tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-44281172383578754482024-03-13T22:28:02.594-07:00Homemade StrengthA site dedicated to weight lifting and training from home. You can build your own home gym yourself and make equipment that is stronger than commercial products and a fraction of the cost. Anyone can do it with our free detailed instructions for many different projects.Carl HmShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00174743788837229450noreply@blogger.comBlogger29125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4428117238357875448.post-13864285817294556832015-06-29T16:45:00.000-07:002015-06-29T17:14:11.597-07:00The Big Ass Dumbbell<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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At some point everyone who's is serious about lifting will run into the problem of not being able to find a dumbbell heavy enough for one arm rows. A lot of gyms only carry up to around 130 lb. dumbbells. Some get as high as 200. But unless you're at a legit black iron gym you probably won't even find that. Of course, at homemade strength our gym is our garage, or living room, or backyard. Very few people want a rack of dumbbells in their home.</div>
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They take up way too much space. One solution is adjustable dumbbells. These are notoriously small. You can fit about 80 lbs. on them, and that's assuming you use 25 lb. plates too. This makes them too large in diameter, but still usable. One solution, albeit not the perfect one, is the "Big Ass Dumbbell".
No, I'm not talking about a circus dumbbell that is large in diameter. I'm talking about the design that Matt Kroc came up with. Perhaps you have heard of Kroc rows. These utilize what is more accurately called a "long ass dumbbell". But that doesn't sound as good, nor does it produce as nice an acronym. You can buy these Kroc row bars for a few hundred dollars if you wish, or you could make them yourself. I based my design on the initial description I heard Kroc give in an interview.<br />
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The backbone of this thing is a 1 inch threaded rod. You can find threaded rods in any home improvement store, but not every store has them as large as 1 inch. I'm not sure if Home Depot or Lowes in your area will have them. I got mine at a Midwest store called Menards. They also have them at places like TSC.
You'll also need 4 nuts that match your threaded rod. Then you'll need about a 6 inch length of pipe that fits over the rod. The pipe should also be called "1 inch" because pipe is measured by inner diameter and the rod by outer diameter. Of course the best way to make this all work is to just buy all the materials at one store so you can test fit them before you buy.<br />
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So with you nuts and rod in hand, we can begin assembly. Short lengths of pipe often have threads on each end. This is not ideal but it is what I bought. If you are willing to spend more money buy a longer length of pipe and cut it down so you have an appropriate sized handle with no threads on it. You might think the threads dig into my hands when I use it but they don't. I don't feel them at all so it's not an issue worth fixing for me. But ideally use plain pipe.
You can clean the pipe with a bit of steel wool. You're probably going to use straps, and as such the lack of knurling is irrelevant. however, you can improve the grip with grip tape, or the poor version: masking tape and lifting chalk. I can't see how you wouldn't be using straps when rowing a massive dumbbell like this, for the same reason you use straps with doing shrugs. Although I concede that not everyone shares my views on the proper way to do such movements.<br />
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This project really couldn't be much more simple. you decide how big you want your dumbbell to be and cut your threaded rod to that length. The longer your rod, the more cumbersome it becomes. No matter what, you're going to end up with a dumbbell that needs to be lifted in a slightly different way, because it's simply too long to row in the conventional fashion. It utilizes standard plates (which means they have a one inch hole in the center, as opposed to olympic plates which have a 2 inch hole). If you leave it at 36 inches in length you can cram on enough 5 lb. plates to make it over 200 lbs. This will be of similar diameter to a normal dumbbell. If you use 10 lb. plates you can get it over 300 lbs. This will be slightly large in diameter, but not very much. If you cut it down it wll obviously hold less weight and you'll have to do the math yourself to figure out just how much less.<br />
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Then all you do is slide the pipe over the rod and center it. Screw a nut on each side of the pipe. Your dumbbell is basically done at that point. Load it up with plates and screw a nut on each side again to lock them down. Here's a few extra tips:<br />
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You can get 1 inch spring collar clips. These fit perfectly in the threads of your rod so they will be secure even if you hold the dumbbell in a vertical orientation. Just make sure you have a few inches of rod at each end. You don't want to load it up to maximum capacity and have a spring clip at the very edge of the rod. In those cases, lock it down with a nut. But if you aren't loading it up that much it's a pain to screw the nut on and off. In these cases it's nice to quickly use the spring clips instead.<br />
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If you lock down the two center nuts tightly your handle in the middle won't rotate. If you want it to rotate, simply loosen the two center nuts a tad until it does. In general you do want a dumbbell handle to rotate for the same reason you want a barbell to rotate. If it needs too it will simply spin rather than try to roll out of your hand.<br />
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Because of its size, you have to take a different stance when rowing this thing. First, you need the foot that's on the ground to be a bit further away from the bench. And you need to grip it slightly off center, away from your feet. This is because you need it to be higher towards your head, and lower towards your legs. This thing is so long it will literally be between your legs when you row it. As such you need to be able to touch it to your chest without jacking yourself in the crotch on every rep. This is common sense and mere trial and error will teach you how to use this thing on the first set. Or just watch videos online of people doing "Kroc Rows" if you want to prepare ahead of time.<br />
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And that's pretty much it for this project.Carl HmShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00174743788837229450noreply@blogger.com27tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4428117238357875448.post-18079432497338968372015-03-15T23:14:00.005-07:002015-03-15T23:59:42.704-07:00SnM: Supplements Not Miracles<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Since I am going to be posting several supplement reviews in the near future, I decided to write this precursor to what I will call my SnM series. Because while it may seem obvious when you think about it, most people really believe, or at least suspend their logic so they can proceed to blindly hope, that what they buy at Vitamin Shoppe is going to be their secret pill to massive gains. As if Beta Alanine is the missing ingredient, the reason why you're still benching 175 lbs. for the last three years.<br />
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Before I start let me say this is not an anti-supplement article. I use them everyday. But I am smart about it. I buy what works, make educated decisions, and am not easily fooled by flashy marketing or obviously false promises.<br />
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Nevertheless, I get it. Everyone wants that miracle drug. We all want to put on 20 lbs. of muscle this year. We want to lose 50 lbs. of fat without restricting calorie intake. Infomercials have been preying on this for decades, and most of the fitness industry is based on this powerful desire. We want these things so badly that we suspend our rational thinking every time something new comes out. Oh yeah, that Ab rocker didn't work but the Ab BLASTER is totally going to get me ripped. But if you do just a little research you can see that the people having success are all doing the same basic things. They might frost it differently, but they're all using a very similar cake recipe and baking it in the oven for a similar amount of time.<br />
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What you have to realize with supplements is that anything that is super effective is going to attract the attention of "the man", in this case big pharmaceutical companies. Anything that really works the way you want it to work, which is to say like a potent drug, is going to get restricted, classified as a drug, and handed over to Big Pharma to either package and sell (which will require a prescription and all that nonsense) or just locked away so they don't have competition. Whether or not it is safe no longer matters, it's just about money and control. So for this very basic reason, a supplement is never going to be drug-like in effect, which is to say, significantly potent. And if it is, it won't be around for long. You must keep that in mind when choosing to buy a new product.<br />
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This doesn't mean supplements don't work. It just means that an herbal libido enhancer or test booster isn't Viagra, not even close. In all likelihood it won't do anything very noticeable, and it certainly won't raise your test like stee-roids. Pre-workouts are not methamphetamine. Stimulants are actually the most effective supplements in terms of doing what they say they will do. But they aren't cocaine. As said, when something halfway decent comes along and gets popular the FDA bans it for being "unsafe."<br />
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Which leads to the title of this article. These are supplements, not miracles. Their effect is not going to be huge. And if you have other aspects of your life off point the supplement might not do anything at all in terms of getting you positive benefit in your muscle building endeavors. Which brings me to the second point.<br />
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You know what's more important than a pre-workout? Sleep. You know what else is more important than caffeine? Calories. If you're sleeping 6 hours a night and eating 1500 calories a day you are compromising your strength in the gym and you're not going to build much muscle, if any. A pre-workout, which is often just a glorified cup of coffee, isn't going to change that.<br />
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By the same token, if you're not sleeping, and not eating enough fat, and you're depressed because you hate your job, an herbal test booster isn't going to give you a raging hard on. But you know what might? Sleeping 10 hours a night, eating the materials your body needs to make the hormones you need, and fixing your life so you don't hate waking up everyday.<br />
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You can't make a cake using only frosting. You have to make the cake first, then worry about frosting it. Supplements aren't going to fix you. Used properly they might slightly enhance you if you're doing the basics right already. This being true, you can imagine that most of the stuff in a Vitamin Shoppe probably isn't all that useful. I don't want to make this a "what supplements should I take" article, but what is useful?<br />
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<b>Creatine Monohydrate</b> - We know it works. There's no debating. But what it actually does is something a lot of people don't know. They think it "builds muscle" and "adds strength" because that's what the label says. What it does is saturates your muscles with ATP. This is the energy you use when you lift weights. So the end result is that you can perform longer (get more reps) and recover faster (less rest between sets). This is good, obviously. It's more fuel. This doesn't mean it "builds more muscle" though. It is still something you should take and it's dirt cheap.<br />
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<b>Omega 3s</b> - These are anti-inflammatory fats. Whether or not you get them from fish oil is up to you. Fish oil is the common way to supplement them. They counteract omega 6s, of which modern food is loaded. So chances are you're eating too much 6s and not enough 3s. That's why it's beneficial to supplement omega 3s with fish oil.<br />
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<b>Vitamins and minerals</b> - there are too many here to list. It's a hornets' nest to sort out. There is research to suggest that we don't get enough of anything from our foods, and apparently being deficient in one of these is theoretically devastating. There are things like Magnesium and Vitamin D that you don't want to be deficient in, but almost certainly are if you are not supplementing them.<br />
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However the same can probably be said for everything. As such I'm not getting into it. There's too much here. Take a multivitamin that probably doesn't have enough of these things anyway, and who knows how much gets absorbed. I'm just not going to touch this topic because it's too messy and I don't have the answers. You could spend a fortune supplementing quality forms of all the vitamins and minerals you need so you'll have to make your own decisions here.<br />
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<b>Protein</b> - Whether it comes in bar, powder, pre-mixed liquid, or some other delivery system, protein is food, and it's necessary for muscle gains. Do you need to supplement it instead of just eating food from the grocery store? That's up to you. It depends on what you eat from the grocery store. Protein supplements definitely have their use.<br />
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<b>Stimulants</b> - we know for a fact that stimulants work. Caffeine is obviously the big one but there are definitely other things that increase your energy. However, there's also a lot of fluff that isn't really going to do anything. It's always a good idea to simply try caffeine pills at $3 a bottle first instead of going for C4 or Jack3d. Chances are the biggest factor in your preworkout is caffeine, and caffeine is cheap. There are definitely more stimulants than caffeine, although most companies don't really use them.<br />
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There are also other compounds that have use pre-workout that aren't necessarily stimulants. There's Beta Alanine, for example. Taken in a high enough dose, it makes your skin tingly / itchy. This makes you want to get up and move around, so in that regard it serves a purpose. In my experience it doesn't last particularly long, but it's a nice effect.<br />
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<b>Pain Killers</b> - reducing pain and inflammation is a good thing. There's no debating the efficacy of such drugs. Of course, they are only useful if you are actually hurting.<br />
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<b>Vasodilators</b> - which is to say things that make your veins bigger to move more blood. In other words, pump products. Again the effect is cool. Whether or not it results in any increase in strength or muscle gain is up for debate. And that brings me to another point.<br />
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The Placebo Effect is real, and taking something because you believe it works is a valid strategy. Taking something that produces a desirable immediate effect is also legit, if you think it's cool and it makes you feel good about yourself. It might not result in getting bigger and stronger, though. So as long as you are cool with that, then it's all good.<br />
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That's hardly a comprehensive list but it's most of the broad strokes. But the bigger point is that even when supplements work acutely, which means an effect in this moment, what effect does this have in the long term goal? Are you going to be bigger and stronger in two years because you took that pump product, compared to if you hadn't taken it? Maybe that test booster does acutely raise your test levels a bit, but does that mean you build more muscle as a result? Maybe the pre-workout got you psyched to go lift for a 5 lb. PR that one time, but does that mean you put on an extra pound of muscle that month? And perhaps creatine allowed you to bang out 2 extra reps each week, but what long term affect does that have? Can you even measure it, and better yet, can you notice it without sensitive measuring devices?<br />
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The fact is, if you have everything on point, supplements might add a tiny amount of actual measurable progress over the long term. But most average people don't have everything on point. And these people would be far better off fixing their diet, sleep, training, and attitude. This isn't to say that supplements don't work if you're not already perfect. They can certainly take you from shit show to immeasurably less of a shit show. But most often people go in with stupid expectations, see nothing of the effect they were looking for, and just end up wasting their money. They then proceed to buy more and more ridiculous products in their effort to find the holy grail of gains. Illegal Anabolics are the holy grail of gains. So unless you're willing to do that, stop looking for magic in a jar and get your shit in order.<br />
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Sleep 8 to 10 hours a night. Yeah, you want to put 8 hours as the ceiling, I consider it the floor. If you're lifting in a brutal fashion, and working full time, you should be pretty damn tired, so sleep instead of checking facebook for 2 hours a night.<br />
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Eat enough food, dammit. You know how it's enough? You'll gain weight. If you're not gaining weight, you're not gaining muscle. So unless you're already ripped, siting at your desired body weight, you're probably looking to build more muscle. You're going to hit a hard wall if you try to build strength without adding muscle mass. Obviously there are mechanisms for this to happen but it's really better off done at two points in time: Your first few months of training ever, and after you've reached your desired lean body weight. Otherwise you're better served by actually building new lean tissue, which requires that you gain body weight. So if you're not gaining weight you're not eating enough, in general. And I don't care how many calories you eat, or whether or not you think that it's a lot of food. Bar don't lie, and scale don't either. Small and weak? then eat more, and stop whining about how hard it is, genius. Actually, I don't care if you whine or not, as long as you eat more you'll see them gains.<br />
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Eat enough protein. I'm not going to debate what's enough. 0.8 grams per lb. of body weight is the minimum. It's what science seems to say will max out your muscle building endeavors. So I'm going to put that as the minimum recommended figure. Going less than this is dumb because studies show that you are giving up gains when you do it. There is nothing negative that comes from eating more protein so there really isn't any practical ceiling. I like the 1.5 grams per lb. of body weight but I concede that it might be a bit high. I think 1 gram per lb. is a good starting point in general.<br />
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Don't be a sad cunt, as Zyzz would say. Emotional stress has profound effects on the body. How motivated are you going to be to go to the gym when you hate your job? If you struggle to get out of bed because you spend 1/3 of your life doing something you dread, that stress is going to leak into the rest of your life. Now maybe this makes you mad and actually want to go to the gym, but maybe it makes you depressed. If so then that is going to fuck up your gains, even if you do manage to train well. Short term physiological stress is what makes the body grow, but prolonged psychological stress is not a good thing. In other words, find a way to enjoy your life. You can't be sad 8 hours a day and expect positive things to result. At the very least get pissed and use that energy to lift heavy things after work. Anger is always better than sadness. Sad cunts make no gains, angry people do. Happy people do too. My point is that there is a tipping point on the emotional scale, below which you can kiss your gains goodbye, if you stay there chronically. Sounds dumb, I know, but it's true. But if you can stay pissed off or better you're probably good to go.<br />
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Once again I'll reiterate that I am not trying to knock all supplements, just wanting you to put things in perspective, because they are supplements, not miracles. A stimulant based fat burner is not going to burn off 1000 calories in a day for you. It's going to burn off a very small amount, and maybe suppress your appetite, as stimulants tend to do. It's still up to you to not eat that damn Big Mac. You have to do the basics, you have to intake less energy, or you're not going to lose fat. It's not rocket science and your problem isn't a lack of pills. Conversely if you aren't gaining weight you need to eat more and lift more. If you want those calories to come from Serious Mass then so be it but your issue isn't a lack of supplements, it's a lack of food.<br />
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With all that being said, you can expect a few supplement reviews in the near future. I plan to review several Chaos and Pain brand supplements, starting with their pre-workouts Ferox and Aggro, as well as their test booster, Cannibal Alpha. And probably their upcoming sleep aid Hypnos, and perhaps their pump product Permaswole. Yeah, it's all CnP stuff for now because they are an awesome company, and I can't very well review basic stuff like creatine and multivitamins and protein powder, right? Just go buy Vitamin Shoppe brand or whatever is cheapest and tastes good to you.<br />
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I just wanted to throw this article out there first. Supplements are not miracles, and the sooner you learn that the better. Also understanding that, unlike in the past, modern supplements are far less drug-like than most of us want them to be. And understanding this will put you in a better position to make wise decisions. This doesn't mean you don't buy any supplements, it just means you understand what you are buying so that you can buy what you can use instead of buying some dream in a bottle that never pans out.<br />
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Now if you're not willing to do what it takes then that's fine, but save your money if that's the case. Because supplements aren't going to make up for chronic lack of sleep and food. And you would be better off spending that $40 on chicken and a comfortable pillow instead of going to GNC.Carl HmShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00174743788837229450noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4428117238357875448.post-78435378626955443342015-03-08T13:40:00.002-07:002015-03-15T21:15:35.536-07:00Quest Chips Review<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: right;">
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When Quest chips came out I was definitely interested in trying them. But I didn't want to order a few bags online and no stores near me had them. However, the other day I went into Vitamin Shoppe and they had them, so I picked up one of each flavor. In the interest of putting out some useful but non-labor intensive content, I decided to do a review of them for you guys.</div>
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I remember when Quest first started releasing products. They only had a few flavors of protein bars. I got a free sample, and like most people, enjoyed them. I never bought a Quest bar because at the end of the day they cost over 10 cents per gram of protein. It's not ridiculous compared to other ready to consume animal based protein products, but it's still expensive.<br />
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Quest chips currently come in 5 flavors: Plain (salt), Sour Cream and Onion, Salt and Vinegar, Cheddar and Sour Cream, and BBQ. Before I review the taste, let me get to the things that are the same for every flavor.<br />
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<b>TEXTURE</b><br />
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To call these "chips" in America might not be the most technically accurate description. Most people are going to think potato or corn chips. These are closer to crackers in my opinion. They are very light and airy, not greasy in the least. and have the texture of a super light saltine cracker.<br />
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They have a good initial crunch to them and no bad aftertaste. There is a point while you're chewing that you become aware that you are not eating a typical cracker or chip. Grainy is the word I want to use but might not be the best choice. On the plain chip it's unpleasant to me, but on the flavored ones, particularly the flavors I like, this seems to disappear.<br />
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<b>NUTRITION</b><br />
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The macros on these are pretty good. They all have 120 calories and 21 grams of protein per bag. The protein is from whey. They have numerous other ingredients depending on the flavor, and it's no surprise that the flavors with the longer lists of ingredients tend to taste most like their potato based friends. They have no soy protein in them and only 5 grams of carbs. The size of the bag is comparable to any small sized one serving bag of chips.<br />
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<b>TASTE</b><br />
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This is subjective, of course. And I have to say that I tested them plain, like you would snack on chips. You can also add them to chili or soup, which makes them much better.<br />
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The <b>Plain</b> chips are unpleasant to me. It ultimately tastes like a saltine cracker but as I mentioned there is a point when you're chewing that isn't great to me. I personally would not buy this flavor again.<br />
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I was expecting the <b>Sour Cream and Onion</b> to be quest chips with that awesome pringles seasoning on it. I can literally lick that stuff off of pringles it's so good. Unfortunately what you get is more like Onion chips. The onion flavor is there, but not much else. They are still much better than the plain. But once again I wouldn't buy these, they are not flavored like normal sour cream and onion chips are.<br />
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<b>BBQ</b> has an initial nice barbecue flavor, but it fades quickly and you're still left with that mealy not so great mess in your mouth before you swallow. Once again not as bad as the plain flavor but basically on par with the sour cream and onion in terms of my taste. I wouldn't buy these again either.<br />
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<b>Salt and Vinegar</b> is a flavor that not everyone likes. I personally love Buffalo Wild Wings Salt and Vinegar chicken wings. These chips, however, I do not like. The vinegar gives the flavor a little staying power but there's still that mid point where it's not so pleasant. I wouldn't buy these again either.<br />
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<b>Cheddar and Sour Cream</b> was the first flavor I tried where I wanted more when the bag was empty. It tastes just like it's potato based brethren. These were good, and if I was going to buy more quest chips I would definitely get this flavor.<br />
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So in review, just based on enjoyment of eating them I would buy Cheddar and Sour Cream, but not any of the other flavors. If I wanted 20 grams of lean protein in a convenient form immediately I would buy a quest bar long before I forced myself to eat one of the 4 disliked flavors of chips. But like I said, the Cheddar was so good I actually wanted more when the bag was done, just like regular potato chips. i could snack on those just the same and rack up 100 grams of protein and minimal calories if I was so inclined and I liked to burn money like Quincey C. Fancypants.<br />
<br />
<b>VALUE</b><br />
<br />
The value isn't non-existent, but it's an expensive product. Just the same as a quest bar, or other protein bar, or pre-mixed shake. You're paying $2.50 for 21 grams of protein. That is 4 to 5 times the price of protein powder.<br />
<br />
This doesn't mean they have no use, it just means that in terms of price per nutrition it's not very good. But it is a bag of chips. So if you're using it to diet it might help you feel better than a protein shake. Or it might make you want another bag. But then again it's basically just protein with a tiny bit of carbs so that's not necessarily a bad thing. If it keeps you out of the pringles can and away from the donuts then maybe that's worth it. It's not cheap though.<br />
<br />
I personally don't have issue losing weight. I'm usually on a bulk because I suck at eating enough. As such cramming in extra protein is useful to me, but by the same token if I'm eating 4000 calories a day, getting enough protein shouldn't be a problem anyway. For that reason I just don't see myself buying these. They are too expensive and I just don't need them.<br />
<br />
But for what it's worth the Cheddar and Sour Cream get my seal of approval, if I had one, which I don't. Everyone's taste is different though. But if you feel like you could use these chips and you're okay with the price then try them out.Carl HmShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00174743788837229450noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4428117238357875448.post-2258254319858496262014-12-31T10:44:00.000-08:002015-03-15T21:24:17.532-07:00How much money do I need for food?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://homemadestrength.blogspot.com/2014/12/how-much-money-do-i-need-for-food.html" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KK1B1VVHawU/VQZZKVf1lqI/AAAAAAAAAu4/Yoq2r9FgQJI/s1600/groc-post-temp.png" /></a></div>
I have already made a similar article to this, which you can check out <a href="http://homemadestrength.blogspot.com/2012/03/foods-to-eat-to-build-muscle-on-budget.html"><span style="color: #cc0000;">here</span></a>. However, this one is going to be more focused on the hard limits of how cheap you can make your diet, and how it becomes exponentially harder to eat all your food when you approach the extreme end of low cost dieting. I'm well aware that most people who visit this site are looking for ways to save money. That's basically the whole premise of what we do here.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<i><span style="color: #3d85c6;">This article has been sitting in draft for months, if not years. I forgot I even wrote it. And upon discovering it I decided I might as well release it. It is, perhaps a little rough, and I'm not bothering to put in pictures, or to flesh it out further. I believe I was going to talk about supplements as well but that will have to be for another time. I've got some new supplement review articles coming in the next few months, after I give them all a good testing. I'm waiting for Rogue to re-stock their bare steel Ohio Power Bars, and then I'll pick one up, literally, and let you know what I think of it. I don't have any new projects because I simply don't need anything else at the moment. So that's what's in the works.</span></i><br />
<br />
The cost of food is something many people don't pay much attention to when thinking about sports or bodybuilding. But it's really no different than buying any other luxury item. If you want to upgrade your house you're going to have to buy the materials and labor to do so. And while we always think about the labor it takes to upgrade our body, the cost of the materials is often overlooked. You already have to eat to survive. But if you want to eat to be strong, it's going to cost you more. Many people find that it costs quite a bit more. Even if you eat the cheapest foods available it's still going to cost something.<br />
<br />
