - #8 2.5" wood screws
2 - 5 gallon pails
2 - bags of quick setting cement
Obviously you'll need something to cut your 2x4's with. I happen to have a mitre saw. I also needed my reciprocating saw because I salvaged scrap wood from a job site (it was free) and many 2x4's were screwed and/or nailed together.
I cut my wood pieces as follows: 2 @ 66", 2 @ 56", 2 @ 52", 2 @ 42", 2 @ 39". The tallest 3 pieces will vary person to person as our heights are different and this bad boy of a rack isn't adjustable. Also, you'll want to nail the pieces in a staggered height, as follows, from back to front: 66" - 52" - 57" - 39" - 42". Once screwed together you can stand 'em up in your pails and add cement. Let set and cute and ta-da, you have a squat rack and bench press set!
But does it work? After letting the cement dry over night, I decided to give it a whirl before going to bed last night. The results are not surprising because, yes, it worked. Even using scrap wood and having to be creative to get the cuts I wanted, I managed to build a fully functional squat rack.
No money? No problem. This cost me nothing for wood, $12 for a couple 10" bolts (I couldn't screw some pieces together due to wood already being conjoined) and $12 for cement. That's a $24 squat rack that you can build on your own and roll away into a corner when you're done. It also doubles as a place to air out your hockey equipment. Win-win!
Coco out.
Now, I don't have a lot of money or a tonne of know-how when it comes to construction. I need simple and efficient - just like my pull-up bar. I also want something a little more versatile. Recently I bought a used Olympic barbell and 265 lbs worth of weight, so hopefully my new DIY piece will allow me to incorporate that second hand purchase. Given my affinity for squats (despite a bum left knee) the decision is easy: build a dual purpose squat and bench press rack!
What you'll need:
9 - 2x4's (8')
40 - #8 2.5" wood screws
2 - 5 gallon pails
2 - bags of quick setting cement
Doesn't look like much now ...
Obviously you'll need something to cut your 2x4's with. I happen to have a mitre saw. I also needed my reciprocating saw because I salvaged scrap wood from a job site (it was free) and many 2x4's were screwed and/or nailed together.
I cut my wood pieces as follows: 2 @ 66", 2 @ 56", 2 @ 52", 2 @ 42", 2 @ 39". The tallest 3 pieces will vary person to person as our heights are different and this bad boy of a rack isn't adjustable. Also, you'll want to nail the pieces in a staggered height, as follows, from back to front: 66" - 52" - 57" - 39" - 42". Once screwed together you can stand 'em up in your pails and add cement. Let set and cute and ta-da, you have a squat rack and bench press set!
Yes, it's ugly right now. 😒
But does it work? After letting the cement dry over night, I decided to give it a whirl before going to bed last night. The results are not surprising because, yes, it worked. Even using scrap wood and having to be creative to get the cuts I wanted, I managed to build a fully functional squat rack.
My knee hurts, but the rack held!
No money? No problem. This cost me nothing for wood, $12 for a couple 10" bolts (I couldn't screw some pieces together due to wood already being conjoined) and $12 for cement. That's a $24 squat rack that you can build on your own and roll away into a corner when you're done. It also doubles as a place to air out your hockey equipment. Win-win!
Coco out.
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