My hard answer to the question, "how much do i need to spend on food?" is $120 a month if you're a small guy. Since protein is the most costly nutrient, the bigger you are, the more you need, and the more you will spend. Calories, in general, are cheap. When I say you need $120 that doesn't mean that is the ideal amount. It is the absolute rock bottom amount. It is the point where if you don't have that much I will tell you to devote all your time to getting it before you worry about going to the gym. If you can't pay for gas, you don't need a car. This is the price of admission. It's the worst seat in the stadium. But if you don't have that minimum amount to spend you don't even have to worry about the game because you're not getting in anyway.<br />
<br />
<b><span style="color: orange;">PROTEIN</span></b><br />
<br />
Protein is the raw material from which your body will build new useful tissue. The question isn't do you need protein but how much protein do you need. I think people will fight forevermore with that topic. We can all agree that there is a minimum amount of protein needed, and if you go below this you are definitely fucking up your progress in the gym. As to what that limit is, I don't think we will ever all agree. However, since this is an article discussing budget let's be conservative and take a lower end figure as our mark.<br />
<br />
There have been studies that basically conclude that anything above 0.8 grams of protein per lb. of lean body mass is "excessive." Now this doesn't mean it's useless. What they are saying is that it won't produce more protein synthesis, and thus translate into more muscle. To make things easier, let's forget about the lean mass part of the equation. I will assume you're not obese and thus it won't make a huge deal. So let's say 0.8 grams of protein per lb. of bodyweight is our mark. I'm not saying this is correct. I'm not saying that more protein won't build more muscle. But for the purpose of this article, let's assume that's true. This is what the studies say. And the biggest limiting factor with protein is that it is the most expensive macro nutrient. So if you're really trying to keep costs down you have to keep your protein down as well.<br />
<br />
The following are the cheapest sources of protein. Most of them are not lean since it usually costs the same or less to get fat with your protein it simply becomes cost effective to do so. That way you don't also have to spend more money to get your dietary fat, which is necessary, just so you know.<br />
<br />
<b>Frozen Ground Turkey</b><br />
At Aldi, this costs $1.70 a lb. It is not lean. It has 17g of fat and 17g of protein per 4 oz. This comes out to $0.63 for 25g of protein and you get 25g of fat to go with it.<br />
<br />
<b>Fresh Chicken Breast</b><br />
This often gets to $2 a lb. and sometimes a bit lower. i've seen it as low as $1.70. However, I'll use $2 a lb. as the figure because that is common enough to get without too much trouble. You do have to buy the family size but it freezes well so there's no issue there. This is a lean source but you can always add butter to bring the fat up for a fair comparison to fatty meats. 4oz. will have 25g of protein and a few grams of fat at the most. It will cost about $0.50. If you want to add butter to get the fat up to 25g (for the sake of comparison) it would cost $0.66.<br />
<br />
<b>Eggs</b><br />
The price of eggs can fluctuate throughout the year. There was a period of time when they were under a dollar a dozen in my area last year. Aldi is generally the cheapest place for eggs. They seem to be predictably around $1.80 a dozen so that's the figure I'll use. 4 eggs will give you 24g protein and 20g of fat for $0.58.<br />
<br />
<b>Whole Milk</b><br />
Milk is usually a little cheaper than this but you can get it all day long, any day of the week for $3 a gallon so that's the figure I'll use. 24oz will get you 24g of protein 24g of fat, and 36g of carbs for $0.60. Since whole milk is not more expensive than skim milk you might as well get the free fat/calories if you need them.<br />
<br />
<b>Pinto Beans</b><br />
These cost about 90 cents a lb. if you buy the dry beans. 1 1/2 cups of cooked beans will get you 24g protein, 42g of carbs, minimal fat, and 24g of fiber for $0.45.<br />
<br />
<b>Whey Protein Powder</b><br />
I get mine from TrueNutrition.com. I am partial to the plain unsweetened, unflavored variety. I typically get whatever is the cheapest whey at the time. I don't care how much fat or carbs is in the mix. I just factor in the cost of protein per serving of 25 grams of protein. Remember that some products have less than 25g of protein per "serving" so you have to do the math and make things equal to get the real story. The nice thing is, TrueNutrition has the nutrition facts for every product right there so you can figure out exactly how much it costs. And the protein at TrueNutrition is always 15 servings per lb. There are no gimmicks or games. So if one whey blend has 19g of protein per scoop, and another has 24, simply multiply each by 15 to find out how many grams of protein you get in a lb. of the stuff. Then divide the cost of 1 lb. by the number of grams of protein. Then, if you want, multiply the result by 25, and that will tell you how much 25g of protein costs. Hypothetical example:<br />
<br />
19g of protein per serving, cost per lb. $8.50.<br />
19 multiplied by 15 = 285g of protein per lb.<br />
$8.50 divided by 285 = 0.0298 (basically 3 cents) per gram of protein<br />
0.0298 multiplied by 25 = 0.7456 (75 cents) for 25g of protein.<br />
<br />
This is completely hypothetical, I pulled the 19 grams and $8.50 figures out of my ass. This, of course, doesn't factor in shipping charges, so how ever much shipping is, divide that evenly among how many lbs. you are ordering. If shipping was $20 and you were ordering 20 lbs. add $1 to the cost of each lb. then do the calculations above. But if you're debating which type of protein to get, you don't have to factor in shipping to do that comparison. If both proteins have the same amount of protein per serving you don't have to do any math at all.<br />
<br />
In any case, I've rambled longer than I intended there. Whey protein typically costs around 50 to 70 cents for 25 grams. It really depends on the source and how much you order. This makes it comparable to the foods listed above. However, it is also a lean source. As such, i wouldn't necessarily use it as a main source of nutrition. But it does have its place as a convenience food. And it's certainly cheap enough to use on a budget. But it's definitely not necessary.<br />
<br />
Notes about these foods:<br />
First, this obviously isn't a comprehensive list of protein. I tried to include only the cheapest options. I daresay I've missed some. I'm thinking at the right time of year pork roasts could get very economical. You also have to factor in the bone weight. That's an experiment I haven't run yet so I can't say for sure how they compare. The price often gets down close to $1 per lb. so I'm going to unofficially say it would be comparable, if not cheaper than the sources listed above.<br />
<br />
Also, people often talk about beans as though they are dirt cheap. In fact, they are not much cheaper than any of the other sources listed above. So if you like beans, that's cool, but you're not saving a lot of money compared to milk, eggs, chicken, or turkey. However, it should be noted that beans have a lot of fiber, which ultimately limits how much you can eat since you don't want your fiber to be insanely high. Beans also have carbs, but most of the other protein sources have fat, which beans do not. So in a comparison of calories it's basically a wash. 100 calories of carbs costs about 5 to 10 cents. 100 calories of a decent fat, like butter, costs about 8 cents. And it's worth noting that dry beans require you to soak them, then cook them. And sometimes you still don't get every single bean properly cooked. It's annoying to bite into a crumbly half cooked bean. Maybe I just suck at cooking them, but I don't care to use them as a main food source since they aren't that much cheaper anyway.<br />
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<b><span style="color: orange;">FAT</span></b><br />
<br />
Like it or not, you do need some fat. Most people will recommend between 50 and 100 grams a day. I don't think there's anything particularly wrong with going higher but you really don't want to go too low. If you are efficient you should just choose sources of protein that already have fat. That way, by the time you get your protein requirements you'll also have enough fat. As such, I don't really give too much though to fat since I don't seek out lean sources of protein. But if it was an issue, butter is about the cheapest source of decent fat that I know of. It costs about 8 cents for 11g of fat (100 calories). There are, of course, other sources of fat like avocados and coconut oil and all that, but that is starting to get into "health food" territory. Since this is about budget dieting, you should just piggyback your fat onto your protein and thus spend no extra money on fat.<br />
<br />
However, you should understand that many other cheap sources of calories often have bad fats (vegetable oils) and you could rack up a considerable amount of fat that way, so that is something to keep an eye on. Ramon Noodles, for example, do have 14g of fat mostly from vegetable oils in one package.<br />
<br />
<span style="color: orange;"><b>CALORIES</b></span><br />
<span style="color: orange;"><b><br /></b></span>
I say calories instead of carbs because once protein and fat are squared away that's all that really matters. We can endlessly complicate and refine, but that is beyond the scope of this article. Carbs are by far the cheapest source of calories. So in theory you would get your needed protein and fat and then use the rest of your calories on carbs. That would be the cheapest way to approach it. I'm not saying I endorse this method, so keep reading for the full story, and the ultimate point of this article.<br />
<br />
<b>Ramon Noodles</b><br />
I'm starting with this for two reasons. It is the poster boy for cheap food, although it's not as cheap as it used to be. And most people trying eat on a budget have had this before so they have an idea of the serving size. One packet is 380 calories. I don't consider protein from these kinds of sources to be of good quality so I don't count it. Ramon also has 14g of fat per package so that's worth noting (it's vegetable oil so not good).At Aldi you can get a 12 pack box for $2.10. This comes out to 2,171 calories per dollar.<br />
<br />
<b>Pasta</b><br />
Pasta is pretty much 89 cents a lb. but if you buy it from Aldi in a 2 lb. box it's only $1.50. This comes out to 2,133 calories per dollar. And you also don't get all the fat from vegetable oil, like with Ramon noodles.<br />
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<b>White Rice</b><br />
20 lb. bags of this can be had for $11 any day of the week at my local Meijer, which is a big chain grocery store. This equates to 2,948 calories per dollar.<br />
<br />
<b>Homemade Biscuits</b><br />
One of the easiest recipes ever. It's essentially flour, butter, salt, baking powder, and water or milk. It comes out to about 2,050 calories per dollar.<br />
<br />
<b>Kool-Aid</b><br />
If you buy the generic packets at aldi you get 20 for $1.50. If you mix it to full strength it takes 1 cup of sugar, 1 flavor packet, and 2 liters of water. This will cost 29 cents and have about 100 calories per 8oz. Compare this to soda and premixed artificial juices. It's 1/3 of the price. This comes out to 2,670 calories per dollar. I personally like lemonade mixed to half strength, which means makes double the amount but gives half the calories per glass, of course. My main use for this is to add whey powder and make a protein shake.<br />
<br />
<b>Cookies</b><br />
As far as junk food goes duplex sandwich cookies (generic Oreos, usually with a vanilla cookie on one side and chocolate on the other) are the cheapest source of calories I've yet to find. At Walmart a pack is $1.40 which makes them 2,428 calories per dollar. They do, however, have 2.33 grams of fat (vegetable oil) per cookie.<br />
<br />
Notes about these foods:<br />
Clearly I'm not going to list every possible cheap source of calories. We can see a general pattern developing. 2000 to 3000 calories per dollar is approaching the limit of how cheap you can make things in the average non-city locale in the U.S. This bring us to the main points of this article.<br />
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<b><span style="color: orange;">PRACTICAL APPLICATION</span></b><br />
<b><span style="color: orange;"><br /></span></b>
Let's say you're 150 lbs. By our low standards that means you'll want at least 120 grams of protein per day. Looking at the foods above we can see that a 25 gram serving of quality protein is costing about 60 cents. Since you'll want 5 of those a day (not that I'm saying you need to split it that way) you'll spend $3 just on your protein. If you chose wisely you should be able to get your 50 to 100 grams of fat from that as well. So then this, in theory, just leaves calories left. Best case scenario, you got about 1400 calories from your fat and protein intake.<br />
<br />
How many calories you need is an individual thing. For our hypothetical situation let's just say you need 4,000 a day to fuel your progress in the gym. I'm not saying YOU need this much. You need however much it takes to gain weight at a rate that you feel is appropriate. In any case, it won't effect the bottom line too much since cheap calories are cheap.<br />
<br />
In this scenario you would need an additional 2600 calories. The absolute cheapest, that I've found, would be rice, at 2900 calories per dollar. But let's just take an average from all those cheap foods. The average is 2,352 calories per dollar. So you would spend $1.10 to get your 2600 calories. This brings your daily total to $4.10.<br />
<br />
Keep in mind this is the theoretical absolute cheapest you could make things, on average. This requires you to eat the cheapest protein, which isn't too big a deal because there are multiple sources. And even harder is the fact that it requires you to eat only the cheapest sources of calories: pasta, rice, and other flour/sugar based items.<br />
<br />
Yet the hardest aspect of this is the fact that 2600 calories of these cheap foods is quite a bit of food. To give you an idea, this is what 2600 calories of each food amounts to:<br />
<br />
46 "oreo" cookies<br />
13 cups of cooked rice<br />
About 13 biscuits<br />
Just shy of 7 packs of Ramon Noodles<br />
728g (dry) of pasta, this is the (volume) equivilant of 8.5 packs of cooked Ramon<br />
<br />
4000 calories of any food is going to be "a lot" for most people in a day. However, variety is the key that makes such a thing moderately easy. If you opt for only the cheapest food sources things become much more difficult. Because while you may be able to eat 2600 extra calories, in addition to your meat and dairy, you might not be able to eat 13 cups of rice, or 7 packs of Ramon, or nearly 2 lbs. of pasta (dry weight). So that is definitely something to keep in mind.<br />
<br />
Of course, not everyone needs 4000 calories a day. just because that is what I seem to need at the time, even when pretty sedentary, doesn't mean that's what you need. Maybe you need 3000. It seems like some people need even less. Who are the lucky ones? The guys who "get to" eat 5000 calories a day, or the guys who "don't have to" eat but 2500 calories. The answer is, whichever one you're not, it seems. As they say, the grass isn't greener on the other side, it's green where you water it. In any case, if you need less calories you'll need to eat less food, and thus it will cost less money. But it won't cost that much less, since 75% of our budget goes to protein anyway. And as you get bigger and heavier you'll need more protein, and thus your cost will go up.<br />
<br />
But the main point of this article is the most obvious.<br />
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<b><span style="color: orange;">YOU STILL NEED MONEY</span></b><br />
<b><span style="color: orange;"><br /></span></b>
You can't just go to the gym, eat like a normal skinny kid, and expect to turn into Thor. $4 a day doesn't sound like much, but it's all relative. A strong, aesthetic, functional body is not free. You have to properly nourish yourself. This article talks nothing about health and micro nutrients. I've said nothing about vegetables, fruits, or supplements yet. Just talking on a macro nutrition scale you need a bare minimum of $112 a month for food, assuming you are going for 125g protein and 4000 calories a day. Unless you are particularly small, your protein needs aren't going to be much less than that. Your calorie needs might be a bit lower but that will save you what, 50 cents a day? Fair enough, maybe you only need $100 a month right now, but as your protein needs go up as you grow the food bill will also grow soon enough.<br />
<br />
Since you're on Homemade Strength I'm going to assume there's a good change you don't have a gym membership. That saves you money. Still your time is wasted if you don't properly feed yourself. there's no point in having a car if you can't afford gas. Weight lifting is not free. Growing big and strong is not free. It's going to cost you money to build the body you want. Of course it costs everyone to simply stay alive but it costs even more if you want to "upgrade" your body into the beast that it can become. Although I'm calling $120 a month the starting point, that doesn't mean it's "good" or ideal. It is simply theoretically possible. You can purchase enough calories and protein to see progress in the gym with that amount of money, depending on where you live, of course.<br />
<br />
So if you can't come up with that much money, your first step is to find a way to do that.<br />
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<b><span style="color: orange;">Disclaimer:</span></b><br />
<b><span style="color: orange;"><br /></span></b>
Let me clarify that I do not subscribe to this way of eating. I'm currently getting over double the protein that those studies recommend a day. At this moment, I've got about 10 lbs. of whey in the cupboard, over 20 lbs. of chicken wings plus whole chicken in the freezer. There is literally no room to fit anything more in there. Not to mention a 14 lb. turkey in the fridge; and the holidays are over so that's not for the family. Clearly I'm not trying to skimp by on minimal protein. But nevertheless the studies say what they say. I'm just being candid. This article was a theoretical analysis, not necessarily a recommendation, and certainly not a description of my diet.<br />
<br />
I'm simply making the point that if you are literally scrapping by, eating on $20 a week, and trying to get swole, it's probably not going to happen. As I said, make it $30 a week and you can play the game. But more is better, and ideally I'd like to recommend more like $75. This is a lot if you're pulling in, say $1600 a month, which isn't uncommon these days. But you better have your priorities in order before you start bitching about this. If you don't have $300 for good food you don't have $5 for a caramel macchiato everyday. And you certainly don't have $500 to early upgrade your iphone 5 to an iphone 6, as if anyone else gives a shit about your phone. Of course, not everyone strapped for cash is making bad choices. But math remains a cruel whore, and unfortunately the price is non-negotiable.<br />
<br />
Until next time,<br />
<br />
-CarlCarl HmShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00174743788837229450noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4428117238357875448.post-65406904799734083222012-10-06T08:35:00.003-07:002015-03-15T21:26:05.142-07:00My Pull Up Bar<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="http://homemadestrength.blogspot.com/2012/10/my-pull-up-bar.html" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-HGiAxQJJYQ0/VQZbLIFc1YI/AAAAAAAAAvE/bnyJ_yEbgF0/s1600/pullup-post-temp.png" /></a></div>
There are dozens of different ways to mount of pull up bar. It's a project that's really unique to your situation so there's no way to give a design that everyone can use. That's why I haven't done a project for it yet even though it's a very important piece of lifting equipment. But I finally decided to just shoot a quick video showing you what I did to install a pull up bar in my home gym.<br />
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<a name='more'></a><br />
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<b style="color: orange;">Cost: </b>$15<br />
<b style="color: orange;">Project time:</b> a few minutes<br />
<b><span style="color: orange;">Difficulty:</span></b> You can get the store to cut the pipe if you need to, so all you really have to do is drill out a hole in the wood and screw them into the wall. Very easy.<br />
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<b style="color: orange;">Tools Needed:</b><br />
<ul>
<li><b>Drill</b></li>
<li><b>Hack saw (optional)</b></li>
<li><b>Wood boring bit (the size of your pipe, probably 1 inch)</b></li>
</ul>
<b style="color: orange;">Materials Needed:</b><br />
<ul>
<li><b>Two 2x4 studs</b></li>
<li><b>Long deck screws (probably 3 inch long)</b></li>
<li><b>length of 1 inch (outer diameter) pipe (how long depends on where you're mounting it).</b></li>
</ul>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/GDH43-exZiQ" width="560"></iframe>
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<div style="text-align: left;">
One thing I forgot to mention in the video is to make sure there is enough room between the wall (above the door) and the bar. If you mount it right in the corner like I did, and the bar is above the door there is not a lot of room. This isn't a big deal for PULL UPS, but if you intend to do CHIN UPS it can create a problem. My hands are small enough to do chin ups too but I can't put my homemade Fat Grips on there and do chin ups with those.<br />
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If this is a concern you should consider mounting it back away from the door a bit so you have plenty of room. I can't do that in this case because it's under the stairs so the cealing is angled and the farther away from the door the lower it gets. I have no desire to do fat bar chin ups so it's not an issue for me, but it's something to condise.<br />
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Remember this is just an idea. This is showing you what I did. Mounting a Pull Up bar is not a one size fits all project. Take these ideas and custom fit them into your space if you are interested.<br />
<br />
- Carl</div>
</div>Carl HmShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00174743788837229450noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4428117238357875448.post-62432105410244654882012-10-05T09:16:00.001-07:002015-03-15T21:27:35.278-07:00DIY Neck Harness<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="http://homemadestrength.blogspot.com/2012/10/diy-neck-harness.html" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hGhTbuHwQh0/VQZbdxcLsyI/AAAAAAAAAvM/iUmnB9g74iM/s1600/neck-post-temp.png" /></a></div>
The most well known commercial neck harness costs around $40. For what amounts to a few straps and carabiners that's quite a lot. I decided to try to make my own. I did it for less than $10. I use it mostly for strengthening the muscles to reinforce proper posture. There is another DIY design out there but I decided to try to make mine look a little more professional.<br />
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<a name='more'></a><br />
<b style="color: orange;">Cost: </b>$10<br />
<b style="color: orange;">Project time:</b> depends on if you use a machine or sew by hand<br />
<b><span style="color: orange;">Difficulty:</span></b> You have sew. If you don't know how it's easy to learn.<br />
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<b style="color: orange;">Tools Needed:</b><br />
<ul>
<li><b>Sewing Needle or Sewing Machine</b></li>
</ul>
<b style="color: orange;">Materials Needed:</b><br />
<ul>
<li><b>Lashing Straps or Towing Straps</b></li>
<li><b>Strong Thread like Upholstry thread</b></li>
<li><b>Duct Tape (optional)</b></li>
<li><b>2 Carabiners</b></li>
<li><b>Velcro hook and loop</b></li>
</ul>
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- Carl</div>
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</div>Carl HmShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00174743788837229450noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4428117238357875448.post-34752371868425400142012-06-25T05:10:00.003-07:002015-03-15T21:29:17.696-07:00Deadlift Platform<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://homemadestrength.blogspot.com/2012/06/deadlift-platform.html" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4t9cMEG2eZc/VQZb0WXBonI/AAAAAAAAAvU/9V6hYmBU89g/s1600/dlplat-post-temp.png" /></a></div>
Lifting platforms are cool. But they take up a lot of space, they can't really be moved or stored, they weigh hundreds of lbs., can potentially cost over a hundred dollars, and they require a truck or trailer to get the rather large materials home. I came up with a smaller, lighter, cheaper, and portable solution. Though it is designed specifically with deadlifts in mind, that is all I need it for. And it only cost me $15.<br />
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<b style="color: orange;"><br /></b>
<b style="color: orange;">Cost:</b> $15 - $20<br />
<b><span style="color: orange;">Project Time:</span></b> 1 hour<br />
<b><span style="color: orange;">Difficulty:</span></b> You have to cut plywood and use glue and screws.<br />
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<b><span style="color: orange;">Tools Needed:</span></b><br />
<ul>
<li><b>Saw - </b>Either a hand saw or a circular saw or other type of saw to cut plywood.</li>
<li><b>Caulk Gun</b> - if you choose to use Liquid Nails to glue the rubber down</li>
</ul>
<b><span style="color: orange;">Materials Needed:</span></b><br />
<ul>
<li><b>Plywood - </b>I went with a single piece of 3/4" thick oriented strand board. It was 2' x 4'</li>
<li><b>Liquid Nails - </b>(optional) If you want to glue the rubber down.</li>
<li><b>Wood Glue</b> - (optional) not strictly necessary if you use screws but I like to use it. If you're using Liquid Nails for the rubber you can just use that to glue your plywood together.</li>
<li><b>Screws</b> - make sure they are long enough to go through all layer of the plywood but no so long that they poke out of the bottom layer. In my case, I used 1 inch long screws to secure two layers of 3/4 inch plywood.</li>
</ul>
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I have been wanting a lifting platform for a while, but I just don't have the space for it. I don't even really have the space for a half platform to use for deadlifts. But it's getting to the point where my deadlift is heavy enough to want some floor protection underneath.<br />
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A full size platform (8' x 8') weighs somewhere around 300 lbs. Hardly easy to move and obviously takes up a lot of space. I don't even really have room for a half size platform (8' x 4'). Since I want it for deadlifts only, and I don't pull sumo I really didn't need anything as big as a half platform. Instead I made a 3 piece design. It's light, you can move it when not in use, and it cost me only $15.<br />
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The whole thing weighs 28 lbs. and as you see in the video you can carry it all in one arm and easily store it away when not in use.<br />
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- CarlCarl HmShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00174743788837229450noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4428117238357875448.post-48836371018777840702012-06-19T14:58:00.003-07:002012-10-05T09:22:24.919-07:00Lifting Belt Storage Rack<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://homemadestrength.blogspot.com/2012/06/lifting-belt-storage-rack.html" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-s0lVAJ5w-qI/T-DyC2PgAUI/AAAAAAAAAdI/l5sPL_VCShg/s1600/beltrack.jpg" /></a></div>
Another project that I made from scrap materials. It's a glorified shelf / coat rack but I made it to store my weight lifting belts and other small gear. I previously had these lying on the floor so this storage solution is an improvement.<br />
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Even if you were to buy materials for this project you would only need a 1 x 6 board about 60 inches long, depending on how big you want to make it. A few small nails and screws, a square dowel, and some bolts with nuts and washers. It should be under $10.<br />
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This is part of the "show off" series, as I didn't record the actual construction process. I made this up on the fly and the exact materials I used is not the perfect way to go about it because I was just cleaning up scrap I had. The project is pretty simple and I explain the construction in the video, but if you would like me to do a full write-up with diagrams and such please leave a comment. If the demand is there I'll do it. But it's basically just a simple shelf with bolts through it for "hooks" and a lip around the edge so my lacrosse ball doesn't roll off.<br />
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The reason I suggest screwing this thing into studs is because it's going to have a decent amount of weight on it, especially if you hang chain belts from it. To find the studs in your wall either use a stud finder tool or you can knock on the wall. You'll be able to hear and feel when you're over a stud because it will sound hard, for lack of a better way to describe it. Where there's no stud it will be distinctly hollow.<br />
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- CarlCarl HmShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00174743788837229450noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4428117238357875448.post-27407945505963622612012-06-09T14:58:00.001-07:002012-10-05T09:22:48.664-07:00DIY Sandbags<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://homemadestrength.blogspot.com/2012/06/diy-sandbags.html" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WUqUjHZ-oYM/T9PGqqzH_7I/AAAAAAAAAc8/7toJ9j5_-co/s1600/sandbag.jpg" /></a></div>
I have wanted to do some sandbag training for a while now. My goal was to use things around the house in order to make these completely free. Lest I get some complaints, I know it's not best sandbag option out there. I'm not saying it's good for any purpose you might want to use a sandbag. I'm just showing you what I did to make some basic heavy bags for free. These weigh 50 lbs. each. I've had them for a month now and they have been working well for my purposes so far.<br />
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</div>Carl HmShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00174743788837229450noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4428117238357875448.post-27416295514933348602012-05-31T05:42:00.001-07:002012-10-05T09:23:02.556-07:00Dip Belt Weight Rack<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://homemadestrength.blogspot.com/2012/05/dip-belt-weight-rack.html" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-EMEJagKCXcA/T8dlQ3w7WhI/AAAAAAAAAXo/Ni9vS_LBFCk/s1600/chinrack.jpg" /></a></div>
Loading up weights on to a dip belt can be a bit of a hassle if you're using more than one plate. I realized this when I did a chin up session consisting of ramping singles and had to do a lot of weight changing between sets. My solution was to build a rack to hold the weights for me. This makes getting the belt on and off easier and makes loading the weights on to the belt a lot easier.<br />
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<b style="color: orange;">Cost:</b> less than $5<br />
<b style="color: orange;">Project time:</b> 30 minutes<br />
<b><span style="color: orange;">Difficulty:</span></b> You have to cut off a piece of 2x4 wood and drill holes in it.<br />
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<b style="color: orange;">Tools Needed:</b><br />
<ul>
<li><b>Drill</b></li>
<li><b>Saw to cut wood </b>(I used a normal hand saw)</li>
<li><b>Screwdriver</b> (you can use your drill)</li>
</ul>
<b style="color: orange;">Materials Needed:</b><br />
<ul>
<li><b>One 2x4 stud </b>(8 ft. long)</li>
<li><b>Some 2 1/2 inch deck screws</b> (I like the T-25 star head)</li>
<li><b>Wood Glue</b> (optional)</li>
</ul>
<div style="text-align: left;">
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This is yet another project I built from scrap wood. You need only a single 2x4 stud (8ft. long). and some wood screws. If you don't have a dip belt, check out the Project Index for that project.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/hknnlx9frNA" width="560"></iframe></div>
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- Carl</div>Carl HmShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00174743788837229450noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4428117238357875448.post-59758319342095247442012-04-30T09:55:00.000-07:002012-04-30T09:55:32.245-07:00The Pinch Gripper<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6OnxeERqqbc/T562XykbvmI/AAAAAAAAAXc/wXjVtRTG6Yg/s1600/pinchgrip.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6OnxeERqqbc/T562XykbvmI/AAAAAAAAAXc/wXjVtRTG6Yg/s1600/pinchgrip.jpg" /></a></div>
Video of me putting together a pinch grip tool made from scrap parts I had in the garage. I designed it to utilize what I had but it should give you an idea so you can change things if you want to buy better parts. It is made to work with a loading pin. In particular, the DIY loading pin on this website. If you had to buy the parts it would probably cost $5 to $10 depending on what you need. It cost me nothing.<br />
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<a name='more'></a><b style="color: orange;"><br /></b><br />
<b style="color: orange;">Cost:</b> less than $10<br />
<b style="color: orange;">Project time:</b> less than 30 minutes<br />
<b><span style="color: orange;">Difficulty:</span></b> You have to cut off a piece of 2x4 wood and drill holes in it.<br />
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<b style="color: orange;">Tools Needed:</b><br />
<ul>
<li><b>Drill</b></li>
<li><b>Saw to cut wood </b>(I used a normal hand saw)</li>
<li><b>Vice Grips, or Wrench</b> (to turn screws more easily)</li>
</ul>
<b style="color: orange;">Materials Needed:</b><br />
<ul>
<li><b>Small length of 2x4</b></li>
<li><b>2 Eye Bolts or Eye Screws</b></li>
<li><b>2 Washers and Nuts</b> (if using bolts)</li>
<li><b>2 Carabiners</b></li>
</ul>
<div style="text-align: left;">
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This is something I put together quickly out of scrap parts. If you are using this with a normal loading pin you might have to adapt it slightly to work with the single hook on your pin. Off the top of my head, a length of chain between your eye bolts could work. Or simply use one bolt in the center of the wood. If you use a bolt I would boar out a hole in the top of the wood so you can sink your nut into the 2x4 so it doesn't interfere with your grip. Your bolt would have to be the perfect length in such a case. If you are using my chain loading pin design as seen on this blog then you won't have any of these issues.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/amK4CboZIsY" width="560"></iframe></div>
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- Carl</div>Carl HmShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00174743788837229450noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4428117238357875448.post-33156926614348471362012-04-30T06:05:00.001-07:002012-04-30T06:05:27.494-07:00Loading Pin<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LUPceYYCfP0/T56NrMGeL4I/AAAAAAAAAXQ/95_GOUZ4khs/s1600/loadingpin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LUPceYYCfP0/T56NrMGeL4I/AAAAAAAAAXQ/95_GOUZ4khs/s1600/loadingpin.jpg" /></a></div>
This is my idea for the simplest cheapest loading pin that I could come up with. A commercial loading pin is around $50. There are DIY options out there using pipe that would probably run around $25. My design is a bit unorthodox but it's less than $10 and it functions well enough for what's I have used it for. I mean, for that which I have used it. It requires basically no work and thus no time to make, besides the time spent buying the materials from the store.<br />
<a name='more'></a><b style="color: orange;"><br /></b><br />
<b style="color: orange;">Cost:</b> less than $10<br />
<b style="color: orange;">Project time:</b> A few seconds<br />
<b><span style="color: orange;">Difficulty:</span></b> There is basically no work to be done at all.<br />
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<b style="color: orange;">Tools Needed:</b><br />
<ul>
<li><b>Functional Human Body</b></li>
</ul>
<b style="color: orange;">Materials Needed:</b><br />
<ul>
<li><b>3 feet (about 1 meter) of Chain</b></li>
<li><b>1 Carabiner</b></li>
</ul>
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I know this is a bit unorthodox and perhaps for some applications this won't be a good option but for many it will work just as well as a normal loading pin.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/P0CfAcP1Biw" width="560"></iframe></div>
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Just one additional note that I didn't mention in the video. Instead of using extra plates to sit the rig on, you could use a couple small lengths of wood, like 2x4s. But really that's not even needed unless you're loading quite a bit of weight, like over 90 lbs.<br />
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- Carl</div>Carl HmShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00174743788837229450noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4428117238357875448.post-16921025054252562832012-04-11T16:54:00.004-07:002012-04-23T09:00:10.626-07:00Concrete Weights<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.homemadestrength.blogspot.com/2012/04/concrete-weights.html" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YbPaCxpW7nQ/T4X82DGE7gI/AAAAAAAAAXI/Nae_lOOGDGk/s1600/cement.jpg" /></a></div>
I have been watching Craigslist for months, if not years, just waiting for a great deal on used iron weights. And I'm still waiting. Obviously you have to get legit weights at some point, but until I find that cheap stash of 45s at a garage sale or something I make due with with what I have. Casting my own weights out of concrete has made it possible to keep progressing while I continue the search for used weights.<br />
<a name='more'></a><b style="color: orange;"><br /></b><br />
<b style="color: orange;">Cost:</b> $6 for the mold and then 5 cents a lb.<br />
<b style="color: orange;">Project time:</b> maybe an hour per plate plus dry time<br />
<b><span style="color: orange;">Difficulty:</span></b> It's just mixing cement for the most part so not very hard at all<br />
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<b style="color: orange;">Tools Needed:</b><br />
<ul>
<li><b>Small shovel or trowel to mix and spread cement</b></li>
<li><b>Hammer</b></li>
<li><b>Scissors</b> (to cut tape)</li>
<li><b>Saw or serrated knife </b>(to cut plastic mold)</li>
<li><b>Wood saw and drill </b>(optional, if you make the wood frame)</li>
<li><b>Empty Spray Bottle</b> (optional but useful to spray water)</li>
<li><b>Caulk Gun</b> (if you decide to use caulk and you buy caulk that needs the gun)</li>
</ul>
<b style="color: orange;">Materials Needed:</b><br />
<ul>
<li><b>80 lb. bag of Quikrete cement mix</b> (I used the "just add water" yellow and black bag mix)</li>
<li><b>Duct Tape</b> (optional but a cool addition so I recommend it)</li>
<li><b>2 inch diameter PVC pipe</b></li>
<li><b>Round storage bin or oil pan or other round plastic container with a 15" diameter</b></li>
<li><b>Caulk </b>(optional, you could use tape, I think)</li>
<li><b>Few handfuls of dirt</b></li>
</ul>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/E_csvZyxssY" width="560"></iframe></div>
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I cut this video down to the essentials so I won't explain the whole project step by step here, just watch the video. However, I will make a few notes below; things I didn't have time to elaborate on in the video.<br />
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<b><span style="color: orange;">A TEMPORARY SOLUTION</span></b><br />
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To me this isn't a permanent thing. Concrete is simply not as strong as we want compared to metal plates which are basically indestructible under normal use. Though concrete has high compression strength, the way forces would be applied to a plate on a bar being aggressively set down on a heavy deadlift would no doubt break the cement over time. Concrete also is not as dense. This means it will take up more space on the bar and result in less weight you can fit on your bar. It's basically like half as heavy as iron plates. So a 45 lb. concrete plate would be the same size (at least) as two 45 iron plates. That means if you could cram 800 lbs. of iron plates onto your bar, you could only cram 400 lbs. of concrete plates.<br />
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Also, I do not suggest you use only concrete plates. If you don't have any weights I do not recommend this as your solution, unless you don't plan to pull off the floor, meaning deadlifts or power cleans or rows, etc. I don't trust cement to be strong enough to handle the stress of setting down a heavy deadlift.<br />
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I suggest you have at least a pair of 45 lb iron plates, as well as the smaller increments, 25, 10, 5, and 2.5 lbs. You can make smaller increments out of wood or industrial washers. I made a post about that, look at the Project Index for it. I personally bought one of those 300 lbs. weight sets from the sporting goods store. I think that's a decent starter set. When it costs like $200 you do get a bar that will last at least a year, plus the 255 lbs. of iron plates, including all the smaller increments. So these concrete plates make a decent temporary addition to an iron set.<br />
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Eventually though you want to find some cheap used iron plates because concrete weights are not a long term solution in my opinion. Even if they hold up, you'll eventually run out of space on the bar. Now I suppose you could probably get something like 500 lbs. on the bar using a combination of iron and concrete weights. So if you never intend to deadlift more than that I guess it might be good enough.<br />
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But to me this is a temporary solution until I hit the motherload of rusty 45s from someone on craigslist or a garage sale whom doesn't care about lifting and just wants me to take the stuff away for like 50 bucks.<br />
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<span style="color: orange;"><b>PRECISE WEIGHT</b></span><br />
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This I am ashamed of. I didn't put quite enough thought into it before I started the project. I basically decided on a size, a thickness, and then I poured my plates to that thickness. As a result, the two plates I poured probably aren't the same weight. Nor are they a specific precise weight. I was roughly intending them to be 35 lbs. I think they will be a little more than that after they cure. And if they both end up being the same weight it would be pretty lucky. Since I know how to do this right, I'm ashamed that I didn't do it this way. It didn't occur to me until I was already done.<br />
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I recommend you weigh out your dry cement mix. So if you want a 35 lb. plate dump 35 lbs. of dry mix into your mixing bucket. As a weightlifter I can only assume you have a somewhat accurate bathroom scale. At the very least it will be consistent so both plates will be the same. By doing this you will ensure that all the plates you cast are as close to the same weight as you can get them. This is what I should have done but I just didn't think of it in time.<br />
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As a result, though my plates will be roughly the same size, they are probably not going to be exactly the same weight. It won't be a big deal since I can just add micro plates to compensate when they are on the bar. My plates are also probably going to be a bit more than the 35 lbs. I was intending. Again not a big deal. But it's just easier if you weigh your mix. That way you'll only have to mix it up once and pour it into the mold. You will not have to mark your mold either. For what it's worth, 35 lbs. will be somewhere around 2.5 inches thick, just an FYI. I like this thickness because cement doesn't have a high tensile strength so having it thick is a good thing. I don't really recommend making light plates out of cement for this reason. They won't be as strong if you make them thin and if you make them thick but light you just waste space on your bar.<br />
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<b><span style="color: orange;">PVC PIPE</span></b><br />
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The way PVC is labeled is by the inner diameter. So when I tell you to use 2 inch diameter PVC pipe that is what it is labeled in the store. The actual outer diameter is more like 2.25 inches. So the hole it leaves in your cement plate will be 2.25 inches, which is more than big enough to fit on the bar. We make a better fit with a duct tape ring. See the video for that. I just wanted to clarify that 2" pipe is what it will be labeled as, and it will have an outer diameter of 2.25 inches.<br />
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<b><span style="color: orange;">THE EXTRACTION PROCESS</span></b><br />
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I made wooden frame to help me take the plate out of the mold by myself easily. I had the scrap wood and tools so I spent no money on it. If you don't have this stuff you don't have to make it. I'm sure there's something around the house you could use to support your plate as you tip the mold upside down. If the inner PVC pipe holds tight to the cement like it did for me in the video you might even be able to just pull the plate out using the PVC as a handle of sorts. The PVC did not hold to the cement like this when I cast me first plate though. Anyway, it's not rocket surgery here. Point being, you don't have to spend money or time making that "extractor" if you don't want to. I only did it because I had the stuff and I was bored and figured it would make things really easy, which it did.<br />
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Also, when I cast my first plate I sprayed the mold first with some oil. The idea being that it would help release the concrete. The second plate I cast I did not do this. It doesn't seem to matter. The concrete will not stick to the plastic mold. However, I did have a hell of a time getting the PVC pipe out of the second casting. This may or may not have anything to do with not oiling it. The pipe also was a little wiggly (i guess the caulk didn't hold as well) the second time, so it may have set slightly off kilter, which is what I'm betting on. Point being, you don't need to oil it or use any kind of mold releasing agent. But if you want to spray it down with some WD-40 it won't hurt anything.<br />
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<b><span style="color: orange;">MARK YOUR PLATES</span></b><br />
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Once you let your plates cure for a few weeks I would suggest painting their weight on them. This is especially true if you messed up like I did and both plates don't weight the same amount. Mark their weight on them so you know exactly what they weigh.<br />
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<b><span style="color: orange;">INNER CORE</span></b><br />
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In the video I show you how to line the inside of the plate with duct tape to protect your bar and give it a better fit. Since then I realized there is another option. The PVC pipe you used to cast the center hole is the perfect size to slide over the bar sleeves on an Olympic bar. So you could cut down a length of that PVC the same thickness as your plate, then hammer it into the center. It will fit very tightly. As you saw in the video I had a hard time getting the pipe out of the plate when unmolding. I had just a hard of time hammering in the new shorter length of pipe. I'm not sure how this will affect the plate in terms of the concrete expanding. But it fits beautifully on and off the bar with ease.I would say the PVC core is nicer, assuming it doesn't have some unforseen negative impact on the expansion of the concrete.<br />
<br />That being said, using concrete plates is a temporary solution so you want the price to be as low as possible. I had the scrap PVC so decided to try it out.<br />
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- Carl</div>Carl HmShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00174743788837229450noreply@blogger.com33tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4428117238357875448.post-43036253835744718802012-04-05T11:44:00.001-07:002012-04-05T11:49:39.241-07:00Fat Grips With An "S"<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://homemadestrength.blogspot.com/2012/04/fat-grips-with-s.html" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ymbup9Jy-SM/T32GgigEUDI/AAAAAAAAAWw/tvg6Sq33F5A/s1600/fatgrip.jpg" /></a></div>
...because we use proper grammar and all that.<br />
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This isn't the fastest project but it is really cheap. Made from 100% duct tape it's not space age state of the art rubber. But it gets the job done all the same. These have all the versatility of the commercial product at a fraction of the cost.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<b style="color: orange;">Cost:</b> less than $10<br />
<b style="color: orange;">Project time:</b> 3 hours<br />
<b><span style="color: orange;">Difficulty:</span></b> A bit tedious, but easy enough.<br />
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<b style="color: orange;">Tools Needed:</b><br />
<ul>
<li><b>Scissors</b></li>
<li><b>Hack Saw</b> or <b>Serrated Cutting Tool of Some Kind</b></li>
<li><b>Pliers </b>or <b>Vice Grips</b></li>
<li><b>Pen, Pencil, </b> or <b>Marker</b></li>
</ul>
<b style="color: orange;">Materials Needed:</b><br />
<ul>
<li><b>110 yards (100 meters) of Duct Tape</b></li>
<li><b>4 yards of Masking Tape </b>(optional)</li>
<li><b>Paper Towel Roll </b>or <b>2 Toilet Paper Rolls</b></li>
</ul>
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I know this video ran a little long. I will try to quickly describe the process below, if you can't watch the whole video. If the following directions are too abridged for you, then watch the video.<br />
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<b><span style="color: orange; font-size: large;">Step 1: Making the Core</span></b></div>
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We're going to use the paper towel roll or toilet paper roll to make the core or mold to form the fat grip around. If you are using toilet paper rolls, Put them end to end and run a strip of duct tape over the seam to make one longer roll. Cut the roll to about 7 inches (18 cm) in length. Now cut the roll down the length of it.</div>
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Take the roll and a pen over to your barbell. Wrap it around your barbell tightly. Mark a line along the length of the roll where the top edge overlaps. Take the roll off the bar, roll it up tightly again to line up the edge with the mark you made, then run a strip of tape across it to hold it in this new new shape. What you have here is a roll that has, more or less, the same diameter as your barbell. </div>
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<b><span style="color: orange; font-size: large;">Step 2: Sticky Side Up</span></b></div>
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There are two ways to wrap tape on your roll. One is the logical way, rolling it up the way toilet paper works. We'll call that "TP style" for the sake of ease. The other way is to run the length of tape down the length of the roll. We'll call that "length wise".</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-AgQy-url6FM/T32PnAfSWGI/AAAAAAAAAW4/VxyrjBrjHyc/s1600/tapediagram1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="232" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-AgQy-url6FM/T32PnAfSWGI/AAAAAAAAAW4/VxyrjBrjHyc/s640/tapediagram1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">(left) Lengthwise, (right) TP style)</td></tr>
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We start at one edge of paper towel core. Roll the tape TP style with the sticky side up. Wrap the tape straight around back overlapping on itself a few times. Cut the tape and pat the edge down. This can be a bit of a hassle to work with the tape sticky side up. This will only cover a third or quarter of the roll. Now move over and run another strip of tape the same way, overlap the previous strip by a 1/4 inch or so. Continue doing this until you have covered 5.75 inches of the length of your roll. If you cover more that's fine, you can trim it down in a little while. This is the size of three widths of duct tape and that is how big we will make our roll. If you want it shorter you can cut it down after you're done constructing the whole grip.</div>
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<b><span style="color: orange; font-size: large;">Step 3: Lengthwise for Structural Stability</span></b></div>
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You have your core now wrapped with duct tape, sticky side out. Now cut strips of tape and wrap them lengthwise sticky side down. Overlap them about a 1/4 inch and work your way around building up a few layers like this. If the strips you cut are longer than the sticky side down section, let them hang off the side which does not have exposed paper towel core. We do not want to stick tape to the core as we have to remove the core repeatedly through the process. Then trim the excess tape from the edge.</div>
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<b><span style="color: orange; font-size: large;">Step 4: TP Style is How We Roll</span></b></div>
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Again starting from the flush edge of your roll, wrap tape TP style sticky side down. Wrap it straight around overlapping itself. This time, do it until you have built up about 1/16 to 1/8 inch thickness (2mm). Wrap the tape evenly and tightly. If you get wrinkles you can peel the tape back and adjust. I used Duck brand duct tape and found it to be forgiving in this area and easy to work with. Once you've built up the thickness, cut the tape.</div>
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Move over an entire tape width and wrap that portion in the same fashion. Do not overlap here. We are going to wrap this in three sections, butt up against each other but not overlapping. Once finished, move over again and wrap the last of the three sections.</div>
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<b><span style="color: orange; font-size: large;">Step 5: Don't You Know I Will Cut You</span></b></div>
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We are going to cut a slit down the length of the grip because we need it to open so we can get it over the bar. We're going to cut periodically through the wrapping process so that it's easier to manage. First we have to pull the paper core out. If you wrapped the tape tightly it might be hard to pull out so use your pliers or vice grips. With that out, use scissors to cut down the length of the grip. This first time you can use scissors because it's not thick yet. If you don't cut this perfectly straight it's not the end of the world, just do your best.</div>
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<b><span style="color: orange; font-size: large;">Step 6: Lather, Rinse, Repeat</span></b></div>
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Put the core back in the center of your duct tape grip. Now you are just going to repeat steps 3, 4, and 5 until the grip is as thick as you want it. Remember to close the grip tight around the paper core as you secure it with your lengthwise tape (step 3) after having just cut the slit down it (step5).</div>
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As the grip will get thicker it will be too hard to cut step 5 with scissors. This is how I handle it: Look on the inside of the grip to find the seam where you cut the slit last time. Use scissors to snip the very end to mark this seam on the outside ends of the grip. Now with those two marks you can either use a hacksaw to cut through the top of the grip in a straight line, or you can simply use a ruler and mark the line, then cut with something that works a little better, like the serrated knife I show in the video (if you have one).</div>
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You literally just repeat these steps over and over again until the grip is as thick as you want it.</div>
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<b><span style="color: orange; font-size: large;">Step 7: That's Too Thick, Throw it Out And Start Over</span></b></div>
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How do you know when it's the right thickness? First you have to decide what you want. Right is whatever you want. The commercial product is 2.25 inches (57mm) thick. To measure this you can do one of two things. If you have a caliper (the tool designed for this task) then use that. I do not, I'm ashamed to say. So the other option, if you want it semi-precise, is to use math. If you know the circumferance of the grip you can figure out the diameter. In order to measure the circumferance you need flexible tape measure, like the kind you use to measure your biceps. So close the grip tightly and measure the circumferance.</div>
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All you have to do is take your circumference and divide it by 3.14, which is Pi. So if you are measuring a circumference of 18cm (which is about 7 and 1/16th inches) that will mean the diameter (or thickness) of your grip is 5.7cm (2.25 inches). If you want a different thickness you'll have to run the numbers yourself. Remember it's simple, just take your circumference measurement and divide it by 3.14 to get your diameter (thickness).<br />
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Alternatively, if you don't care about precision, you could simply take an Olympic weight and compare your grip to the center hole in the plate, which is 2 inches roughly.<br />
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<b><span style="color: orange; font-size: large;">Step 8: It's Too Long Dumbbell, I mean Dumbass</span></b></div>
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Constructed as I said, with three tape widths across, this will be too long to use on some dumbbells. If you want to use them on said dumbbells you will have to cut them down. Simply measure your dumbbell handle so you know how short it has to be, then use a saw to cut down your fat grip to the proper length. The commercial product is 5 inches long according to their website, just an FYI.</div>
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<b><span style="color: orange; font-size: large;">Step 9: From Slip to Grip</span></b></div>
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I don't necessarily think the duct tape is all that hard to grip. However, if you want to make it more grippy I have found that wrapping the outside in masking tape works well and it's super inexpensive. I had an old pull up bar with no knurling and a painted finish. It was hard to grip so I wrapped it in masking tape and it worked great, especially if you use chalk too. I never had to replace the masking tape so it held up well. You could use a specialty product like grip tape if you wanted but that's no doubt much more expensive. The masking tape works fine for me.</div>
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So that's the project. They work just like Fat Gripz and go on and off the bar easily and quickly. I am quite satisfied with them. And at less than $10 that's a great deal. The commercial product is $46 shipped to the U.S. If my, and by "my" I mean "Google's", currency exchange calculations are correct it costs more like $56 shipped to overseas. I don't know how much duct tape costs in Europe but I'm betting it's not $25 a roll.</div>
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However, you cannot get your name engraved on these duct tape fat grips. I'm sorry. I know your really wanted that. But I'm no expert so maybe there is a way. I'll leave that for you to figure out.</div>
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- Carl</div>
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</div>Carl HmShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00174743788837229450noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4428117238357875448.post-57828686152487992372012-03-26T05:09:00.000-07:002012-04-05T11:52:45.835-07:00Mini Platform<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://homemadestrength.blogspot.com/2012/03/mini-platform.html" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LNpJX2qZUSk/T2-77gts88I/AAAAAAAAAWg/4vQGDlVIYhI/s1600/box.jpg" /></a></div>
Trying to clear out some wood in the garage I decided to build a mini platform, if you want to call it that. I will be able to use this for deficit deadlifts, as well as rack pulls, and squat lockouts, if I so choose. I'm sure there are other uses but that is what I can come up with right now. Though I don't actually show you how to build it, I think you can figure it out based on the video if you want to make one yourself.<br />
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<b><span style="color: orange;">HOMEMADE MINI LIFTING PLATFORM</span></b></div>
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Th construction of this thing is just basic stuff and I'm sure you need no explanation. I had four scraps of 4x4 so I took the shortest one and cut them all to that length. Then I measured my deadlift stance width and cut the 2x4 boards to make the platform wide enough for my needs. Then I screwed it all together, traced the outline of it on my scrap of plywood and cut that out and screwed it down. Nothing fancy. You can see everything you need to know in the video.</div>
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This creates a rather nasty deficit as it's over 3 inches in height. But I could always rest the loaded barbell on some plates laid flat on the floor to raise the bar up a bit.</div>
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I don't mention it in the video but I realized I could do squat lockouts with this as well. By standing on the platform I am effectively tall enough to then quarter squat without walking the bar out of the stands. In other words, squat lockouts. I'm more of a fan of heavy supports, which is to say just standing there with the heavy ass bar on your back, so I may never use this platform for squat lockouts. </div>
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Power shrugs, as some people call them, are basically the same setup as rack pulls so this would work for them as well.</div>
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- Carl</div>Carl HmShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00174743788837229450noreply@blogger.com34tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4428117238357875448.post-23827555731698413572012-03-16T10:10:00.000-07:002013-06-08T06:16:31.784-07:00Foods to Eat to Build Muscle on a Budget<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://homemadestrength.blogspot.com/2012/03/foods-to-eat-to-build-muscle-on-budget.html" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-sEO5RdkyewU/T2NpY31dEsI/AAAAAAAAAWI/-nwL8UmjnOk/s1600/food.jpg" /></a></div>
Homemade strength requires more than just weight training to accomplish. You also need good food and plenty of rest. So today I'll cover the second part of the equation: food. Specifically, food when you're on a budget. What should you eat if you're on a budget but still want to build a lot of strength and muscle? The common impression is that as a weightlifter you have to eat like a bazillion grams of protein and $50 worth of supplements pre, post, and peri-workout a day, but that doesn't mean it's true.<br />
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The first and obvious thing to note is that there is a limit to how cheap you can make things. You have to have SOME amount of money to spend each day on your food. If you don't have enough you're not going to be able to afford everything you need to have a nice diet as a lifter. In other words, if all you can afford is two packs of Ramon each day you're not going to build any muscle. There is no magic here. We can be smart and we can be frugal, but we still need at least about $5 a day. This of course depends on where you live but you'll be hard pressed to get away with much less than that in non-city locals in the States. This is not simply about surviving, it's about building muscle. You don't need 400 grams of protein and 7000 calories a day. You're not Mr. Olympia and you don't need to eat like you are. But you can't just eat 1800 random calories a day and think everything is fine either.<br />
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Before we discuss the food items let's quickly run through some money saving tips; obvious as they may be.<br />
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<b><span style="color: orange;">- BUY IN BULK.</span></b> Anything that can be stored long term should be bought in bulk if it turns out that it's cheaper to do so, which it usually is. Meat can be frozen. Dry items like rice keep for a long long time. If you have the money to make the upfront cost this saves you money and time in the long run. I buy rice in 20 lb. bags, as an example.<br />
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<span style="color: orange;"><b>- BUY WHEN ON SALE.</b></span> Items that can be stored longer term should be bought only when on sale. I buy family packs of chicken breast only when it's $1.80 or less per lb. Then I buy a lot of it and freeze it. I don't have to buy this for months then. When I'm running low I look out for another sale to stock up again.<br />
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<span style="color: orange;"><b>- SHOP AROUND.</b></span> Check out the stores in your area and figure out who has the best prices on the things you buy, especially if you buy a lot of the stuff. I found out that the big chain grocery store where I live, Meijer, is grossly overpriced on eggs. The Aldi has them for as much as $1 less per dozen. Even the local "mom and pop" store has them for 35 cents cheaper per dozen than the Meijer. Needless to say I don't buy eggs at meijer, especially since when I get on an egg kick I eat a dozen a day some times. Alternatively milk is $2.50 to $3.00 at Meijer and Target. Most other places it can be $3.60 a gallon. I'm not saying that you need to go to five different stores every week, but it might be worth an extra stop or two to save some money.<br />
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<span style="color: orange;"><b>- START A GARDEN.</b></span> Here's an idea, if you have the space for it, start a garden in the spring. You have to buy some things, like seeds, but for the most part you're talking about as cheap as food can get with gardening. And vegetables can get pretty expensive so growing your own can save a lot of money while allowing you to get a whole slew of micro nutrients you may be lacking due to budget. Of course such things are cheaper in season, which is when you would be growing your own, but still. Choosing stuff you can freeze or pickle or in some way preserve for later use is a good idea because you're going to get a whole bunch of whatever it is you are growing at one time.<br />
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<span style="color: orange;"><b>- GET A JOB.</b></span> To those that are young and perhaps still in school, be it high school or college. I would suggest to you that you get a job if you do not already have one. You'll have spending money and then you'll be able to buy better food. This whole muscle building endeavor is better if you can afford to do it the way you want. It's easier and more fun. So if you can find a way to get some more money that would be a good thing to do. You have to make sacrifices in life. It might not be fun to work but it will enhance the rest of your time when you can buy better things.<br />
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Now let's get into specific foods, the reason you're probably reading this article. In my experience here are some of the best and cheapest bodybuilding/weightlifting foods if you're on a budget. Obviously prices may vary in your area so you'll have to check this out for yourself.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">THINGS YOU SHOULD BUY</span></b><br />
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<b><span style="color: orange;">EGGS</span></b><br />
This is one of the best. I can get a dozen large eggs for $1.20 at Aldi, and lately they have been 88 cents a dozen. My local mom and pop store has medium eggs for $1. If the label is to be trusted the only difference between the two is 120 calories of fat. In any case, you can't beat this price for what you get. 72 grams of protein and 700 to 800 calories, none from carbs. This is one of the cheapest all around foods. With all that protein and the added calories (assuming it fits into your diet) it's hard to beat eggs. You can also scramble them, hard boil them for easy transport, or blend them into a shake raw. Very versitile.<br />
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<span style="color: orange;"><b>MILK</b></span><br />
The best thing about milk is that it's liquid. If this wasn't the case it wouldn't be nearly as good. In terms of content per price it's good but not as good as eggs. A gallon averages $2.75 in my area. If you buy whole milk you get 2400 calories and 125 grams of protein. As a side note, you get quite a bit of lactose (sugar) at something like 190 grams a gallon. Even so, this means that $1 worth of milk is roughly going to give you 42 grams of protein and 800 calories. Good, but like I said, not as good as eggs. But the fact that it's liquid and you can get lower calorie milks make it a useful choice.<br />
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<span style="color: orange;"><b>WHEY PROTEIN</b></span><br />
Perhaps this is technically a supplement but I want to reference how cheap this is compared to other food so I'm listing it here. I buy my whey protein from <a href="http://www.truenutrition.com/" target="_blank"><b>TrueNutrtion.com</b></a>. TN is awesome but you have to keep in mind that they are a bulk supplier. You can buy any amount you want from them but you get discounts for buying a lot. And since you have to pay actual shipping charges it's not lucrative to buy a little at a time. If you want to save maximum amount of money then buying in bulk is the way to go. If you don't want to buy in bulk then TN is not your best option. Body Fortress brand bought from Walmart is a good choice. It currently costs $15 for 2 lbs. which is 25 servings with 25g protein per serving. That comes out to 64 cents per serving. I've had the Body Fortress Vanilla and all I can say is that it makes milk taste like vanilla milkshakes so it's delicious. You can also get the In water it's drinkable but tastes like what it is, vanilla sugar flavored water.<br />
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You can also get the Whey Tech Pro 24 from Vitamin Shoppe for $48. It comes out to 63 cents per 25g of protein. I haven't had any of their stuff so I can't comment on that.<br />
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<b><a href="http://www.truenutrition.com/" target="_blank">TrueNutrtion.com</a></b> is a reputable company so I trust their quality and I don't mind buying in bulk so that's why I use them.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The cheapest protein? Depends on how much you buy.</td></tr>
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Before I continue I want to say that protein powder is not essential. Companies obviously want you to buy their products so they advertise it like you can't make any gains without protein powder. The truth is, it's just a food. You do need adequate protein to build muscle. Whether or not it comes from whey powder or any other source doesn't really matter. Whey is an awesome source, and powder is incredibly convenient. But convenient doesn't mean necessary. Some powders are very expensive and if that was the only option I wouldn't use it at all.<br />
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When I first wrote this article, <a href="http://www.truenutrition.com/">TrueNutrition.com</a> had a bulk powder called "Recession whey". It was a whey isolate and concentrate blend, basically comparable to ON Gold Standard but it was half the price. By ordering in bulk (50 lbs. which would last a year at two scoops a day) you could get the price down to 44 cents per scoop (each scoop having 25g protein). That was an awesome deal. That product, however, is no longer available. They have a new product to replace it called <a href="http://truenutrition.com/c-54-proteins.aspx">"Whey Protein Concentrate - High Grade"</a>, and it still is the cheapest source that I know of, as long as you buy enough of it at one time. If you were to buy 50 lbs. of it, it would be 49 cents a scoop (meaning 25g protein per scoop). If you buy 16 lbs. of it, which is the minimum I would ever buy from TN, it will cost about 53 cents per scoop.<br />
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They, of course, have more than protein, so you can get all your supplements like creatine there for dirt cheap as well. The whole point of the website, in my view, is to save maximum amount of money by purchasing a whole lot of whatever it is you're buying at one time. If you don't, shipping can screw you. So all around, TN seems to be the cheapest place for any kind of protein powder, and other supplements, as long as you are willing to buy in bulk.<br />
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If you do choose to go that route, you can use the coupon code <b>CLS807</b> at checkout and you'll save 5% on your order. To be honest, anybody can use that code, but when NEW customers use it for their first order it counts towards earning me free protein. That, however, is just a perk. If I didn't use and believe in their stuff I wouldn't be writing about it. So thanks for anyone who does use code <b>CLS807.</b> I appreciate it and it helps me out by lowering my food bill..<br />
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That being said, (sorry if you felt like that was a commercial) that is the cheapest source of protein powder of which I know. If you know a cheaper source leave a comment. The cost comes in around 50 to 55 cents per serving, which is 25 grams of protein. This makes it comparable to meat and milk, and that's ultimately the point I want to make. Protein powder doesn't have to be expensive. it doesn't have to be 80 cents a scoop or $1 a scoop or $2 a scoop. Basic protein is only about 50 cents a scoop. And because it is so convenient it definitely has a place in a lifter's diet, even if you're on a budget. Buying milk or chicken, for the purpose of more protein won't save you any money. Of course, whole foods usually have more calories which can be a good thing, two birds one stone and all that.<br />
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<span style="color: orange;"><b>CHICKEN BREAST</b></span><br />
I wait until the family packs of chicken breast go on sale for $1.70 to $1.80 a lb. then I stock up on them. This puts their price point at 45 cents per serving of 25 grams of protien. Just like the protein powder. Obviously they are a lean source so no extra calories.<br />
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<span style="color: orange;"><b>GROUND BEEF</b></span><br />
The fattiest, and therefore the cheapest, not to mention the extra free calories, they sell in stores is 70/30. Aldi's has this for $2.20 a lb. If you need the extra calories it ends up being comparable to chicken breast. Since the chicken doesn't have as many calories, if you made those up with a cheap source, like white rice, the end result is that the ground beef versus the chicken and rice is basically the same macros for the same price. So if you need the calories, ground beef is an alternative to chicken and rice. And you don't get all the carbs. You can usually get frozen boxed beef patties for pretty cheap as well. It's cheaper than ground beef from the meat counter, which goes on sale for $3 a lb. But the frozen patties are not as good of quality. They have basically been reduced to complete mush and then pressed into patties.<br />
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<span style="color: orange;"><b>WHITE RICE</b></span><br />
This is the only grain I eat. Or I should say it's the only grain I don't have any reservation about eating in abundance. I don't go in for all that whole grain stuff given that they are chocked full of phytates and anti-nutrients and gluten and such. I'm just not interested in that. White rice is essentially empty calories, but then again this isn't always a bad thing. Post workout for example. I can get a 20 lb. bag of Riceland brand rice for $10 on sale. That comes out to something like 3 cents per 100 calories. You might be able to find even bigger bags for even cheaper per lb. but in the stores I go to 20 lbs. is the biggest.<br />
<br />
<span style="color: orange;"><b>POTATOES</b></span><br />
I mean regular, not sweet potatoes. There's anything wrong with sweet potatoes, they just aren't as cheap. Again a good source of cheap calories for post workout. These end up being something like 9 cents per 100 calories. And they lend themselves to taking copious amounts of butter to pack on even more delicious and cheap calories.<br />
<br />
<span style="color: orange;"><b>BUTTER</b></span><br />
I mean butter, as in cream, not margarine, not vegetable spread, not I can't believe it's not butter. I've found that Aldi is the cheapest place for this. It can get as low as $2 a lb. It ends up being about 7 cents for 100 calories. Butter freezes well so when it's on a big sale buy a lot of it and freeze it to hold you over until the next sale. I should mention that I'm of the mind that butter is good and processed oils are bad. I understand that many people hold a blood feud against saturated fat and would therefore like to persecute me for recommending butter. I have no problem with you if you believe that saturated fat is going to kill you. I personally think the trans fats and ridiculous amount of inflammatory poly unsaturated fat (omega 6) in the hydrogenated and processed oils is going to kill you. We'll just agree to disagree, or not. But yes, I love butter and eat an absurd amount of it. It's a great way to keep your calories up if you're a so called "hardgainer" who doesn't eat enough.<br />
<br />
Also, I'm aware of Kerrygold grass fed butter. But that is expensive stuff and this is an article about saving money. Obviously in an ideal world we would eat raw milk and grass fed everything from local farms. And if you have the money to do so, please do it. And if it offends you that not everyone is doing it, send us all the money and, at least I, will gladly use it to buy grass fed meat and dairy.<br />
<br />
<span style="color: orange;"><b>COTTAGE CHEESE</b></span><br />
First, there's nothing wrong with cottage cheese; but I usually don't buy it. The reason is because it's more expensive than milk. Cottage cheese is at least $2.75 for the big tub, which has like 80 grams of protein in it and a total of 660 calories. And this is the full fat stuff. A gallon of milk has 125 grams of protein and up to 2400 calories. So in terms of price per content the cheese isn't a great value. Although it has a lot of sugar, remember that the protein in milk is mostly casein too.<br />
<br />
Now if you want the cottage cheese for all the, mostly isolated, casein so you can have it before bed okay. I'm more of the mind that it's not gonna freaking matter if you take whey versus casein. These are minor details that people get obsessed about. As if you're not gonna make gains because your protein digested "too fast" tonight. Do you really think you go all catabolic by not digesting food 24/7? Get real, we'd be extinct if our bodies were that fickle.<br />
<br />
So that being said, for $2.75 I could get 6 scoops of protein powder, which is 150 grams of protein, nearly twice what I get with cottage cheese. I'll take double the whey, thank you very much. Just wake up in the middle of the night and have an extra serving of whey if you're that concerned about digesting food at all times. This way you'll get even more total grams of protein. Nothing against cottage cheese. I think it's delicious and whenever I go to a salad bar, my "salad" is little more than cottage cheese, ham, and eggs.<br />
<br />
<span style="color: orange;"><b>TUNA</b></span><br />
Tuna can be a good source of lean protein too. Depending on the price it may or may not be quite as good as chicken. In my area tuna costs about 70 cents a can when on sale. This means it's more expensive than whey protein or chicken. Tuna would have to be less than 50 cents a can to be comparable. But if you like tuna it's a good source. Just because it's not the cheapest doesn't mean it's not cheap. I don't eat mayonaise, nor do I eat bread or pasta. So I'm at a loss for what to do with canned tuna. I'm not gonna eat it straight out of the can. I'll just buy chicken because it's cheaper anyway. And if I want a quick snack I'll just use whey protein, again cheaper.<br />
<br />
<span style="color: orange;"><b>OATS</b></span><br />
I'm not a huge fan of oats. I occasionally go on a binge and eat oats for breakfast for a few week. They aren't technically the best food but nor are they the worst. They don't contain gluten but they are still a grain and have phytates and whatnot. But for what it's worth they are a cheap food source. Though how anyone can tolerate them when prepared with water instead of milk is something I don't know.<br />
<br />
<span style="color: orange;"><b>PEANUT BUTTER</b></span><br />
Peanut butter really fills me up. And as a guy who has always been lean and never had a problem staying that way, my problem will always be making sure I eat enough. So I typically avoid a lot of peanut butter for this reason. That being said, it is a cheap source of calories and has some nice protein content as well. Natural peanut butter isn't much more money than the regular stuff so I recommend the natural version, just peanuts and salt. At $3.00 a jar, it comes in at about 13 cents for 100 calories. Of course, for every 100 calories you're also getting about 4 or 5 grams of protein as well. Peanut butter doesn't last forever but it will keep for a long time so you can stock up when it's on sale if you eat a lot.<br />
<br />
You can also make protein bars by freezing peanut butter mixed with protein powder and honey. The texture is delightful. I simply have to figure out how to put a chocolate coating over it, like a snickers, without using artificial sugars. When I do that I'll be sure to post an article because that would be an amazing high protein, no junk food candy bar right there. I'm finding it difficult to come up with a way to make chocolate without sugar. I'm not even sure if it's possible.<br />
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<br />
<b style="color: orange;">POTASSIUM RICH FOODS</b><br />
Potassium is an important electrolyte. Because of weird government restrictions, it's also something you cannot supplement effectively. There is a legal limit of 99 mg doses for potassium supplements. The current recommended intake of potassium for a normal person (not an athlete or lifter) is about 3500 mg. You're not going to take that many pills. So you pretty much have to get it from food. Some people will get enough without trying but some of you may not be getting enough. In order to assist you in making an effort to do so, the following are some foods high in potassium:<br />
<br />
<b>Potatoes with the skin left on</b><br />
a typical serving of potatoes is 150 grams. This contains roughly 700 mg of potassium. This is a great source because I've already mentioned that potatoes are really cheap and a good source of carbs. So in addition to that they have a lot of potassium. Eat just two 150 gram potatoes in a day and that's already 1400 mg of potassium.<br />
<br />
<b>Orange Juice</b><br />
A single 8 oz. serving has 450 mg of potassium. Not a bad choice to start the day.<br />
<br />
<b>Milk</b><br />
A single 8 oz serving has 350 mg of potassium.<br />
<br />
<b>Bananas</b><br />
The poster boy for potassium. An average banana weighs in the range of 120 grams and has just over 400 mg of potassium.<br />
<br />
<b>Beans</b><br />
It depends on the type of bean but a cup of cooked beans has between 600 and 1000 mg of potassium. And of course they have lots of protein and fiber as well. Beans do have anti-nutrients though and I'm not sure if the benefits outweigh the negatives.<br />
<br />
<b>Leafy Greens like Spinach</b><br />
Veggies like this aren't necessarily cost effective but they do have about 500 mg of potassium per 100 grams (raw weight).<br />
<br />
<b>Meat</b><br />
I'll just classify it all together since it's similar. Meat typically has about 300 mg of potassium per 4 oz (raw weight). Obviously meat is awesome and this is just one more reason why. If you eat a lot of meat that could go a long way toward your potassium needs. For every lb. of meat you get about 1200 mg of potassium.<br />
<br />
So you can see, 1 lb. of meat, a few potatoes, some spinach, a banana and a glass of OJ in the morning, copious amounts of milk for good measure, and you're good to go on potassium. But you could easily fall into a diet that doesn't get enough potassium. If you don't eat that much meat or milk and "can't afford" vegetables you may find yourself low on potassium. As a lifter it's probably better to not be in that situation. These, of course, aren't the only foods that have potassium in it. You can look up your favorite foods online to see if they have any significant amount of potassium. I just wanted to bring the subject up since it's an important nutrient and it's something you can't effectively supplement with a pill. Your multivitamin does not help you here. It probably doesn't even have potassium in it, and if it did it could only legally contain 99 mg anyway.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>THINGS YOU SHOULD AVOID</b></span><br />
<br />
The concept is simple, you should buy food and avoid food like products. Cookies, crackers, canned soups, TV dinners etc. The fact is this stuff isn't as cheap because you pay for the product development and marketing and for the name brand. If you want to eat junk make things at home out of white flour and white sugar. Those are probably the two cheapest sources of calories that you can buy. Flour is something like 4700 calories per dollar and sugar is not far behind at something like over 3000.<br />
<br />
Now I'm not recommending that you eat these things at all, just saying if you want junk and want to save money make your own junk out of the raw materials that the junk products are made out of. In other words, if it's cheap junk calories you're after throw some sugar into your protein shake instead of buying Oreos. Make a breading out of egg and flour for your chicken instead of eating Doritos. You can make biscuits as home with nothing more than a bit of baking powder, some flour, margarine, and a little milk. If you want junk calories that's the cheap way to go about it. And yes they are delicious biscuits. You get the point. Heavily marketed products are not as cheap as basic food ingredients. I rarely go down the aisles of the supermarket since most of the "real food" is around the outer edges.<br />
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Also, I have to touch on the subject of fast food even though it's obvious. Your overall best bet in terms of economy is the McDouble from McDonalds. Taco Bell has a burrito that is actually cheaper in terms of calories but it has less protein. Still that's something to consider. In any case you are getting something like 400 calories and, if you don't count that which comes from the bun which you shouldn't, 17 grams of protein for a dollar. This is, of course, a horrible value just based on price per content. The only value in it would be the taste and the convenience. Eat fast food if you want to but don't kid yourself about it being the cheapest or healthiest option. If you're on a budget and you're eating out regularly, stop it.<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-AC2PrTIowEM/T2NxtzCvG4I/AAAAAAAAAWQ/se9O7GblLCs/s1600/mcdouble.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="236" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-AC2PrTIowEM/T2NxtzCvG4I/AAAAAAAAAWQ/se9O7GblLCs/s320/mcdouble.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Though it won't look this pretty, the McDouble is probably your cheapest fast food source of cals and protein.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
For a dollar I could do better than 400 calories and 17 grams of protein. A lot better. Hell, I could have a scoop of whey in 16 oz of whole milk. That's over 400 calories and more importantly it's over 40 grams of quality protein for only 83 cents. Or swap the powder with chicken breast at no extra cost. Or swap the milk for some rice. The possibilities are endless and it's going to be much cheaper and healthier than the fast food option. So if for some reason you didn't understand that even the cheapest fast food options are costing you more money than the food is worth, now you do. You pay for convenience and you pay for the marketing and development that goes into these products.<br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>SUPPLEMENTS</b></span><br />
<br />
I've mentioned protein powder already because that is often a major staple in a lifter's diet. As far as other supplements go I like to keep it basic. If you're on a budget you need to keep it basic. Don't get sucked in by all the hype. Even if most of this stuff works it's not like going without Jack3d or Nox5000SpaceOddessy is going to really stop you from making gains. At best, this highly marketed stuff gives a minor costly advantage. At worst it's just a waste of money. So here are some basic things, and of course basic means cheap.<br />
<br />
<span style="color: orange;"><b>CREATINE</b></span><br />
When I was a teenager I used to think creatine was akin to steroids. I think a lot of uneducated people still do. I'm not sure why people think that. maybe it's because creatine works, or maybe it's because athletes accused of steroid use in the 90s said they took creatine. In any case creatine is nothing like steroids. It's nutrition. It's found in red meat. And it belongs in the same category as your multivitamin and minerals, or perhaps with your macronutrients since it's what your muscles use for energy when doing short duration work (ATP).<br />
<br />
That aside, creatine is one of the few supplements that actually works and the science and research is there to prove it, plus the anedotal evidence of nearly every lifter who tries it. It's also dirt cheap, as long as you buy the basic Creatine Monohydrate, which is what all the research is about anyway. You don't need anything fancy. CreaPure is the quality German source of creatine so that's probably worth getting. Whether you get micronized or not is up to you. It might be in all in my head but when I tried a generic brand of creatine I didn't notice anything. But when I tried Optimum Nutrition creatine it did see some gains. They were both micronized and both CreaPure, so who knows. Maybe I'm just crazy. In any case, creatine monohydrate is all you need. You don't need these ethyl esters and whatnot.<br />
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<span style="color: orange;"><b>MULTIVITAMIN</b></span><br />
If you're on a budget you're not going to be getting copious amounts of fruits and vegetables. As such I recommend a cheap multi-vitamin (prefereably one with some minerals, like zinc, as well if possible). Maybe it works maybe it doesn't but it's super cheap so it's worth it just on the chance that it might help. The trick with this is to wait until the store has a buy one get one free deal, which they have all the time at CVS or Wallgreens or your local grocery store. They usually all have them at the same time. When they do, buy the biggest bottle they have. This way you'll get two of the biggest bottles for the price of one. This will last you like 8 months or more and cost a few cents a day.<br />
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<span style="color: orange;"><b>FISH OIL</b></span><br />
NatureMade brand is a decent choice. And when I say "decent" I mean it's better than the generic store brand but still just as cheap. Again buy when on BOGO sale and get the big bottles. Storing these in the fridge is probably a good idea. No need to stock up, they have the BOGO sales all the time so just buy one, and get one free. Again pennies a day, and when I say that I mean less than 5 cents a day. Of course it depends how much you take. Most recommend more than what the bottle calls a serving. But in this regard you have to do what your budget allows.<br />
<br />
I personally favor fish oil in a bottle rather than the gel caps since I would rather not swallow that many large pills and instead just chug a 1/8 cup of the oil. The pills seem to be cheaper though. Another thing to keep in mind is the amount of OMEGA 3 fatty acids in each pill/serving. 1000 mg of FISH OIL is not 1000 mg of OMEGA 3s. So if you want 3000 mg of OMEGA 3s each day, just an example, you will have to take more like 12 grams of fish oil. I think that's a common mistake. Just be aware of that, if you are advised or decide to take a certain amount of OMEGA 3s via fish oil.<br />
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<span style="color: orange;"><b>ZINC</b></span><br />
If your multi doesn't have zinc you might consider supplementing it separately. Even if it does it probably doesn't have a lot (15mg) so you might want to add extra. Again, same deal as above, BOGO all the way. It's free suppliments, why would you ever buy if it's not BOGO?<br />
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<span style="color: orange;"><b>MAGNESIUM</b></span><br />
Here's the thing to consider with magnesium. It's pretty much a vital mineral and as a weightlifter you need even more of it because of the physical stress that goes with lifting weights. You also lose magnesium through your sweat. You use it when you consume sugar. And farmers do not fertilize their soil with magnesium so the soil is very depleted which means the food you eat has very little magnesium in it. It's basically a must use supplement. But here's the catch. Cheap magnesium pills use magnesium oxide. This is garbage and your body only absorbs about 4% of it. You need to find a supplement other than magnesium oxide. There are many. There's magnesium citrate, magnesium malate, chelated magnesium, There are many to choose from and some are better than others. One thing is for sure though, and that is do not use magnesium oxide. You're just wasting your time. So you can't really go the super market BOGO with this one. And if you start taking magnesium and notice you have loose stool then dial back the dosage or switch types. Some types do not have this effect and some do.<br />
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<span style="color: orange;"><b>B6</b></span><br />
If you're trying to replicate what's in ZMA you'll need to supplement at least like 6mg of B6 a day. I don't do this. My intention was never to replicate the ZMA formula. I'd say I get about 2mg from diet and my multi has another 2mg. ZMA has like 11mg in it and the recommended normal daily intake is less than 2mg. Most B6 supplements are 100mg doses which is way beyond ZMA formula. Even if you cut the pills into quarters that's still more than you need. You could go with a B-complex, I suppose, which usually has more like 10mg of B6 as well as other vitamins.<br />
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<span style="color: orange;"><b>CAFFEINE</b></span><br />
For the most part pre-workout supps are based on caffeine anyway. I just buy the Jet Alert from Walmart and cut the pills in half. That's 100 mg doses then and it lasts over a year. All for less than $4. So that's like 7 cents a week if you lift three times a week. Sometimes I lift four times a week, but the extra session usually isn't enough to warrant a pre-workout jolt.<br />
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<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0KQUKc6gA90/T2N23xUHHMI/AAAAAAAAAWY/n0FLTIT-GxY/s1600/change.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="236" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0KQUKc6gA90/T2N23xUHHMI/AAAAAAAAAWY/n0FLTIT-GxY/s320/change.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Found this when dumping out the shop vac, that damn near pays for my whole supplement stack for the day.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
So that's my list of cheap good foods for an athlete, lifter, or bodybuilder. I am by no means saying this is all you should eat or that you shouldn't eat other things. I'm just listing what I've found to be the best deals for someone on a budget. Obviously how much protein you need and how many calories will determine how much you have to spend on food. Just remember, if you're really on a tight budget, shoot for minimums first. Stick to the basics. And don't go crazy with things you probably don't need. And even if things aren't ideal that doesn't mean you can't get results. Just because you may not be doing the absolute best thing possible in both training and diet doesn't mean what you can manage to do won't work at all.<br />
<br />
In other words, do the best you can. And if reality tells you it's not good enough, then find a way to do better.<br />
<br />
- CarlCarl HmShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00174743788837229450noreply@blogger.com601tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4428117238357875448.post-12948188986674064422012-03-10T05:41:00.000-08:002012-04-05T11:53:48.072-07:00EFS Lever Belt Review<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://homemadestrength.blogspot.com/2012/03/elite-fitness-first-started-carrying.html" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-AgDgSjVzK-I/T1tYRfqj29I/AAAAAAAAAUo/ggHHrc3HvO0/s1600/efsbelt.jpg" /></a></div>
I've been wanting to do this review for a while and finally sat done and got it done. When Elite Fitness first started carrying this belt it was on sale. I believe it ended up being less than $40 shipped to my house. Even so, I'm going to pull no punches. That's cheap for a belt but it's not that cheap. Even though this is half the price of most belts I was expecting more. In hindsight I should have just gone with a normal priced belt from Inzer or BestBelts or some place like that. Read on for the full review.<br />
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<a name='more'></a><br />
<br />
THE GOOD<br />
<br />
Well, it's the same width around the whole belt, 4 inches. So at least the size is right. It's not one of those stupid Valeo belts that are like 2 inches in the front and then widen up in the back. The lever system is nice as well. It's so much easier to take off than a double prong belt. You don't have to fight with trying to get the belt on and tight before a heavy set so all your energy can go toward lifting the weight. Just lock it down and get under the bar. Though to be fair we're not even talking about things specific to this belt but rather general technology of belts in general. It's a 4 inch lever belt. Unfortunately that's really all I can say in terms of "the good" with this belt. And before we move on, know that I've had this belt for months and have done all I can to break this thing in, including the unothadox techniques of strapping it down rolled into the tighest coil possible and throwing it in the washing machine several times. I'm sorry, but you can't really break in plastic. Plastic? yeah, read on.<br />
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THE BAD<br />
<br />
This belt is not all leather. It's two layers of leather with a plastic stiffener sandwiched in between. This obviously makes the belt very stiff, and it makes it so that no amount of working it is going to get it as broken in as a normal all leather belt. Now you could argue that this is the purpose of such a belt but this is my biggest complaint then. WHERE ON THE DAMN WEBSITE DOES IT MENTION THAT THIS IS A PLASTIC STIFFENED BELT? Nowhere, that's where. I would not have bought it if that was the case, and perhaps I should have sent it back straightaway. But this isn't a review about my sense as a consumer.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5u3FMaZMmb8/T1tYRO6gPQI/AAAAAAAAAUg/J2_3lxG9L1c/s1600/belts.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="170" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5u3FMaZMmb8/T1tYRO6gPQI/AAAAAAAAAUg/J2_3lxG9L1c/s400/belts.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Perhaps in Ohio "same" means "different."</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The text on the product page says it's "very similar to the Economy Single Prong Belt." And the video posted on their website says this is the "same" belt as their Single Prong Economy Belt, except this one has a lever action. Joking aside, it's clear that what they mean is the construction is the same. This implies that the Economy Single Prong is also plastic stiffened, so be wary of that if you're considering that belt.<br />
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In contrast to that, here's the text off the Inzer website: "All Inzer Forever Belts â„¢ are one solid thickness of the finest, select, exclusive leather. It is not layers glued together cheaply to make thickness as some other brands." You know what else it is not? It's not made of plastic. At $40 I wouldn't care if the belt was layers of leather glued together. But why don't you just say it's plastic stiffend on the website EFS?<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-nosTRbGK4Eo/T1tYRhYv8sI/AAAAAAAAAUw/MBlVuq5DsLc/s1600/inzerforever.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="302" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-nosTRbGK4Eo/T1tYRhYv8sI/AAAAAAAAAUw/MBlVuq5DsLc/s400/inzerforever.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Inzer Forever Lever Belt. Look ma, no plastic!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Complaint number two: this all might be fine if you're a big and/or fat guy, but smaller and leaner guys will probably not like the belt as much. Because of the plastic it stays really rigid. It doesn't conform well. If you have a quite rotund shape this might be fine. And the extra padding you have from all that fat would also help. But if that doesn't sound like you this is not going to be a comfortable belt, and no amount of attempts to "break it in" is going to change that thanks to the thick layer of plastic in the center.<br />
<br />
Now it's possible I'm just a small guy. Maybe the proportions of my torso are smaller than average. Maybe I don't have enough room between my ribs and hips. Or maybe they shouldn't even bother selling these belts in anything less than XL. I bought Large, if I remember correctly. This worked a lot better when I was 25 lbs. fatter. Even though I still had bruises from the belt and that isn't just a right of breaking it in because you can't really break this damn thing in. Sure to an extent. You can get it to the point where you can actually use it. It doesn't come that way. But after that it's just not going to get more broken in, and that sucks when you weren't expecting such a belt. Despite the fact that the belt can be adjusted small enough to fit me now it's just nowhere near flexible enough to fit the way one would want it to. And without the fat to cushion things it's even worse.<br />
<br />
THE UGLY<br />
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This thing isn't ugly actually. It looks nice enough. The fact that EFS doesn't list the proper information on their website is pretty ugly though. And the bruises it leaves on a leaner guy, well those kinda look cool to be honest.<br />
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IN CONCLUSION<br />
<br />
This seems like it might be okay for a fat lifter moving a ton of weight. Someone who wants a super stiff belt that will stay that way. But for the average guy I would say skip this and go for a normal belt that gets good reviews, like an Inzer Forever. I defenitely reccommend the lever style of belts. Or failing that, a single prong. But I'd steer clear of EFS for belts. Pay your $80 like everyone else who's smart and get a proper belt. Unless of course you want a plastic stiffened belt. But the fact they don't list this on their site just pisses me off. A good belt is probably going to last your entire lifting life anyway so why try to save $40? In the end it just means you're wasting $40 because you'll end up buying a good belt eventually, assuming you're going to use a belt at all.<br />
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Disagree with me? Have the EFS belt and think it's awesome? Post your comments below. (just don't be an asshole about it). You're entitled to your opinion just as I am mine. Sorry if you think I'm being harsh but this is just how I feel about the matter.<br />
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- CarlCarl HmShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00174743788837229450noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4428117238357875448.post-50191093543425668482012-02-11T14:34:00.000-08:002012-04-05T11:55:28.542-07:00Roll Out The Ab Wheel<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://homemadestrength.blogspot.com/2012/02/roll-out-ab-wheel.html" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-JzJrelIgL_Q/TzbpBgpa33I/AAAAAAAAAQo/SX3KxsaCanU/s1600/arw.jpg" /></a></div>
It's been a long time since I posted last. I recently made an ab wheel out of scrap parts I had around the house. This is the first video demonstration on the site. It's not so much intended as a project, it's just me sharing what I did. If you had to buy these parts it would be more expensive than a commercial ab wheel. If they're in your garage already then have at it. Maybe this gives you some ideas about how to make your own or inspires you to think about re-purposing old gear you may have collecting dust.<br />
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<b><span style="color: orange;">HOMEMADE AB WHEEL</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Yeah, I know it's technically called an "ab wheel" and the exercise is "ab wheel rollout." But I called it an "ab rollout wheel" and I will stubbornly stand by what I said. So what? Wanna fight about it?</span></div>
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<br /></div>Carl HmShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00174743788837229450noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4428117238357875448.post-37709989745163238882011-06-29T05:25:00.000-07:002011-06-29T05:25:48.109-07:00Dip Belt<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-oOilOeNImPI/TgsWsNe3bQI/AAAAAAAAAPY/z2OCntnmFL8/s1600/belticon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-oOilOeNImPI/TgsWsNe3bQI/AAAAAAAAAPY/z2OCntnmFL8/s1600/belticon.jpg" /></a></div>I'm sure you've seen this on the net before. I did not create this design. This is going to be a bit of a hybrid post. Part DIY project, part review of a DIY project. I'll show you how to make this popular internet design, as well as review it so you can decide if it's right for you before you go through the (minimal) hassle of making it.<br />
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<b style="color: orange;">Cost:</b> less than $10 (hopefully)<br />
<b style="color: orange;">Time:</b> a few minutes<br />
<b><span style="color: orange;">Difficulty:</span></b> It gets no easier than this<br />
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<b style="color: orange;">Tools Needed:</b><br />
Scissors to cut tape<br />
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<b><span style="color: orange;">Materials Needed:</span></b><br />
Chain - 6 or 7 foot length (183 to 213 cm)<br />
2 Carabiner clips - rated for a few hundred lbs. should be okay<br />
Pipe insulation foam - you probably need about 3 feet (91 cm) length or so<br />
Duct Tape<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rk6NBuPsiFc/TgsXAHB0WEI/AAAAAAAAAPg/dp4Ia-8fKGc/s1600/belt2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="304" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rk6NBuPsiFc/TgsXAHB0WEI/AAAAAAAAAPg/dp4Ia-8fKGc/s320/belt2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Mine is a bit fancier than the original design but I don't recommend that.</b></span></td></tr>
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</div>The design and construction is simple. Essentially you take a length of chain. 6 to 7 feet (183 to 213 cm) should be enough though you may need a bit more if you are particularly large around the midsection. In this project, too much is okay, you can just let it hang. Too little is no good.<br />
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Take your length of pipe insulation foam (sold in 6 foot lengths). Wrap it around your waist to measure how much you need. Cut it off at the appropriate length.<br />
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Put the foam around your chain. I prefer to put the foam so that it is near one end of the chain, a few links from the end. Now take duct tape and wrap the whole length of foam in the tape to seal it up (insulation foam usually comes with a slit down it so you can fit it easily over the pipe or in this case chain.<br />
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Clip a carabiner to the end of the chain. The end with the foam near it. This is basically your completed belt. You can add more layers of foam if you wish and tape them on as well but it doesn't really make a big difference in my experience. Heavy weights are uncomfortable even with many layers of foam and light weights are fine even with one layer of foam.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-eIob4iCx8v8/TgsW_mm2rBI/AAAAAAAAAPc/009YZ68Z1_I/s1600/belt1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="230" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-eIob4iCx8v8/TgsW_mm2rBI/AAAAAAAAAPc/009YZ68Z1_I/s400/belt1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
There are two ways to wear this thing (both shown above). One is like a hip belt where you simply use one carabiner and let the weight hang as it naturally wants to. To do this you simply put the chain through the center hole of your weight and then clip it into your one carabiner.<br />
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The other way to wear it is to use your first carabiner to clip to the other part of the chain on the other side of your foam. This creates a belt around your waist. Then you put the rest of the chain through the weight plates and back up, and use a second carabiner to clip the weighted loop of chain to your waist belt. The choice is yours. Now, here are my additional thoughts on this popular project.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9_CSGsy2w3E/TgsXERxBKBI/AAAAAAAAAPo/N0l4buJzMAE/s1600/belt3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="305" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9_CSGsy2w3E/TgsXERxBKBI/AAAAAAAAAPo/N0l4buJzMAE/s320/belt3.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Great with light weights, no so comfortable when it's heavy.</b></span></td></tr>
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</div>First, it works brilliantly well if the weight is lighter (less than 90 lbs.), but when you start getting heavier it goes from brilliant to uncomfortable to painful. Now, one could argue that perhaps it's a conditioning thing, and that in time you would get used to it. Maybe that's true, but I still have to mention it. Because perhaps the real reason is that the design of this thing is not ideal.<br />
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Insulation foam helps, but there's only so much it can do. Even doubling or tripling the layers of foam doesn't solve the initial problem of the design. The problem is that a chain has a small surface area. So all the pressure of the weight is being distributed over a small area of your body. As I said, the foam helps increase this but the chain is the load bearing structure and it can and will make its presence known despite the foam.<br />
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A commercial dip belt, on the other hand, distributes the weight over the larger surface area of the wide belt, made of leather or fabric, itself.<br />
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You can see in the pictures above that I used higher quality materials rated for thousands of lbs. I don't recommend this. All you do is drive the price up (albeit not much). The fact remains this design is likely far too uncomfortable to load heavier amounts of weight on. If you get materials rated for a few hundred lbs. you should be okay because this belt will likely become hard to use (unbearably uncomfortable) at heavy poundages anyway. I also didn't use carabiners because I opted for stronger clips. But carabiners are faster and easier to use and like I said, you probably won't be able to tolerate loading a lot of weight onto this belt anyway.<br />
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Of course, it all depends on your goals and what you intend to do, but if you intend to dip as much as you possibly can, then in time you may need a properly designed commercial belt as apposed to a slightly padded chain digging into your hips.<br />
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But if you don't intend to dip very heavy then this design should suit you well. Since I have already made it, I will use this DIY belt until I am dipping heavy enough to need something better. We are all about saving money here at Homemade Strength, but we're most certainly not about using inferior equipment because we're stingy.<br />
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Most of the time you can make something that functions just as well as commercial products but when that is not the case, if a DIY option doesn't fulfill your needs, do not hesitate to buy something that does. Not everything can be easily made at home by the average person and a high quality commercial style leather or fabric dip belt is one of those things.<br />
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But I'll say again in the interest of fairness, it could be that in time you get used to it and maybe it's not so uncomfortable then.<br />
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- CarlCarl HmShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00174743788837229450noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4428117238357875448.post-31753044208780547162011-06-24T13:05:00.000-07:002011-06-29T05:27:29.869-07:00Dip Stands<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-dhFbSQKrZZc/TgTjYOJH_3I/AAAAAAAAAPQ/1NgfHcEprkI/s1600/dipsicon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-dhFbSQKrZZc/TgTjYOJH_3I/AAAAAAAAAPQ/1NgfHcEprkI/s1600/dipsicon.jpg" /></a></div>Today I'll show you how to construct a space saving dip station. You can use scrap wood to keep the cost down. This is another project that can end up being free or very cheap, while at the same time recycling old material. These are an addition to the saw horse safety stands. This was an old project but I have since refined and significantly improved it.<b><span style="color: orange;"> </span></b><br />
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<b><span style="color: orange;">Cost:</span></b> around $20 (depending on what scrap materials you have)<br />
<b><span style="color: orange;">Project Time:</span></b> a few hours plus time for glue to dry<br />
<b><span style="color: orange;">Difficulty:</span></b> This one requires the ability to cut wood with the saw of your choice, as well as the competence to use a drill, which is to say hold a button while pressing the drill toward the material. You also have to drive screws.<br />
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<b><span style="color: orange;">Tools Needed:</span></b><br />
<ul><li><b>Drill</b></li>
<li><b>1 3/4 inch (44 mm) hole saw bit</b></li>
<li><b>Screwdriver</b> </li>
<li><b>Saw to cut plywood </b>(circular saw, hand saw, etc.)</li>
<li><b>Saw to cut studs </b>(miter saw, hand saw, circular saw, etc.) </li>
<li><b>Hack Saw </b>- to cut pipe (optional, you can buy it pre cut or have the store do it)</li>
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<b><span style="color: orange;">Materials Needed:</span></b><br />
<ul><li><b>2x4 Studs (38 x 88mm) -</b> one long board or just use scraps, we need eight pieces about 5" long (13 cm)<b><br />
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<li><b>Wood screws</b> - I prefer ones like <a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-l5N3HK72Tj0/TgTbBnE-TnI/AAAAAAAAAO0/DLduDYonjD4/s1600/screws.jpg"><b>THESE</b></a>; you need 12 screws for this project.</li>
<li><b>Scrap lengths of "plywood" - </b>the size of your saw horse tops<b>; </b>oriented strand board is what I use<b>.</b></li>
<li><b>Paint</b> (optional)</li>
<li><b>2 adjustable height saw horses</b> (you should already have these)</li>
<li><b>2 Bolts</b> - You want the length to be right about 2 1/2 inches (63 mm). Diameter can vary but around size #10 is good (that's 5M for metric users).</li>
<li><b>1 1/4 inch diameter metal pipe</b> - you need two pieces roughly 1 foot long each (30 cm). * Though it's labeled 1 1/4 inch, pipe like this actually has an outer diameter of 1.6 inches (42 mm).</li>
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<ul></ul><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aixXVhG7VmY/TgTjXE8mMcI/AAAAAAAAAPI/mY37n6Xefjs/s1600/dips06.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="313" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aixXVhG7VmY/TgTjXE8mMcI/AAAAAAAAAPI/mY37n6Xefjs/s400/dips06.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>This project is an add on for our <a href="http://homemadestrength.blogspot.com/2011/04/saw-horse-safety-stands_28.html"><b>saw horse safety stands</b></a>. The saw horses, as I discussed in a previous entry are used as safety stands for the squat and bench press, to accompany the <a href="http://homemadestrength.blogspot.com/2011/04/more-than-just-squat-stands.html"><b>homemade squat stands</b></a>, which I've also already covered in a previous post. If you are making a similar setup you should already have the saw horses to be used for safety stands, like I do. If you do not have such a setup, and perhaps you have a power rack instead, then you may want to look past this project or you can locate one of many different designs for stand alone dip bars on the internet. That would probably be cheaper than spending $40 on saw horses just to do dips. But then again, you know this will be as strong as you need it to be since each sawhorse is rated for over 1000 lbs.<br />
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If you do go another route I'll offer some advice. There are several designs out there on the net. I would recommend you go with a wooden option, particularly if you intend to dip heavy. If you're just messing around with bodyweight dips (why are you not adding weight?) then the PVC options are probably okay. But if you're talking about doing dips seriously, then you need something strong enough to take your bodyweight, which could be 200+ lbs. and another hundred or several hundred lbs. on top of that. You want something solid that you know will hold up.<br />
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Also keep in mind the prices. Go to the store and get a feel for what each design would cost. 2x4 wood is usually cheaper than a bunch of plumbing parts. I may very well make such a stand alone dip station in the future because merely typing this paragraph already has the ideas flying around in my head. I'm quite certain I could make one that is both strong, adjustable, and will "fold" up for easier storage. Anyway, getting on with THIS project.<br />
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</div><div style="text-align: left;">I decided to make these because I had a problem. I wanted to add dips to my repertoire but I didn't want something that had to mount to the wall. I wanted it to have a low footprint that could be moved and stored. I also thought that the "between two chairs" idea was lame. It works, sure, at least for body weight dips. It also hurts the fuck out of your hands. And everyone knows you can lift a hell of a lot more when there's an ample supply of fuck in the tissues of the hand.The reason this is so, is because the backs of folding chairs are quite small in terms of surface area, and that means lots of psi (pressure) on your hands.<br />
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The first piece we're going to make is the plywood base. See the <a href="http://homemadestrength.blogspot.com/p/materials-dictionary.html"><b>Material Dictionary</b></a> for suitable plywood replacements. I personally always use Oriented Strand Board, though I usually just call it "plywood" even though it's not. Measure the length and width of the top of your saw horse. Alternatively, you could simply take the sawhorse out to the garage, put it on the plywood and trace around it. If you do that, mark your plywood through the hole on each end of the saw horse. Now simply cut the piece of plywood. You should now have a piece of plywood roughly the size of the top of your saw horse. Remember to then mark and drill holes through the plywood that line up with the holes in each end of your sawhorse<br />
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<b>* My instructions are for a single stand/handle. Since you need to make two, remember to repeat the whole procedure to make another one.</b> </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div>Now we'll make our 2x4 posts. At first glance you may ask, "why not simply use 4x4s instead?" The answer is in the pipe. We're using "1 1/4 inch pipe" which actually has an outer diameter of 1.6 inches (42 mm). This is key because it's more comfortable to use than smaller pipe; the outside diameter of this pipe closely resembles gymnastic parallel bars in size. In order to duplicate our design using 4x4 posts we would need to be able to bore out a hole halfway through the post. To do this we would need something called a Forstner bit, and they are not cheap, especially in the store. Online they are not too bad but still not as cheap as hole saws. Normal wood boring bits aren't big enough to make the hole we need to fit our 1.6 (42mm) OD pipe. I wouldn't possibly ask you to spend $30 on a tool you'll use for one project. So instead, we'll use 2x4s (38 x 88mm) and a 1 3/4 inch (44 mm) hole saw.<br />
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Take a length of 2x4 board and measure roughly 1 5/8 inches (41 mm) down from one end. Put a dot here, centered in the width of your board. This is the mark that the center bit of your hole saw will go on. Line it up and drill all the way through the thickness of your board. Now measure about 5 inches (13 cm) from the edge (same edge as before), mark a line and cut the board. You've produced your first board with a hole near the top. You'll need to repeat this procedure again, so now you have two. That's the hard part. Now cut two more pieces of 2x4, each 5 inches (13 cm) in length. But don't drill the holes in these last two.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0wWoQH5IRQg/TgTdENfG1oI/AAAAAAAAAPA/puba5quVRQ8/s1600/dips04.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0wWoQH5IRQg/TgTdENfG1oI/AAAAAAAAAPA/puba5quVRQ8/s320/dips04.jpg" width="268" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>With nearly no square footage, if a bird had to live here, he'd be pissed.</b></span></td></tr>
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</div>We're going to compile our first "birdhouse" piece. I call it that because is somewhat resembles a birdhouse when done. Take one of the boards you drilled the big hole in and stack it on top of one of the matching boards with no hole in it. Now drill a hole through the top board and into the bottom board, more or less centered in the space below the big hole you cut out. If you bit isn't long enough to get good depth in the bottom board, remove the top board and drill out the bottom board further. Read on for clarity before you do all this.<br />
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This is going to be a pre drilled hole for your screws so the drill bit you use should be smaller than the diameter of your screws. For all my projects, I like to use <a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-l5N3HK72Tj0/TgTbBnE-TnI/AAAAAAAAAO0/DLduDYonjD4/s1600/screws.jpg"><b>2 1/2 inch (63 mm) T-25 star bit screws</b></a> designed for external uses such as decks or sheds. You certainly don't need something that beefy for this particular application but those are the screws I always have so those are the ones I use. In any case, pre drill holes or don't complain to me if you split your wood.<br />
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Pre drilling your holes is important in this project. You must drill these holes. If you just drive the screws into bare wood the odds are you're going to split the board. After all the work you did with the hole saw you will not be happy if this happens. Pre drill these holes and drive in your screws by hand or slowly with a drill and you'll be safe from that unwanted fate. But before you put the screw in, slather some wood glue in between the boards. We're only putting one screw in (no room for more without splitting the wood) so the wood glue will provide the extra strength.<br />
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If you have clamps then clamp this piece down on itself while it dries. If not, just put it on the floor and put something heavy on it. I used a patio brick since that was the closest heavy thing. Once dry, the wood glue alone will make this piece so strong you couldn't get it apart if you wanted to. Repeat this step for the other remaining blocks. When it's dry you'll have two birdhouses.<br />
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Now on to the pipe. You need roughly a 12 inch (30 cm) length of this pipe. You can buy it already cut into these lengths (more expensive) or you can buy a long 10 foot pipe and have the store cut it up for you (more hassle), or you could cut it at home yourself (more work). In the interest of maximum time savings I personally just bought a pair of already cut pipes.<br />
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The pipe is probably quite grimy so clean it up first using either steel wool or the rough side of a sponge and some soap. If you have an electric sander and want your pipe to look super cool, put your sander to it. Sand the entire pipe (with the sander powered on of course), moving the sander in small circles, like the Karate Kid. "Wax on." This won't create a knurling or anything like that. It will simply put fine scratches in it and polish it up and give the pipe a "brushed" shiny look. It will still feel perfectly smooth to the touch but it looks fancier.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZI6Q4w8s4q8/TgTdDy_ZOKI/AAAAAAAAAO8/PRjfGz0jP6A/s1600/dips03.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="191" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZI6Q4w8s4q8/TgTdDy_ZOKI/AAAAAAAAAO8/PRjfGz0jP6A/s400/dips03.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div>The next step is to attach this all to the plywood base. The best way to do this is to turn your bird houses upside down (hole closer to the bottom) and holes facing toward each other. Fit the pipe into the bird houses and push them together as far as they go so the pipe if fully in at both ends. Simply put your plywood strip you cut earlier on top. Line it up and center it.<br />
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Now drill holes for your screws through the plywood and deep into the birdhouses below (don't skip this lest you risk splitting your birdhouses). Looking at the picture you can see how I staggered the screws. I put two screws in each birdhouse, one in each 2x4, staggered (one on each side).<br />
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That could be the end of it, if you wish. But, you'll notice that your bars are able to spin right now. I don't know if there would be a valid reason for wanting that but I opted to secure mine so they don't spin. To do this, first take the bit you've been using to pre drill holes for your screws. This should be slightly smaller than the #10 (5M) bolts you're about to use. Your mark is the center of the top of the 2x4 that you drilled the big hole in earlier, directly above where the pipe sits. Drill down through the wood, do your best to make this as perfectly straight as possible. When you hit the pipe, stop for a second. Securely hold the pipe with one hand so it doesn't move around, then continue to drill at least for a little while to ensure that this spot is marked on your pipe.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-nycPncz4VoE/TgTjWrfEDpI/AAAAAAAAAPE/lrYdtI90TQw/s1600/dips05.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-nycPncz4VoE/TgTjWrfEDpI/AAAAAAAAAPE/lrYdtI90TQw/s320/dips05.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>A bolt through the top makes the spinning stop.</b></span></td></tr>
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Take the screws out of the bottom of your plywood for one of your birdhouses. This will allow you to take the pipe out. Switch to a bit that is just a bit bigger than your chosen bolt's diameter. You need this bolt to be able to fit through the pipe but you also don't want the hole so big that there is slack for the pipe to greatly move around either. Drill through the pipe on the spot you marked. Since the pipe is hollow, take care to make sure you keep your bit straight once you get through the top edge of your pipe and are working on the bottom. Once you're completely through the pipe, fit your bolt in to ensure that everything fits.<br />
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Reassemble the handle and screw it back into the plywood base. Then take that same smaller drill bit that you use to pre drill for screws. Hold it up against the side of your birdhouse next to the pipe to make sure it's long enough to get from the top though the pipe. Bits of this size typically should be. If you have to take a shallow grip on it with your drill, that's okay. Feed it in through both holes in the pipe and drill through the bottom wood as far as you can or as much as you need for your bolt.<br />
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Now you can screw in your bolt. Of course, it's a bolt, not a wood screw so it's not designed to bore into wood, but it does have metal threads and they will do that to an extent. This is why we pre drilled holes that were slightly smaller than the diameter of our bolt. It will dig into the wood and secure itself a little more by doing so. If the hole is too small and the bolt doesn't easily screw in then drill the hole bigger. If you wish, you could use a wood or metal screw but in my testing a bolt ends up providing more stability (no wiggle) for our pipe. You can choose to slightly counter sink the head of your bolt if you wish. That simply means you need to drill out a bigger shallow hole at the top so that the head has room to go below the surface of the wood.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HK4orKpmqkY/TgTdDZx7e7I/AAAAAAAAAO4/jmGf2559IsM/s1600/dips02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="247" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HK4orKpmqkY/TgTdDZx7e7I/AAAAAAAAAO4/jmGf2559IsM/s400/dips02.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>There's nothing wrong with square corners, unless you're a square hating enthusiast like me.</b></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div>You can also choose to round the outside edges of your birdhouses. I did it and it's purely for aesthetic reasons. If you want to copy me, simply use a hand saw to lop of the corner, then sand them down to a curve. A coping saw works well for this because it's so small you can be very accurate with it. But a normal hand saw works too as long as you're careful. A router would be the power tool way to speed things up but if you have a router you don't need me to tell you to use it for this task. <br />
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So that's one handle done. Repeat the whole procedure for the other handle, though I'm assuming you already did most of it while your birdhouses were drying. You can paint them if you want. I did because I had to make them match the rest of my equipment (squat stands and bench). They do not, however, match my purse. I have a purple sequence purse, everybody knows that it's the hottest thing right now.<br />
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Of course, as it stands they aren't very secure on top of your sawhorses because they are not attached to the saw horses in any way. That's why we drilled the holes in the plywood corresponding to the holes in each end of the saw horses. If you are using different sawhorses than I, and yours do not have holes, then drill them yourself if possible.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xI4-mo6oaeM/TgTjXnGWMbI/AAAAAAAAAPM/OLHAzyck39M/s1600/dips07.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xI4-mo6oaeM/TgTjXnGWMbI/AAAAAAAAAPM/OLHAzyck39M/s400/dips07.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div>You can secure your attachments to your saw horses with a bolt and nut (use a wing nut on top for easy no tool tightening/loosening ability). You can also simply use an allen wrench like a pin. Just like I mention in the original saw horse safety catches post, I simply put a sufficiently sized allen wrench through the hole. The L shape, and length, of the wrench holds the addition in place. I haven't noticed any instability or wobbling yet but if that is the case then just bolt them down to your saw horses.<br />
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The saw horses are adjustable so if you need to you can raise them to accommodate your body. This can be a bit of a hassle but it's the price you pay for the benefit of having equipment to has multiple functions. It saves space and I deem it worth the bit of time it takes to adjust the sawhorses to convert them from dip station to safety stands. <br />
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I have read that, in general, the right distance between the two bars should be the distance from your elbow to fingertips. I don't know if that's universally true, but it seems to work well enough for me. In any case you can position these as far apart as you choose. <br />
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If you're also interested in a <a href="http://homemadestrength.blogspot.com/2011/06/dip-belt.html"><b>DIY dipping belt, click here</b></a>. <br />
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-CarlCarl HmShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00174743788837229450noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4428117238357875448.post-52211412137934331382011-06-19T11:10:00.000-07:002011-06-19T11:10:28.933-07:00Weight Storage Rack<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GEzuK0t1zcY/TfaaqWX1a7I/AAAAAAAAANc/W0VxvpoXsgY/s1600/wrack.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GEzuK0t1zcY/TfaaqWX1a7I/AAAAAAAAANc/W0VxvpoXsgY/s1600/wrack.jpg" /></a></div>Are your weights just lying around on the floor? This is unacceptable by Homemade Strength standards. Remedy the situation on your day off. It's cheap. It's easy. and it will make your gym that much more proper. This is an example of a project that doesn't have an exact commercial equivalent and it's still cheaper than similar commercial options.<br />
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<a name='more'></a><b style="color: orange;">Cost:</b> about $35<br />
<b style="color: orange;">Project time:</b> 1 day<br />
<b><span style="color: orange;">Difficulty:</span></b> You have to cut wood using a saw or saws of your choice. You have to drill holes and drive screws into said wood. This is pretty basic stuff. Even a newb can learn this quickly so don't be scared. Man up.<br />
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<b style="color: orange;">Tools Needed:</b><br />
<ul><li><b>Saw</b> (for cutting wood) - miter saw is ideal for cutting your many 2 x 4s, but you'll also need something for long straight cuts in your particle board, like a normal hand saw, circular saw, or jigsaw.</li>
<li><b>Drill / Screwdriver</b></li>
<li><b>Sander</b> - could be electric or just a hand rubber sanding block, and sand paper of course.</li>
<li><b>Wrench</b> - either a 1/4" or simply an adjustable one.</li>
<li><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-A5YsmmKKlgg/TfajGMxnCgI/AAAAAAAAANs/kllB4yJdg64/s1600/socket.jpg" style="color: white;"><b>Socket Wrench</b></a> - in addition to a normal wrench, a socket wrench with the necessary pieces to accept a screwdriver bit will make one small part of the project much easier. <b><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-A5YsmmKKlgg/TfajGMxnCgI/AAAAAAAAANs/kllB4yJdg64/s1600/socket.jpg">Click here to see a picture of what I mean.</a> </b>(perhaps optional) </li>
</ul><br />
<ul></ul> <b style="color: orange;">Materials Needed:</b><br />
<ul><li><b>2 x 4 studs</b> (8 feet in length) - you need 4 of these.</li>
<li><b>Particle Board</b> (3/4 inch thick, 12 inches wide) - you need two pieces of 3 foot length each so you could buy a 6 foot long board or two 4 foot long boards, etc.</li>
<li><b>1" x 6" Wooden Board</b>, typically used for a deck - you barely need any of this, 1 foot length. You could probably fashion these out of your leftover 2 x 4s if you want.</li>
<li><b>Box of 2 and 1/2 inch deck screws</b> - I like T25 star bit head screws</li>
<li><b>1/4" Carriage Bolts</b> (3 and 1/2 inches long) - you need 16 of these. May be cheaper to just buy a bag of 20.</li>
<li><b>1/4" Nuts</b> (to fit your carriage bolts) - obviously you need 16 of these as well.</li>
<li><b>5/16" Fender Washers</b> - you need 16 of these. The size markings on washers tell you the inner diameter, just fyi. They have to be bigger than 1/4" because they must fit the square base of your carriage bolts, which is larger than the diameter of the threads.</li>
<li><b>1/4" Washers</b> - you need 16 of these.</li>
<li><b>Wood Glue</b></li>
<li><b>Paint</b> (optional)</li>
<li><b>Pipe Insulation Foam</b> (optional)</li>
<li><b>Duct Tape / Electrical Tape</b> (optional)</li>
</ul><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QBZ7mV5OERQ/TfabmDKYgTI/AAAAAAAAANg/yNNvEHucnNQ/s1600/storerack.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="366" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QBZ7mV5OERQ/TfabmDKYgTI/AAAAAAAAANg/yNNvEHucnNQ/s400/storerack.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Plate "slots" can store 45 lb., 35 lb., and even spacer plates.</b></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div>What we're making today is a handy solution to organize our weight plates. I always see pictures of home gyms with stacks of plates just lying around on the ground. Let's tidy it up and make them conveniently accessible, shall we?<br />
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This project took me two days and that was with me making things up and designing as I worked. I got stumped and had to sleep on it to get past my sticking point in the design. I figure it could certainly be done, following instructions, in one day. But I'm an introverted worker. I take a lot of breaks and get lost in thought liberally throughout the project.<br />
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I used to have a commercial weight "tree" rack. Well, I technically still do have it. I should say I used to use a commercial weight rack. I didn't really like it. It was a cheaper one, at about $50. The problem is they aren't rated for a whole lot of weight and more importantly they don't have the space to accommodate enough big plates to add a whole lot of weight. The ones that are rated for serious poundages are near $100 in cost. I still don't know if they really have the space to stack up eight 45 lb. plates on them as well as all the essential smaller increments.<br />
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Because we're average guys in the garage, we probably won't be able to do serious metal fabrication. That's why wood is the material of choice for Homemade Strength. Given the nature of the material, it's more prudent for us to avoid the vertical frame design of normal metal plate racks. Instead, what we're going to do is mimic a horizontal plate rack design. No, this won't duplicate the function of portable platform racks, but it resembles that design more than the normal "tree" or "A frame" design.<br />
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Our custom DIY design will handle eight 45 lb. plates, as well as your quarters (2), dimes (2), nickles (5), and even your 2 1/2 lb. plates. This is a "full set" that when loaded on the bar would total 500 lbs. I think that's a solid figure. If you have 35 lb. plates they can be substituted at will for the 45 lb. plates; this rack will fit eight of either.<br />
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You can, of course, make your rack longer. The amount of plates it can hold is only limited by the length of the rack. All you have to do is make yours as long as you want it and you can load up as many 45 lb. plates as you choose. Mine is 3 feet long.<br />
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One last thing to get out of the way before we start. This is not a carrying case, nor a portable platform rack. Don't try to lift this thing and move it around with plates in it. I assure you the odds are it will break. It is perfectly strong when used properly. It is designed to store plates when sitting on the ground. The compressive strength of wood is great. If you lift it, now it's a matter of tensile strength and that's nowhere near as great. If you have to move it, unload the thing, then pick it up. The rack only weighs 45 lbs. itself so not a problem for anyone who trains with the weights this rack is designed to hold.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qFQS6B40bQo/Tfe0OnrlkZI/AAAAAAAAAOE/j_tGu6mof-g/s1600/wrack04.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qFQS6B40bQo/Tfe0OnrlkZI/AAAAAAAAAOE/j_tGu6mof-g/s400/wrack04.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Weights, lacrosse balls, collars, bands, it's an equal opportunity storage device.</b></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
Like most projects here on Homemade Strength, 2x4s play a significant role in its design. It's our favorite material because it's cheap and strong. It's designed for commercial framing purposes so it's perfect for our gym projects.<br />
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The first thing you have to do is decide how long you want your rack. The longer you make it, the more big plates (read that 45 lbs.) you can store. I made mine 36 inches (3 feet) long. If you choose differently, the key boards you'll have to make longer are the two initial 2 x 4 runners and the particle board sides. The rest will be the same for any size rack.<br />
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So, 36 inches is my chosen length. Measure and cut two pieces of 2x4 to this length. Now, Measure and cut two pieces of 2x4 to 7 inches long. These are our middle spacers. They will ensure the 2x4 runners are 7 inches apart. A miter saw is the fastest way to cut 2x4s but any saw that gets the job done, even a hand saw, will suffice. Now cut four pieces of 2x4, each one only 2 inches long.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0aBk7C-WFp0/TfafWqNERjI/AAAAAAAAANk/_5cMPhsJ4JE/s1600/wrack01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="238" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0aBk7C-WFp0/TfafWqNERjI/AAAAAAAAANk/_5cMPhsJ4JE/s400/wrack01.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Monkey see, monkey do. Not that I'm calling you a monkey or anything like that.</b></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>The picture above shows how we are going to arrange all these pieces. lay your boards on the ground and dry fit them as shown. On each end you have a 2 inch piece, then the width of the long runner board, then the 7 inch piece, then the other runner board, then another 2 inch piece. Clearly a picture is far better than my sorry attempt at an explanation. Look and mimic.<br />
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You'll notice that if you measure the length of one of the ends of this frame, it will be roughly 18 inches. Whatever it is exactly, we now need to cut 8 pieces of 2 x 4 to this length. So measure and cut your boards until you have eight pieces that are 18 inches long each.<br />
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For the record, whenever you are cutting a long board into many smaller pieces you should always measure one, cut that one, then measure the next, and cut. Never mark many measurements off and then just go down the line cutting. The reason is, the saw blade will remove a significant amount of material and the boards will end up shorter than what you measured them to be. Measure, cut, measure, cut. That's how you do it.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OLSBlH7pYhY/Tfah-6Bsw4I/AAAAAAAAANo/Ljj9aUJjpUE/s1600/wrack02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="253" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OLSBlH7pYhY/Tfah-6Bsw4I/AAAAAAAAANo/Ljj9aUJjpUE/s400/wrack02.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Six on one side, two on the other. Do as I say, not as I photograph.</b></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: left;">Now take six of the newly cut 18 inch long boards and stack them up like pancakes on one end of your frame, as shown in the picture above. Not shown in the picture is that you should stack the other two on the other end of your frame. Two on one end, six on the other.<br />
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Alright. That was just a dry fit. Now we have to actually fasten it together. We're going to use the "glue and screw" method. Remove the eight boards that you stacked on the basic frame and put them aside. Put down some newspaper or spare cardboard from your recycling bin so you don't get glue all over your garage floor. You're going to slather wood glue on the sides of the boards you cut in the original step.<br />
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That is to say, the 7 inch boards, 1 inch boards and the long runners. Just put glue on the sides where these pieces touch each other and once again position them as I originally showed you. Whether you think it looks like part of a fence, a large "I", or a wide "H" I'll leave that to you. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-iEMTVsL_MY0/Tfenh-CIDxI/AAAAAAAAANw/Qst1L5fslzI/s1600/diagram01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-iEMTVsL_MY0/Tfenh-CIDxI/AAAAAAAAANw/Qst1L5fslzI/s1600/diagram01.jpg" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div>As the diagram above shows, you're going to take one of the 18 inch pieces and put it back on top of the end of your now glued jigsaw puzzle of a frame. But before you do that, slather the bottom of it with glue, then smush it down like a sandwich with mayo on it. Take five of your deck screws and drive them through the top board, one into each of the five pieces on the bottom. Make sure all the ends are squared up and aligned before you do this.<br />
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Now, as the above diagram also shows, put another board on top of the one you just secured. Again slathering it with glue before you smush it down. This time only put two screws into it, towards the middle, using your eyes to determine where you can place them without jamming them into the five screws you just put in. Repeat this for the other side of your "H, I , fence post."<br />
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Now you have your frame, each end glued and screwed with two boards on top of it. Before we get to the other remaining pieces for one of the ends, we're going to put the sides on, to ensure that our stack of pancakes ends up stacked straight.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-eub6fr0CFfk/TfeoBtTvXRI/AAAAAAAAAN0/gIAyH9aqiEk/s1600/wrack02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="382" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-eub6fr0CFfk/TfeoBtTvXRI/AAAAAAAAAN0/gIAyH9aqiEk/s400/wrack02.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div>The sides, for now, are quite easy and simple. Either you bought one longer piece of particle board, or you bought two smaller (4 foot) pieces. Either way Make your cuts to create two pieces that are 3 feet in length (and 12 inches in width (height)); the same exact size as the long runners you first cut.<br />
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Position your sides up to the frame as shown above. We're going to pre-drill holes for our screws so choose a drill bit that is smaller than the threads of your deck screws. At this point there are only 2 boards stacked on each side, so your current top board is actually board number 2 in our stacks. Drill through the side of your particle board and into the side of the TOP board (#2) on each end of your frame. It has to be the this board. On the lower boards there are screws near the edge holding that mass of small pieces together.You can't screw into that mess because there are already too many screws there. So drill and then screw into the top board. Do this for all four corners of your box. One screw in each corner.<br />
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One end of this basic frame is done. Remember, "two on one side, six on the other." As of now, there is two on one side and two on the other. So one side is complete for now. The other needs four more pieces stacked up. The process is the same. Put your glue down, smush a piece of wood on top, and put your screws in to secure it. The diagram below will show that you're going to alternate between driving two screws and three screws. Follow the picture to coordinate your placement of screws.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-n62M6SGM3Dg/TfetESbeKPI/AAAAAAAAAN4/mbozIFzYkqM/s1600/diagram02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-n62M6SGM3Dg/TfetESbeKPI/AAAAAAAAAN4/mbozIFzYkqM/s1600/diagram02.jpg" /></a></div><br />
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Notice that you secure board 3 and 2 together with three screws (shown in red); one in the middle, two on the ends, to avoid the screws you've already put in. Then, when securing board 4 on top of 3 you use two screws (shown in blue). You alternate between using two and three screws each board you stack up. You'll end with two screws, which leaves you plenty of space in the sides of board 6 to secure your particle board side pieces into board 6; just like you did in board 2. I'm well aware of the fact that board 2 gets three screws in it from above (board 3). At that point, your side screws holding the particle board sides on will already be in board 2. Just be careful and use your senses to accommodate where you can and cannot put a screw. Sometimes detailed explanation just makes things sound difficult. I assure you this stuff is easy. Have confidence and just go with it.<br />
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Now we have the basic shape of our glorified box. As you can see in the picture, it's big enough to nicely house a 45 lb. plate. The end with your stack of six boards it the end which will hold your 45 lb. plates. Half of this box design will be delegated to this task. The other half, towards the "two stack" end will progressively step down from your quarters, to your dimes, and to your nickle plates. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-lnJp9kgwSgU/Tfew_ZIwOkI/AAAAAAAAAN8/7prDoiL_lzk/s1600/wrack03.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-lnJp9kgwSgU/Tfew_ZIwOkI/AAAAAAAAAN8/7prDoiL_lzk/s400/wrack03.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>LLLLLLLLLIKE A GLOVE!</b></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div>The next step is to section off the space for each of our big plates. I'm not completely sure if all normal iron plates are created equal, in terms of how thick they are. This would also work for bumper plates but they are so thick you'll have to make a rather long rack to accommodate them. So rather than tell you a measurement I'm going to recommend that you put one of your big 45 lb. plates up against the "six stack" of 2x4s. Set it straight up. Now take a pencil or pen and mark about 2 inches down from the top of your particle board and 1/4 inch away from the edge of the plate. This is going to be the space, the single slot, for one plate. You don't want it butt up against the plate because you're going to want a little bit of room to take your plates in and out. <br />
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Using a 1/4" drill bit, drill a hole on your mark, all the way through the particle board side. Before we continue, we're going to make a template out of paper so that we can duplicate this without having to measure for each slot. Grab a piece of paper and fold it over the top of the particle board side so that it covers the inside down to where you drilled the hole. Slide it all the way back so that its edge is against the six stack of 2x4s.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-hHYtbaeSo64/TfeyDGQj4NI/AAAAAAAAAOA/Hz-lfRkfjKw/s1600/template.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-hHYtbaeSo64/TfeyDGQj4NI/AAAAAAAAAOA/Hz-lfRkfjKw/s640/template.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>[sing] PATTERN POWER! (if you have young kids, you <i>might</i> get the joke.)</b></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div>Now use your pen to poke a hole in the paper where you drilled a hole in the particle board side. To mark your next hole, all you have to do is line up the back edge of the paper (the part that was against the six stack) with the front edge of the first hole you drilled. Pictures are very useful for explaining things. Use your pen or pencil to mark your next hole and repeat the procedure until you have a total of eight holes. Drill them out with your 1/4" bit.<br />
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That covers one side of your rack. To mark the other side, you can use the same template. You just have to use the opposite side. That is to say, the side that was facing you last time will now be against the particle board side. The top flap will have to be folded over the other way to sit along the top edge of your particle board. Again, mark eight holes and drill them out.<br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div>Take one of your carriage bolts, a 5/16 fender washer, a 1/4" washer and a nut. Put the 5/16" washer over the bolt, all the way to the head, then put the bolt through the particle board, then put on the 1/4 inch washer, and then finally the nut. Because the carriage bolt has a square shape under the head you'll have to hammer on it a bit to sink it into the hole. If you don't have a hammer, your wrench will do. If you don't have a wrench, then good luck properly tightening your bolts down.<br />
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If you intend to paint this rack then there's no need to put all the bolts in now, you'll only have to take them off to paint it properly. But eventually, when all is said and done you will put your bolts in this fashion for all the holes. When all is said and done you can opt to wrap your bolts in duct tape or electrical tape to soften them so you don't scratch your plates on them. This is optional.<br />
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The next step is to create the sections that will house our 25, 10, and 5 lb. plates. We're going to use 18" lengths of 2x4s. You're going to need 4 of them so mark and cut your wood. Unlike our "stacks" we're going to stand these up on their sides so that each one is "4 inches" tall. We're going to place the first of these just after the last hole you drilled. Put some glue on the sides of this piece where it will contact the particle board sides. Put it in position, then pre-drill your hole through the side of the particle board (remember to use the proper bit, not the 1/4" bit you were just using) and drive your screw in. Repeat for the other side. Now stack another of these 18" 2x4 pieces on top of the one you just put in. Repeat the same procedure.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-s4OudDIfwP8/Tfe2rwhMs0I/AAAAAAAAAOM/Exlya_iQQbc/s1600/wrack06.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-s4OudDIfwP8/Tfe2rwhMs0I/AAAAAAAAAOM/Exlya_iQQbc/s400/wrack06.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Big plates and small plates don't get along. We have to put up a wall to avoid conflict.</b></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div>The easiest way to proceed is to take your two 25 lb. plates and stack them against your newly installed double 2x4 wall. Put the plates straight up and then lean them back just a tad so that they stay by themselves and not fall forward. Now you're going to do the same thing you just did for the last wall, except this time you're only using a single 2x4 piece, positioned right against the front edge of your 25 lb. plates. Glue and screw this piece in. Now you have your section for the 25 lb. plates done.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Hhi2expZWSw/Tfe2rQmQNcI/AAAAAAAAAOI/zOSUQAl9isI/s1600/wrack05.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Hhi2expZWSw/Tfe2rQmQNcI/AAAAAAAAAOI/zOSUQAl9isI/s400/wrack05.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Using your plates to measure ensures perfection.</b></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: left;">There's is only one more board to put in. Just as you did with the 25 lb. plates, stack your two 10 lb. plates against the newly created single 2x4 wall. Stand them up straight by themselves so they don't fall over. Put your last 18 inch 2x4 piece along the front edge of your plates. Glue it and screw it, just as you've done several times before. This will give you the 10 lb. plate section, and what remains in front is your 5 lb. plate section.</div><br />
The issue, however, is that neither the 10 lb. plates, nor the 5 lb. plates will fit properly between your bottom 2x4 runners. The gap between these is 7 inches and that does well for the bigger plates but is too much for the small plates. To remedy this, we are going to put smaller runner boards under the 10 and 5 lb. sections.<br />
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We want the gap between the boards under the 10 and 5 lb. plates to be five inches. The current space between the 2x4 runners is seven inches. So in order to keep our plates nice and center we need two boards of 1 inch width each. We want the boards to be as tall as the 2x4 runners and as long enough to span the 10 lb. and 5 lb. plate sections. In other words, about 9 1/2 inches long should do it.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3MrJlNpTzKc/Tfj7eW8ytyI/AAAAAAAAAOQ/nZlIyXTfaG0/s1600/wrack07.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3MrJlNpTzKc/Tfj7eW8ytyI/AAAAAAAAAOQ/nZlIyXTfaG0/s320/wrack07.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"></div>I used a piece of 1x6 left over from my deck. You could likely fashion the piece from the scrap 2x4 pieces you have from this project. The dimensions of this board will be 1" wide, 1 and 1/2" tall, and 9 1/2 inches long. Now make two of these.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9xemjNs_VY0/Tfj7mriktJI/AAAAAAAAAOU/l0n0EfV1Jv8/s1600/wrack08.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9xemjNs_VY0/Tfj7mriktJI/AAAAAAAAAOU/l0n0EfV1Jv8/s640/wrack08.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">You're going to mount these (as shown above) under the sections that will hold your 10 and 5 lb. plates. Turn your entire rack over and work from the bottom. You'll attach your small runners by driving two screws through them into the side of your 2x4 runners. There is not a lot of space to work here. You won't be able to get a drill, nor a normal screwdriver. The way I remedied this was by using a socket wrench and a socket which allowed me to use a screwdriver bit. There are certainly other, more cumbersome ways of achieving the same result. But if you have a socket wrench, use it. If you don't have the right socket, I would imagine it's quite cheap.<br />
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As you can also see in the picture above, while you've got it turned over, put a screw into the bottom of each runner, through each of the three 2x4 "walls" you made to hold your smaller plates. So six screws total. This will just ensure that everything is nice and solid and interconnected. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Now we're going to make this thing a bit lighter and look a a little better by shaping the sides. As of right now they are just rectangles. As the picture below shows, we're going to cut the corner off at an angle. You can simply do this by eye as you see fit, after all, that's what I did. Or you can take my measurements. Working from the top corner of the "two stack" side, measure 6 and 7/16 inches down and mark it. Measure 17 and 1/16 inches across and mark it. Between these two points, draw a straight line. Cut along this line and then sand the edges to curve them. Do this with both sides.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-EvqXRqY9qPc/TfkDUbapv3I/AAAAAAAAAOY/o_yCyzJShlM/s1600/wrack09.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="170" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-EvqXRqY9qPc/TfkDUbapv3I/AAAAAAAAAOY/o_yCyzJShlM/s400/wrack09.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">You're almost done with the construction. There is only one step left, and you could argue that it's optional. You should have enough room in your 5 lb. plate section to fit a few 2 1/2 lb. plates as well. Rather than do this, I decided to do something different. What I did, can be seen below.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-EWV-NCfnL1w/TfkDt-VoVbI/AAAAAAAAAOc/Q1IK2ACmvR4/s1600/wrack10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="248" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-EWV-NCfnL1w/TfkDt-VoVbI/AAAAAAAAAOc/Q1IK2ACmvR4/s320/wrack10.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Simply take a scrap piece of 2x4. Use a 2 and 1/8 inch hole saw to cut through your board. The inside core is what we want. Sand this core down and place it on the rack as shown above. Use a 2 1/2 lb. plate to determine the proper position, so that a 2 1/2 lb. plate will fit on without interfering with the sides or the stack of 5 lb. plates. Then simply screw it down with a single deck screw through the center hole, which the hole saw already provided for you.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BSCblOIpwyY/TfkNBdpwE0I/AAAAAAAAAOg/5ZPUUkAarCI/s1600/wrack11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="221" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BSCblOIpwyY/TfkNBdpwE0I/AAAAAAAAAOg/5ZPUUkAarCI/s320/wrack11.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">All that's left now is to paint it, if you choose. You can see I went with the same classic Doo-doo brown that I've used on all my projects here. There is one other additional thing you can do if you wish. You can pad the runners where your plates will sit with insulation foam if you wish to protect the wood.You can secure it down using tape, or any other way of your choosing.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">And with that you're done.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">- Carl</div></div>Carl HmShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00174743788837229450noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4428117238357875448.post-77387967397371327822011-05-04T04:51:00.000-07:002011-09-10T16:07:59.007-07:002011 Rogue Do-Win Review<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vk0tI9-opAo/TbrcBBN3iPI/AAAAAAAAAFo/cO7Wt4Xr3As/s1600/dowinicon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vk0tI9-opAo/TbrcBBN3iPI/AAAAAAAAAFo/cO7Wt4Xr3As/s1600/dowinicon.jpg" /></a></div>
There are many options when it comes to weightlifting footwear. You can buy any one of numerous shoes made specifically for weightlifting. You could also buy common shoes that have a hard sole, like Chuck Taylors. Or you could outright go barefoot, though most commercial gyms will frown on that. While I'm no shoe expert, this is my review of the 2011 Rogue Do-Win lifting shoes. <br />
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<a name='more'></a>A little background before I start. I built a home gym and started lifting from home the very first day I got under the bar. I never used a commercial gym. As such, I lifted barefoot from the very beginning. I have never lifted in any type of shoe other than the new 2011 Rogue Do-Wins. I went from barefoot to these. So I cannot compare them to any other shoe, such as other lifting shoes or Chuck Taylors. I have been using the Rogues for near 6 months now.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9UCmpU9b8aU/Tbrcdnq2vgI/AAAAAAAAAFs/LIfwgQ2fuO4/s1600/dowins.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9UCmpU9b8aU/Tbrcdnq2vgI/AAAAAAAAAFs/LIfwgQ2fuO4/s1600/dowins.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><i>In my view, one of the better looking shoes available.</i></b></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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The first thing you'll notice about the new Rogue Do-Wins is that they look quite nice. Rather than describe them, simply see the above picture. Though it shouldn't matter, I know many lifters do seem to care. There are other shoes out there that look just plain pug fugly. Not the case with the Rogues. They are not the prettiest shoes out there, nor are they the cheapest but they are still a very nice shoe.<br />
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Do-Wins have had a bit of a reputation of being of cheap quality. This has apparently changed with the 2011 Rogue model. They are well put together. I haven't noticed any quality issues whatsoever. The heel is made of wood, as most lifting shoes are, so you know it will not compress. There are other cheaper shoes out there that look pretty but don't have a wood heel. I cannot comment on their quality or function since I have not used them. All I can do is tell you that the Rogue is solid and stable and won't ever compress when lifting a heavy barbell.<br />
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The Rogues have a heel of .75 inches. This is slightly more than what coach Mark Rippetoe recommended. Rippetoe also has a shoe available from Rogue with a .5 inch heel. However, the difference is minimal and will not be an issue. Some lifting shoes have heels up to and exceeding 1 inch which is good for Olympic lifting. I am not an Oly lifter and right now I don't really do those lifts so I needed something with a lower heel. The bulk of what I do in the gym is the major compound barbell lifts. Low bar back squats, bench press, overhead press, deadlifts, chin ups, dips, and power cleans, etc.<br />
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Immediately, from the very first session, I noticed the difference between lifting barefoot and with the Rogues. The shoe offers far more stabilization. The hard sole provides no compression whatsoever. This is ideal. It feels much more solid than lifting barefoot.<br />
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They say it can take a little time to get used to lifting with a heeled shoe. I didn't notice any "learning curve" at all. The shoes have helped my squat and deadlift. Some people don't like to pull from the floor with a heel but I like it. One big issue I have with pulling from the floor is I tend to let the bar get away from my legs. Lifting in a slightly heeled shoe helps with this. The raised heel encourages a forward lean, which, at the very least, acts a reminder to get the shins touching the bar and keep it that way throughout the lift. I do all the major lifts with these shoes. I haven't noticed any negatives to pressing or pulling in a heeled shoe, quite the opposite. Remember, the Rogues have only a .75 inch heel so it's not as extreme as the standard weightlifting shoes which are over an inch.<br />
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I have to highly recommend these shoes to anybody who's interested in them.Rogue initially said to size down 1/2 from your normal shoe size. Now it seems they are saying to order your normal shoe size (probably after customer feedback). I wear a 10.5 to 11 size shoe normally, depending on the type of shoe. I ordered size 10.5 Rogue Do-Wins and they fit nicely. They do have straps, like all Do-Wins. So you can tighten them that way as well.<br />
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I will say this, just to have something to "criticize," the laces seemed excessively long. When tightened, both the loops and ends run the entire length of the shoe. It makes no difference in function as they can be held down under the straps. Still, why so long Rogue? Am I supposed to loop them through weight plates, thus turning the mere act of walking into a strength building exercise?<br />
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Kidding aside, they look nice, they function well, they are well put together, and they are not expensive, as far as weightlifting shoes go. At around $120 they are on the cheaper side of the weightlifting shoe price range. Rather than give it a score out of 10 or 5 stars, I'll simply end by saying I can't think of anything that needs improvement with the 2011 Rogue Do-Wins. I don't have much experience with different shoes but I have no complaints and I'm glad I decided to buy them rather than continue to lift barefoot.<br />
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Oh, and by the way you can get them, or the current model if it's not 2011 anymore, at <a href="http://www.roguefitness.com/">RogueFitness.com</a>. <br />
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- CarlCarl HmShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00174743788837229450noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4428117238357875448.post-46232174345525061312011-05-03T06:07:00.000-07:002011-07-24T09:00:20.457-07:00The strongest bench you'll never buy<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ptVem0sle84/TbtJihgfI7I/AAAAAAAAAFw/pr4R1Hxo1P0/s1600/benchicon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ptVem0sle84/TbtJihgfI7I/AAAAAAAAAFw/pr4R1Hxo1P0/s1600/benchicon.jpg" /></a></div>Pulling off DIY projects like this is what makes everything worth it. When you can produce something that is so dirt cheap and yet so effective at its purpose, it just makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside. In this project, I'll show you how to make a weight bench that is strong and incredibly cheap. This is what DIY is all about.<br />
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<a name='more'></a><br />
<b style="color: orange;">Cost:</b> less than $50<br />
<b><span style="color: orange;">Project Time:</span></b> 1 day<br />
<b><span style="color: orange;">Difficulty:</span></b> You have to cut 2x4s and plywood. You have to operate a drill. For the pad you have to cut fabric and use a manual powered staple gun. In other words, not hard at all.<br />
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<b><span style="color: orange;">Tools Needed:</span></b><br />
<ul><li><b>Drill</b></li>
<li><b>Saw </b>(for cutting wood) - miter saw is best for cutting 2x4s, but you need something for long straight cuts in plywood as well (I used a normal handsaw)</li>
<li><b>Staple Gun</b> - just a manual powered one, you don't need an air compressor or anything fancy like that.<b><br />
</b></li>
</ul><br />
<b><span style="color: orange;">Materials Needed:</span></b><br />
<ul><li><b>2x4 Studs</b> - at 8 feet long each, you'll need 5</li>
<li><b>4 Elevator Bolts</b> (at least 1 1/2 inches long) - <a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-XCKW0zTUU1I/TbtLcF4bggI/AAAAAAAAAF0/4MOHFZR_TaY/s1600/elevator.jpg" style="color: orange;"><b>click here for picture</b></a></li>
<li><b>4 Wingnuts</b> to fit the elevator bolts.</li>
<li><b>Foam padding</b></li>
<li><b>Fabric</b> of your choice (vinyl, leather, auto or furniture upholstery)</li>
<li><b>2 1/2 inch decking screws</b> (T-25 star head is my favorite)</li>
<li><b>Wood glue</b></li>
<li><b>Gorilla glue</b>, or other similar metal/wood adhesive </li>
<li><b>Staples</b> for your staple gun (check your gun for proper size)</li>
</ul><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-llUDN8qllEM/TbtgoRpki1I/AAAAAAAAAGk/yQymFYmWvIY/s1600/weightbench.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="392" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-llUDN8qllEM/TbtgoRpki1I/AAAAAAAAAGk/yQymFYmWvIY/s640/weightbench.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><i>The only person this won't be strong enough for is Bruce Banner.</i></b></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div>Shopping for a weight bench can be difficult. And by difficult I mean expensive. And just to be clear, whenever I use the phrase "weight bench" I mean a strong one that can be used to Bench Press. The problem you'll run into when buying these is that the reasonably priced ones are not rated to hold much weight. You'll see figures like "300 lbs." But when you consider that the bench has to hold your body as well, 300 lbs. is not much. If you weigh a measly 150 lbs. when you start, and bench press 150 lbs. That's your 300 lbs. right there. This is novice level lifting.<br />
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Once you turn into a real lifter after a few years of training, you'll probably weigh closer to 200 lbs. yourself and be benching near 300 lbs. Now that's 500 lbs. and all those affordable weight benches are now too weak for your purposes. But when you start pricing quality benches that are rated for this type of serious lifting, you are going to have to pay hundreds of dollars for them. This is unacceptable by Homemade Strength standards.<br />
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The fact of the matter is you can build your own weight bench that can support a ton of weight, I literally mean a ton, that's not slang. You'll never be able to bench press even half a ton so basically what I'm telling you is that you can build a bench that will be many times stronger than you need it to be. And you can do it for less than $50.<br />
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A proper weight bench is 17 inches tall, pad included. This bench will have a plywood base that is 3/8 inch thick. It will also have a plywood top, and the removable padding has a plywood base. The total thickness of all the plywood will add up to just over an inch. The pad itself is going to be about 1/2 inch when compressed. If your pad differs from this then adjust accordingly. However, it's better to make your bench too tall rather than too short. So we're going to cut our 2x4s into 15 1/2 inch segments. To start, we will cut sixteen pieces of 2x4, each being 15 and 1/2 inches long. If you have a miter saw or at least a power saw that can handle the job (circular saw, etc.) you will enjoy the process. If you do not, this will be the first wave of a lot of hard labor cutting by hand. Thankfully, I have a miter saw.<br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-uUw8-MGa9Gs/TbtPtbnaJRI/AAAAAAAAAF4/PZDwmzGx2Dc/s1600/diagram01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-uUw8-MGa9Gs/TbtPtbnaJRI/AAAAAAAAAF4/PZDwmzGx2Dc/s1600/diagram01.jpg" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"> With sixteen boards cut to the length of 15 and 1/2 inches, we're ready to start assembling the top legs. These legs are like miniature I-beams made of three 2x4s each. It's important that you follow my directions of assembly. First step is to make a "T" out of two pieces (see diagram #1).</div><div style="text-align: left;"></div><div style="text-align: left;">Mark and drill three holes through the top of the T (Board A). These three holes should be towards the middle of that 2x4, not towards the ends (see diagram #2). Read ahead if you have to, to gain more understanding of what we're doing and why. Drill all the way through Board A so that your bit goes into Board B. Then deepen the holes on Board B to prevent splitting when you put your screws in.</div><br />
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<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QTafiWv7ucU/TbtPtrrodPI/AAAAAAAAAF8/FWL6mzkCVDE/s1600/diagram02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QTafiWv7ucU/TbtPtrrodPI/AAAAAAAAAF8/FWL6mzkCVDE/s1600/diagram02.jpg" /></a></div> Slather some wood glue along the face where the boards will touch each other. Now drive three screws into the pre drilled holes. Wipe the excess glue off and you now have one "T" piece. Repeat this procedure and make a second "T" piece.<br />
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Now we will cut the 2x4 runners that span the length of the bench. We need two. I made mine 43 inches long. I'm 5 feet 10 inches tall and this gives me plenty of room on the bench. Just make sure your bench is long enough to accommodate you from the bottom of your ass to the top of your head. If you have at least that much room, you're good to go. Whatever measurement you choose, cut two 2x4 studs to this length.<br />
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Before we attach these, we have to make holes in our top legs (T pieces) to fasten them to the runners (see diagram #3). We will drill four holes in our "T" piece; two on top, two on bottom. I recommend that you drill from the top of the T downward, as shown in diagram #3. If you drill from the bottom up, Board B will get in the way. This is how we will have to drive our screws (unavoidable) but in order to make straight holes drill from the top.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-kDtpONdwIkQ/TbtQ-QcW63I/AAAAAAAAAGI/pjIQ0fYuQaI/s1600/DIAGRAM03.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-kDtpONdwIkQ/TbtQ-QcW63I/AAAAAAAAAGI/pjIQ0fYuQaI/s1600/DIAGRAM03.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><i>Aren't diagrams helpful?</i></b></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br />
But before we drill, we have to measure. Take one of your T pieces and measure 2 inches from the end of Board A and mark a line. Now measure 4 inches from the same end and mark a line. Now repeat these steps for the other end of Board A. You have divided the ends of your board into two sections. We'll call them "top box" and "bottom box." For this T piece choose a box, it doesn't matter which so I'll just pick "top box." Drill two holes in the top box. One centered on each side of Board B. (diagram #3). Do the same for the other end of your T piece. So this is your "top box" T piece.<br />
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Now take your other T piece and do the same thing. But this time, drill your holes in the "bottom box". The reason this is important is because these T peices will both be screwing into the same middle board and we need to make sure that you get all four screws into a small space without hitting each other. In other words, the screws on the top box board will be higher than the ones from the low box board. Marking is key to avoiding conflict when it's time to put it all together.<br />
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With four holes drilled in your T pieces, we can now attach our long runners. We're going to start with the bottom runner. The best way to mark this runner is to drive screws into your predrilled holes on the bottom of your T piece. Have them sticking out the back of the T piece just a little bit. Now, line up the T piece with the bottom runner as shown in diagram #4. The left side of your runner board should be in line with the left side of your T piece.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-DBtdIaLXdg8/TbtfkhETx-I/AAAAAAAAAGc/xYSD3PzIxVQ/s1600/diagram04.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="227" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-DBtdIaLXdg8/TbtfkhETx-I/AAAAAAAAAGc/xYSD3PzIxVQ/s400/diagram04.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div>Use a level to ensure you're T, which is a leg of the bench, is straight up and down. Now just press the T and the runner together. Since the screw tips were slightly through the T piece they will poke into the runner board and mark it. Now you can drill on those marks, just a bit (not all the way through. Predrilling like this ensures that everything goes in the way you want it and the wood will not split. Slather the point where the boards will contact each other with wood glue. Drive in your two screws. At this point you should have one long runner on the bottom, attached to one T piece. <br />
<div style="color: orange;"><b><br />
</b></div><b style="color: orange;">THE IMPORTANT BOARD STEP</b><br />
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<blockquote><span style="font-family: inherit;">This is a significant step, we're going to label this "The Important Board Step" so that you can repeat it later when I tell you to. Grab two 15 1/2 inch boards. Just like you did with the T piece, measure 2 inches from the end of the board and mark a line, then measure 4 inches and mark a line. Do that on both ends of the board. And do that for both boards. Designate one board as "top box" the other as "bottom box". Drill two holes within the proper "box" on each end of the board. Again repeat that for both boards. So each board should have four holes in it, two at one end and two at the other. And one board should have said holes in the top boxes and the other in the bottom boxes.</span></blockquote><br />
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Take one of these boards and, just like you did with the T piece, glue it and screw it to the other end (foot end) of the bottom riser, which is already attached to one T piece at the head end.<br />
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Now repeat the procedure with the top runner. Secure it to the top of the T piece at one end and the single 2x4 at the bottom. Again use your level to make sure your legs are straight and your runner is straight as well. We're building a flat bench, not an incline or decline bench, after all. Now you should have a frame that looks as it does in diagram # 4-B<br />
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<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Vfb8C7-_NIk/Tbtfkw91XeI/AAAAAAAAAGg/Ajhrs0voGZQ/s1600/diagram4b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="275" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Vfb8C7-_NIk/Tbtfkw91XeI/AAAAAAAAAGg/Ajhrs0voGZQ/s400/diagram4b.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div>To complete this side we need two more of those 15 1/2 inch studs. We're going to cap off our T and make it an I. Just like we did when making the T, put three holes along the length of the board, in the center as shown. Slather the contact point with wood glue and drive your three screws. Do the same exact thing with your single 2x4 at the foot, now making it a double 2x4 (in essence a 4x4). This is shown in diagram #5.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-t8ewuB6K8zg/TbtPuLIbw9I/AAAAAAAAAGE/MdGgoA2Fc68/s1600/DIAGRAM05.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="295" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-t8ewuB6K8zg/TbtPuLIbw9I/AAAAAAAAAGE/MdGgoA2Fc68/s400/DIAGRAM05.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><i>Not to scale.</i></b></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>From here, go back up the page, to the start, and read the directions again, this time doing it on the other side of the runners. Take the T piece that you've already made and attach it to the other side of the runners. Then take the single board you've already made for the foot of the bench and attach that to the other side of the runners. Then turn the T to an I and the single board to a double at the foot. You've now used up ten of our sixteen lengths of wood. The next step is to overkill reinforce this sucka.<br />
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The following picture will do more than words can to instruct you. It's quite straightforward, now that you've got some experience, we're not doing anything different than we've already done. We're putting three boards on each side, towards the head of the bench, where the weight and force will be when you bench press. This is where "The Important Board Step" comes in. We need 3 more pairs of boards. They have to match each other. Meaning 3 have to be "top box" and 3 have to be "bottom box". Basically just repeat the "Important Board Step" three times and you'll have three matching pairs. Secure them as the picture shows, three on each side, covering the top half of the bench (near the head).<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Sv4zvmBXLpM/TbtTSIPOmsI/AAAAAAAAAGM/ULYtvw4UPb8/s1600/threeboard.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="158" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Sv4zvmBXLpM/TbtTSIPOmsI/AAAAAAAAAGM/ULYtvw4UPb8/s640/threeboard.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><b><span style="font-size: small;">Two is better than one, and Twelve is better than two.</span></b></i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>No less than 12 supporting beams would have to utterly fail under the load in order for this bench to break. The rating for each beam is more than a ton. Since the average human would be absolutely ecstatic if they could manage even 1/4 that amount, I think we can safely say this bench is well beyond the strength of what you or I would ever need.<br />
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The frame of this thing is now complete. The next step is to put plywood on the bottom. The easiest way to do it is to simply put the frame onto your piece of plywood and trace around the frame. As you can see from the picture, I put a piece of plywood under the four 2x4s at the foot of the bench. I then put another piece under the six supports in the middle of the bench. Then another larger piece around the "I beam" legs at the head of the bench.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-btg7hOu8p2I/TbtU22xde5I/AAAAAAAAAGQ/OAeEOoxQk1Y/s1600/bottombench.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="195" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-btg7hOu8p2I/TbtU22xde5I/AAAAAAAAAGQ/OAeEOoxQk1Y/s400/bottombench.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><i>You can click these pictures to enlarge them, didn't you know?</i></b></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>This larger piece isn't a precise measurement. It is simply wide enough to fit the I beams, and long enough to provide support so that the bench doesn't rock side to side. It's roughly 7 inches longer than where the I-beams stop on each side. Make these measurements / tracings and then cut your plywood. Now drill and screw the plywood onto the frame, no wood glue needed. Do you best to put your screws in spots that don't already have screws in them. I trust you can use your eyes to figure that out.<br />
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For the top piece we are putting another layer of plywood. The shape of it is just an outline of the shape of the frame from the top. It's a T shape. The width of the bench is something you could vary depending on your preferences. Standard dimensions for powerlifting benches tends to be around 12 inches. I know some bigger lifters that like a much wider bench. I originally had mine wide like this, but it interfered with arms in the bottom position. My body type/size requires a smaller width, and since I'm not a competitive powerlifter, nobody will care if I make mine suited to my needs. But if you need/like a wider one than adjust accordingly.<br />
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As such, the trunk of the "T" on my bench is 9 1/2 inches wide. The top of the T is 15 1/2 by 5 inches (see picture). Cut this shape out of ply wood and screw it into the frame, again choosing places that don't already have screws in them. Also notice that i rounded the corners of this piece. I recommend you do the same to avoid potential injuries. Simply chop off the corner with a saw and then use sandpaper to round it out.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9shx9pf5mN0/TbtXo852npI/AAAAAAAAAGY/Yu67VGb91rE/s1600/topbench.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="202" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9shx9pf5mN0/TbtXo852npI/AAAAAAAAAGY/Yu67VGb91rE/s640/topbench.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><b>Can also be used as a diving board.</b></i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>Before we upholster it, we have one last thing to do. We have to make the actual pad that you will lay on. This is composed of three parts, a plywood base, foam, and fabric. Start with the plywood base. I made mine roughly 10 inches wide. Some bigger guys like a wider pad. I'm a small guy, by my standards, and I originally had my pad wider but it was interfering with my arms at the low point of the lift. 10 inches works well for me. I can't say it will be the right size for you.<br />
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After you decide on a pad size, cut a rectangle of plywood measuring the width that you've decided on and a length that is about 2 inches longer than the top plywood piece of your frame. Measure, mark, and cut this piece out. Again, round the corners so that they don't rip the fabric you will cover it with.<br />
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Now we need to drill holes through both this newly cut plywood and the top plywood part of the frame. Center your plywood pad base on top of the plywood board on the frame so that it hands over an equal amount on all sides. Drill four holes, two towards the head of the bench and two towards the foot. The size of your holes should be just big enough to fit the shaft of your elevator bolts. The exact location of these is up to you to discover. You need the holes go through both pieces of plywood. You need them to be in open areas so that the frame doesn't interfere. These holes are where your elevator bolts and wignuts will be going so you need enough open space for your wingnut to thread on to the bolt.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Ih_yZGEaLSk/TbxacK3pe0I/AAAAAAAAAGo/tqhU9vLNheM/s1600/bolts.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="336" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Ih_yZGEaLSk/TbxacK3pe0I/AAAAAAAAAGo/tqhU9vLNheM/s400/bolts.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><i>Notice how there's plenty of room to turn the wingnuts. Choose such places when drilling your holes.</i></b></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div>The next step is to secure your elevator bolts to the pad's plywood base. With the plywood base still centered on the frame, put your bolts into the holes. If you made your holes small enough the bolts won't sit all the way down. Elevator bolts have a slightly bigger square section towards the head. Put some Gorilla glue around the top of your bolt and hole. Now hammer the bolt into the hole. Repeat for all the bolts. Your elevator bolts need to be a minimum of 1 1/2 inches. They have to go through two pieces of 3/8" thick plywood, and have enough left over for a wingnut, which is like 1/4" at least. I personally got by with the absolute minimum bolt, it just barely fits. Apparently when I did this I miscalculated. I suggest you don't do the same. Get a longer bolt, if you can manage it, better too long than too short.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Sn5LSsIJ0_Y/TbxbwpSykPI/AAAAAAAAAGs/Ifh0tzt3cY8/s1600/bolts2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="301" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Sn5LSsIJ0_Y/TbxbwpSykPI/AAAAAAAAAGs/Ifh0tzt3cY8/s400/bolts2.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><i>These bolts are barely long enough to work. Do as I say, not as I do.</i></b></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div>The reason why we are doing all this is so that the pad section is removable. If you ever want to reupholster it, now you can. And we also don't want to fasten the pad by screwing up from the bottom because then we'd be getting stabbed by screws when we lie on it. You can also see why we choose something unorthodox like elevator bolts. They have a completely flat head, like a nail. So they won't create an uncomfortable bump in your pad like a rounded or hex bolt may.<br />
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The final step is to upholster this baby. You can choose whatever foam and fabric you want. Ideally heavy duty foam made for furniture or auto seats would be best. It's probably pretty expensive. I simply used a basic roll of foam that you can get at Walmart for like $15. For fabric, again upholstery fabric intended for furniture or auto seats will be of the highest quality but is more expensive. I used cheap vinyl from Walmart. It's holding up perfectly fine after six months of training. If it ever wears out I'll upgrade to better stuff. Depending on the width of your chosen fabric, you will either need one or two yards.<br />
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First we need to put the foam onto the plywood. If you are using thin and / or soft foam you should double or triple layer it. The foam should be just a bit larger than the dimensions of your plywood. Cut down your foam to match the size of your plywood. Lay your fabric out on the floor, so that the good side is facing down. Now lay your plywood with foam piece foam side down. So on the floor you will have your fabric, then foam layers, then plywood on top.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-eq9TWMbMnt4/Tbxbw9xOG8I/AAAAAAAAAGw/nP_onu52zxU/s1600/padding.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="268" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-eq9TWMbMnt4/Tbxbw9xOG8I/AAAAAAAAAGw/nP_onu52zxU/s640/padding.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><i>Look at this quality craftsmanship. Good thing you can't see the it when it's on the bench.</i></b></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div>To secure the fabric to your plywood, we're going to use staples. I used T-50 size staples. Start with one of the long ends of your bench. Fold the edge of the fabric back over on itself about one inch. So that the edge of your fabric is now double thickness. This is the area we're going to staple into, the double thickness ensuring that it won't rip. Put the edge of this fabric onto the top of your plywood. Now begin stapling this edge. Press down hard with your staple gun and start from the middle and work outward. Doing this will allow you to smooth any wrinkles as you go. For the first edge it's not too important because none of the other edges are secured down yet. Staple all along this edge, leave the corners for later, we'll do them at the end.<br />
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Ideally, we don't want our pad to be to cushy. We want it to be firm. If you have cushy foam (as most cheap foam is, then we want to compress it by making the fabric sit tight around it. In order to do this, we have to compress the foam by standing on it as you staple. The second side you staple should be the long edge opposite the first side. You don't work around right to left or left to right. When you upholster something like this you work one side, then opposite side. This is the best way to ensure you can keep wrinkles out of the material.<br />
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Pull the material as tight as you can. Now trim it down to a size that will fit your bench. Don't trim too much off or it won't fit, but you likely have feet of excess because this bench is not very wide. After you trim it, fold the excess back on itself, just like you did with the first side. Stand on the plywood to compress the foam. Pull everything as tight as you can and begin stapling this edge, again starting from the middle and working out.<br />
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Repeat the procedure for the remaining two short ends. Now for the corners. There's no science to this, as far as I know. It's like wrapping a present. It comes out different every time you do it, And it usually looks kinda sloppy. But in the end it gets the job done. That pretty much describes my experience with both gift wrapping and upholstering corners. You'll have to trim some excess material off and probably fold some material in and tuck some things under. Just get it flat enough to put some staples in and it'll be fine.<br />
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By my standards, I did quite a sloppy job with the upholstery on this project. But luckily, when it's bolted to the frame the underside is completely hidden. So don't stress out trying to get things perfect, it really doesn't matter. What's important is that your pad is nice and tight and firm.<br />
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With the pad done, all that is left is to secure the pad to the frame. Line up your elevator bolts with the holes on your frame and drop it in. Take your wingnuts and hand tighten them onto your bolts. If you choose to paint your bench, do so without the padding on.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rxTbziBVX5s/Tbxea114uhI/AAAAAAAAAG0/hcATkX9S6vc/s1600/benchpress01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="467" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rxTbziBVX5s/Tbxea114uhI/AAAAAAAAAG0/hcATkX9S6vc/s640/benchpress01.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><b>Everything you see here for less than $150. I'm assuming you can't see the bar, weights, shoes, and everything else in the back corner.</b></i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div>Now you have a bench that is stronger than you'll ever need it to be. You have the strength and function of an expensive bench and you paid only $50 or less for it. What would you get for $50 if you tried to buy a commercial bench? Something that could barely handle the weight that even a total noob will bench press in a few weeks time. This is the kind of project that makes you love DIY. It's definitely a better way to spend a Saturday than watching TV. Or you could put a TV in the garage and watch while you work.<br />
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This was another massive post. If you are unclear about anything please leave a comment and I'll do my best to help you out. <br />
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- CarlCarl HmShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00174743788837229450noreply@blogger.com62tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4428117238357875448.post-79613940453570765132011-05-02T04:17:00.001-07:002011-10-20T16:52:42.430-07:00Micro-Loading<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-VQ0LbtEwHcU/TbmseLcraTI/AAAAAAAAAE8/porGcMs6gtU/s1600/microload.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-VQ0LbtEwHcU/TbmseLcraTI/AAAAAAAAAE8/porGcMs6gtU/s1600/microload.jpg" /></a></div>
This would seem to be the perfect DIY project candidate. There are numerous ways to micro-load. Today we're going to take a look at some of the popular options to see if it's really worth it. You can buy fractional plate sets for $50 online, plus shipping. This is going to be our price point. We not only have to get cheaper than $50, we have to get much cheaper. Otherwise, it's just not worth it. Can we do it? Let's find out.<br />
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<a name='more'></a>If you buy plates online, for your money you get (2 of each) 1/4 lb., 1/2 lb., 3/4 lb., and 1 lb. plates. We're not going to be able to make plates that function better than commercial ones because there is no room for improvement here. Our only hope is if we can make something that functions as well but is much much cheaper.<br />
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I'm assuming you work out from home. If you go to a commercial gym and plan to take your plates in your gym bag, I highly suggest you consider just buying them. Commercial fractional plates are clean, weigh the right amount, and are small and portable. Homemade solutions are typically not as good, at least in the size/appearance category.<br />
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<b style="color: orange;">WASHERS</b><br />
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The most attractive way is to use large industrial washers. No I don't mean washing machines, I mean the metal discs that one uses to fasten things in conjunction with a bolt or screw. You can buy such washers at stores like Fastenal. You can also order them online. These end up looking and functioning great, because they are essentially shaped just like little plates. At first thought they seem perfect, but the problem is, they get expensive quickly.<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-dLBsBDdxLTo/TbmukqrK3yI/AAAAAAAAAFE/dfjNfjcQgXU/s1600/washers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="190" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-dLBsBDdxLTo/TbmukqrK3yI/AAAAAAAAAFE/dfjNfjcQgXU/s200/washers.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
In order to make the same set as Iron Woody sells you have to buy two types of washers. There's a 2" flat washer for $3 that weighs just over 1/2 lb. And there is a 2" bushing that costs about $1.50 and weighs a bit more than 1/8 lb. With a bit of modification, combing two bushings gives you your 1/4 lb. plate. Two flat washers gives you your 1 lb. plate. 1 flat washer and 2 bushings gives you your 3/4 lb. plate. And of course 1 flat washer is your 1/2 lb. plate. When you total it all up, you have to spend around $37 plus shipping.<br />
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This means all the work you're going to have to do to get these washers weighing exactly what you want them will be done in order to save you $13. That's not a great deal in my book. Especially since the commercial plates will look better and take no time or effort on your part. Now, there are certainly other places besides Fastenal to buy such things, but the story ends up the same, more or less. You don't end up saving all that much money.<br />
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However, before I throw this option out I must mention that if you can buy these washers in a local store (no shipping cost) AND you only want a few increments (not the full set) then it may be worth it to simply buy a few 2" washers and use them to microload 1 lb. on to the bar. But if you want the 1/4, 1/2, 3/4, 1 lb. set these washers just become too expensive in my view. Not to mention that if you want your washers the perfect weight you'll have to be able to weigh small increments at home. Since they don't naturally weigh 1/4 and 1/2 lbs. you'll have to trim off (drill holes) to lighten them.<br />
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There are other options though. None of them will look as nice as commercial plates or washers. But if you are training from home (not taking them to the gym in a bag) and don't care how they look, you can get the same effect (adding weight to the bar) for much less money.<br />
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<b><span style="color: orange;">CHAINS</span></b><br />
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The second most popular idea with micro-loading is using metal chain. Doing this will require that you have the ability to weigh small amounts (like a kitchen scale). If you lack this ability you'll have to buy a kitchen scale. This then brings up the idea of how accurate this scale is. If you buy an inexpensive one powered by a spring one has to wonder if it's even accurate. If you buy an expensive one you've just destroyed your budget. Saving money is the only reason to make your own fractional plates.<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-26etu4PhjMM/TbmukQl9GyI/AAAAAAAAAFA/jOIoE5LXSfQ/s1600/chains.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="173" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-26etu4PhjMM/TbmukQl9GyI/AAAAAAAAAFA/jOIoE5LXSfQ/s200/chains.jpg" width="200" /></a>The concept with metal chain is to measure out a length of chain that weighs what you want it, be that 1/4, 1/2, 3/4, or 1 lb. If the chain is a small link you may be able to make it long enough to completely wrap around the bar. If not, you'll have to complete the loop with string so that you can hang it on the bar. You'll also have to put some kind of tag on it to mark what weight it is. This will no doubt be much cheaper than $50. But it doesn't look as good. You'll have to be able to cut links off the chain. A pile of chain is not as neat as a stack of plates. You have to be able to precisely weigh small amounts.<br />
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<b><span style="color: orange;">ENDLESS COLLARS</span></b><br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PKZ_G3rTTrQ/TbrUSHBIfKI/AAAAAAAAAFY/EkUfdyv0J_A/s1600/collars.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="164" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PKZ_G3rTTrQ/TbrUSHBIfKI/AAAAAAAAAFY/EkUfdyv0J_A/s200/collars.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
A third popular idea is to stack collars onto the bar. I'm not a big fan of this idea. Sure, in a pinch it would work but stacking many collars onto your barbell isn't practical.<br />
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If you go to a commercial gym, where you have an abundance of free collars to use then I won't criticize. But if you lift from home, obtaining that many collars would not be cost effective, nor is it neat and easy to load up the right amount.<br />
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<b><span style="color: orange;">CREATIVE RECYCLING</span></b><br />
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Since I've done it in the past, I figured I should mention this. The picture to the right shows "screw on" collars which some cheaper standard 1 inch bars use. I had some from my old adjustable dumbbells. I used the dumbbell bars to make my dip station handles. These collars weigh roughly 1/2 lb. each. By looping some twine through them you can make weights that slip over your bar. By putting two collars on one rope you make a 1 lb. weight. I had enough collars to make two 1/2 pounders, and two 1 pounders.<br />
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I never use these. I prefer the wooden plates (see below). But these are very compact. If you already have such collars lying around you could convert them to micro-weights that would easily fit in your gym bag (if you go to a commercial gym). <br />
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<b><span style="color: orange;">THE PLYWOOD METHOD</span></b><br />
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You can also make fractional plates out of wood. They won't be nearly as durable as metal, but how often do you use fractional plates? I think you can discipline yourself to treat them gently enough to not break them. We're talking about wood here, not glass. As long as you're not an idiot you should never have durability issues. You'll still need the ability to weigh small amounts to do this project. You'll also need the tools to accurately cut wood, particularly the center hole. This basically means a hand saw (or power saw of your choice) and hole saw. The concept is exactly the same as the Spacer Plates project. The difference is you'll be cutting a smaller plate out of the plywood.<br />
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This is my favorite option. It produces a quality plate that looks pretty nice. It's easy to mark the weight on it. It's durable enough as long as you treat it properly. It won't be as small and neat as commercial plates or washers. I certainly wouldn't load them up into a gym back to take with me. But if you train from home, you can make them for dirt cheap. If you have scrap materials you could even make it for free, like I did. It will, however, take the longest out of all the options. You're looking at about half a day when you add in the calculations, measuring, cutting, and painting. If saving time is your goal I think the chain is probably the middle ground between making something and buying commercial plates. Now, I'm going to show you how to make your own set of fractional wooden plates.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-eM1IPs8By1A/TbrVRGKnEtI/AAAAAAAAAFc/Nwr4VTY61Gs/s1600/woodplates3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-eM1IPs8By1A/TbrVRGKnEtI/AAAAAAAAAFc/Nwr4VTY61Gs/s1600/woodplates3.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><b>Not the prettiest girl at the party (and also not the ugliest), but she gets the job done and is easy to use.</b></i></span></td></tr>
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You certainly don't have to use "plywood". Any thin wood material, such as MDF (medium density fiberboard) will also work. I chose plywood because there always seems to be scrap leftover in my garage, thus making the entire project completely free.<br />
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The key to this project is math. You can't simply weigh a chunk of plywood and then trim it down until it's 1/4 lb. Well you can but that's the most unsophisticated, sloppy, and time consuming thing I've ever heard of in the history of homemade fractional plates. Let's do it the proper way instead. First we need to know how much our plywood material weighs per square inch. If we know this, then we know exactly how many square inches of material we need to make each plate.<br />
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The simple way to determine this is to cut out a 1" by 1" square of plywood and weigh it. This of course requires that you have a scale that can accurately weigh small amounts. If you don't have a small scale that can weigh small amounts then making your own micro-loading plates becomes much harder. You have to find an option where the manufacturer tells you how much the item weighs (such as with the washers) and then you just have to trust them. I have said scale in my kitchen which I bought strictly for culinary reasons, to weigh cuts of meat when I get fussy enough to actually count my calories when bulking. <br />
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Once you determine how much 1 square inch of your plywood weighs, we can move on. For what it's worth, I'm using standard 3/8 inch plywood from any major hardware store, like Home Depot or Lowe's and it seems to weigh about 0.011078 lbs. per square inch by my measurements. Yes that's a small number but it adds up quickly. Remember we're trying to make plates that weigh as light as 0.25 lbs. Having this information is vital in determining how much surface area our plates need to be to make weight. Like I said, you'll want to measure this yourself at home. If you simply take my figures, you are trusting to my math (not the worst idea) but you're also trusting that your wood is exactly the same as mine. I certainly don't guarantee anything. All I can do is tell you what I did and what it produced, as told to me by my scale.<br />
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Disclaimer out of the way, you've got two options when shaping your plates, circle or square. Square is easier to cut, no doubt, but circular looks more like a weight plate. Circular plates also have to be bigger than their square counterparts of the same weight due to the nature of the shape missing corners. It's also slightly more complex determining the surface area of a circle than a square. A square is simply length times width. But since you have to cut out a circle hole in the center to fit on the bar we have to learn and run these calculations anyway.<br />
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The equation for calculating the area of a circle is Pi times the radius squared. Pi being 3.14 for our purposes. The radius being half the diameter. This is high school math but if you don't remember it, don't worry I'll walk you through it.<br />
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As I said, the material I'm using weighs roughly 0.011078 lbs. per square inch. So if I want a piece of this plywood to weigh 1/4 lb. (0.25) How many square inches does it have to be? To figure this out we take the desired weight (0.25) and divide it by the weight per square inch. So 0.25 / 0.011078 = 22.567 square inches of material needed.<br />
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Regardless of whether you choose to make square plates or round plates, before we can determine the outer size of the shape we need to cut, we have to take into account that there will be a hole in the center of this plate. I recommend that you use a hole saw to cut this. I used a 2 1/8" hole saw designed for cutting the hole for a doorknob. Using the area of a circle equation (3.14 x radius squared) we can deduce that such a hole has an area of 3.545 inches. We have to add this to our desired surface area of 22.567. This gives us a total area of 26.112. We need to measure and cut a plate with this surface area, so that when we drill out the center hole it will then be 22.567 square inches, which weighs 1/4 lb.<br />
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<b style="color: orange;">SQUARE PLATES</b><br />
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Though they don't look as official as round plates they are far easier to calculate, mark, and cut. It is for this reason that I chose to make square plates. All you have to do is calculate the square root of your desired area (26.112 in my case). This would be 5.11 inches. This means if you cut a peice of wood that is 5.11 inches by 5.11inches (a square) you'll end up with something that weighs 1/4 lb. after you cut the 2 1/8 inch hole out of the center.<br />
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For the heavier plates you take your base area measurement (22.567). Since we know this amount weighs 1/4 lb. we multiply it by 2 for 1/2 lb., 3 for 3/4 lb., and 4 for 1 lb. You then add 3.545 to this figure (to account for the center hole), and take the square root of that. So for a 1/2 lb. plate it would be 22.567 x 2 = 45.134. Then 45.134 + 3.545 = 48.679. The square root of that is 6.977. Round that to the nearest sixteenth of an inch and you get a measurement of 7 inches. This is both the outer width and length of your square for your 1/2 lb. plate.<br />
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Repeat the procedure for the rest of the plates. For me the 1/4 lb. plate has sides of 5 and 1/8 inches. A 1/2 lb. plate has sides of 7 inches. A 3/4 lb. plate has sides of 8 and 7/16 inches. And a 1 lb. plate has sides of 9 and 11/16 inches. It's worth noting that even the largest 1 lb. plate, measured on a diagonal from corner to corner, is a bit less than inches long. This is smaller than the diameter of a standard iron 45 lb. plate. So if you did need to micro-load a pull from the floor, for some reason, the fact that there are square will not interfere.<br />
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Now the easy part. All you have to do is measure your squares on your plywood, mark it, and cut it. Use any saw that you please. To ensure precision and no chipping I used a simple wood hand saw. A hole saw is the best way to cut out the perfect center hole.<br />
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<b style="color: orange;">CIRCLES, HARDER A<span style="font-size: small;">ND PR</span>ETTIER</b><br />
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There is no functional reason for your plates to be circular. But if you just have to have circles then you have a bit more calculations to do. You have to plug your desired area into the Pi x R squared equation. We've already calculated that 22.567 square inches of the material I'm using weighs 1/4 lb. This is number we start with.<br />
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The area of a circle = Pi x R squared. So 22.567 = 3.14 x R squared. Now we need to isolate the unknown variable. In this case it's the radius "R". Isolate means to get it on one side of the equal sign "=" all by itself. So the first thing we're going to do is divide by 3.14. Whatever you do to one side of the equal sign you have to do to the other. So 22.567 divided by 3.14 is 7.187. "3.14 x R squared" divided by 3.14 is "R squared". Now our equation looks like this "7.2338 = R squared".<br />
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To cancel out the "squared" part of the equation we use the square root function on our calculators. Now we see that "R = the square root of 7.187" or" R = 2.681". That gives us the radius of the circle we need to cut. Multiply it by two to get the diameter. 5.362 inches is effectively the size of the circle we need to cut in this plywood to make a plate that weighs 1/4 lb.<br />
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To calculate the size needed for 1/2, 3/4, and 1 lb. plates we repeat the procedure. Starting with our figure of 22.567 square inches (which weighs 1/4 lb). We simple multiply it by two for 1/2 lb, by 3 for 3/4 lb, and by 4 for 1 lb. For each plate we then add 3.545 to the figures we get (to account for the hole we're going to put in the center). Then we repeat the Pi x R squared calculations in the above paragraph. <br />
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Using these calculations I find out that, rounded to the nearest sixteenth of an inch, to make a round 1/4 lb. plate I need to cut a circle with the diameter of 5 and 6/16 inches. And as shown above I could figure out what size circle I need for each of the other weights. Of course I won't be making these because I chose to take the easy route and made square plates instead.<br />
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Now the challenge is to draw your perfect circle and then cut it out as perfect as possible. If you don't have a compass or circle tracing tool this becomes much harder. Tying a string to a pencil is a technique that would work if you aren't trying to be dead on balls accurate, which we ideally are. We know we'll be off somewhere during the process but we want to do our best to minimize it. It is this reason why I just pussed out and decided to make square plates for myself. Easy to mark, and easier to cut; because it's all just straight lines. If you want circles, you'll have to find a way to mark them as perfect as possible.<br />
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After you mark them, use whatever saw you choose to cut them out. It will either need to be a jigsaw, a Rotozip style saw, or a coping saw. If you use a coping saw you'll have to rough out the shape with a normal hand saw first. Just like we did in our Spacer Plate project. Using a hole saw is the best and easiest way to cut the center hole perfectly.<br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="color: orange;">FINISHING TOUCHES</span></b></span><br />
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If you do have a scale sensitive enough to weigh your new plates, do so now to ensure they are close enough to your liking. If they are significantly off, then something within the system has malfunctioned. Hopefully they are too heavy so that you can remedy it by sanding down the edges.<br />
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Now we need to mark them so we know how much they weigh. You could simply use a marker, pen, or paintbrush to write the weight on them. That's certainly the fastest. If you want it to look fancy, print out the weights from your computer. Use an X-acto Knife to cut out the numbers. Now you have a stencil that you can give a quick spray paint over your plates. If you have it, using a glue stick on the back of your stencil will ensure that it stays stuck to the wood and completely flat. The paint won't get anywhere it shouldn't if you do this. If you don't do this, the stencil is likely going to be blurry. I did not use a glue stick in this project because I didn't have one and you can see that my marks are indeed blurry as a result. I have done stencil work on guitars that I've made using the glue stick technique and it comes out very nicely. But as long as you can make out the lbs. who really cares, right?<br />
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If you want to take it one step further. Give your plates a single light coat of lacquer or other clear based finished. As long as you don't go crazy the paint / lacquer shouldn't add any significant weight to the plates.<br />
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As I said, if you wait until you have scraps to use for this project it can end up being free. Yes, it does take time, longer than any other micro-loading options, but it's by far the cheapest. If you're bored and have the scrap materials to make this for free, and a scale to make sure you're weights are right, then it can be a fun project. But I like math so my definition of it being fun may not apply to you. If you simply can't be arsed to do any of this then buying your fractional plates is not a bad choice. All cheaper DIY options will require you to have the ability to weigh your finished product. <br />
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- CarlCarl HmShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00174743788837229450noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4428117238357875448.post-82750476297043249642011-04-28T05:16:00.001-07:002011-06-14T12:38:55.879-07:00Saw Horse Safety Stands<div class="separator" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wALehY66Gk4/Tbb-hNN7PvI/AAAAAAAAAEY/Z7zT3uCSTak/s1600/horseicon.jpg" /></div>You don't always have to make everything from scratch. By combining DIY with store bought products you can make custom items in nearly no time. Today, I'll show you how to use saw horses to effectively turn your Squat Stands into a power rack. For about $50 you not only add many lifts to your home gym repertoire, you also make everything completely safe, with no need for a spotter.<br />
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<b style="color: orange;">Cost:</b> approx. $50<br />
<b><span style="color: orange;">Project Time:</span></b> Shopping Time + a few minutes (if you make additions.)<br />
<b><span style="color: orange;">Difficulty:</span></b> You have to be able to get to a store and purchase items. To make the "additions" you need to be able to cut wood. (2x4s and the like).<br />
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<b><span style="color: orange;">Tools Needed:</span></b><br />
<ul><li><b>Drill</b> (only for "additions")</li>
<li><b>Saw</b> (only for "additions")</li>
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<b><span style="color: orange;">Materials Needed: </span></b><br />
<ul><li><b>Saw horses</b></li>
<li><b>Various wooden studs</b> (2x4, 1x4, 4x4) - optional</li>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-O1zCIouZWYU/Tbb--z0w4II/AAAAAAAAAEc/SpKkmw2g9II/s1600/powerrack.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-O1zCIouZWYU/Tbb--z0w4II/AAAAAAAAAEc/SpKkmw2g9II/s1600/powerrack.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><i>Give your squat stands the functionality of a power rack.</i></b></span></td></tr>
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</div>The bulk of this project is as simple as it gets. We're going to use store bought saw horses. You certainly could make saw horses if you prefer. I opted to simply buy them for several reasons which you'll gather as you read the project.<br />
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The saw horses that I chose are pretty standard and available at most hardware stores. I went with metal ones that fold up. The fact that they fold us is one selling point. They are extremely portable. The particular ones I bought are "Task Force" brand. They are yellow, in case you're color blind and can't tell from the picture. But then if you are color blind I don't know why telling you they are yellow would help you in any way.<br />
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These are rated for 1200 lbs. each. Since there is no danger of me ever squatting or bench pressing anywhere near this, I think they will do the job just fine. I have been using them for six months now with no issues whatsoever. Logic would assume that the rating of 1200 lbs. is for their fully collapsed position. They are adjustable and you can make them much taller. I don't ever do this. I keep them in their lowest position.<br />
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Also worth noting is that their 1200 lb. rating is going to be a static load figure. Dropping a loaded barbell obviously makes the force it will impart much greater than the sum of the plates on the bar. But there is no reason to ever drop your bar, especially not from anything more than an inch or so; unless of course you pass out, but if that happens you're clearly doing it wrong.<br />
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This lowest position of these saw horses works perfectly for Bench Press for me at the current moment. Obviously that will vary from person to person. When I press with my chest puffed up from a big breath of air and back slightly arched, the saw horses are not in the way at all. When I relax and exhale, the saw horses are then tall enough to take the bar off my hands so I can breathe and roll it down to get out from under it. I suck at Bench Press so I can't imagine lifting alone without these. I have failed reps too many times to count. Having safety stands are crucial when training alone.<br />
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For squats, the saw horses alone are not quite tall enough for me. To remedy this, I cut a 2 x 4 the length of the top of the saw horse. With the 2x4 making the stands higher they are the perfect height for me. If I were to go "ass to grass" on my squat the stands will take the bar off my back. I squat to just below parallel normally. So when I do this, the stands do not interferre. But if I fail a rep I can simply sit back down ATG to put the bar onto the stands. This I have also done many times.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1Tx6nTGhBBc/Tbb_dehvSiI/AAAAAAAAAEg/DZ9zMWj3EL8/s1600/safestand.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1Tx6nTGhBBc/Tbb_dehvSiI/AAAAAAAAAEg/DZ9zMWj3EL8/s1600/safestand.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><b>A simple allen wrench makes a great securing pin for any height additions you add.</b></i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>Of course, simply putting wood on top of the saw horses might not be so stable. This is another big selling point of the saw horses I bought. They have pre-drilled holes on each end. I mimicked this on my 2x4s so they also have two holes in them, one on each end. Now you could put a bolt and nut through these and bolt them down, but then it would take some time to switch between my preffered squat setup and my bench press setup (which doesn't use any wood on the saw horse.) So instead I simply used allen wrenches. I can use these like a "pin" that will hold the wood attachments in place when lifting. But they can quickly be slid up and out when I need to make a change.<br />
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By putting the saw horses up against the squat/bench stands as shown below, you effectively turn your squat stands into a power rack. Now you can lift alone in complete safety and not worry about failing or holding back or not training to failure. Even the psychological benefit alone is huge. Knowing that you're safe and that you can fail safely will allow you to push beyond your comfort zone and go for that last rep or two, even if you might not make them.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fga8qi0WCwU/Tbb_yo12sSI/AAAAAAAAAEk/Ht5tbZVNzUw/s1600/benchsafe.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fga8qi0WCwU/Tbb_yo12sSI/AAAAAAAAAEk/Ht5tbZVNzUw/s1600/benchsafe.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><b>Some guys bench alone with no spotter and no safety stands. My brain cannot compute the reason why.</b></i></span></td></tr>
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</div>You can use all kinds of various wooden blocks to increase the height of your saw horses. 1 x 4 , 2 x 4, or 4 x 4. The reason why I do this and add these "accessories" rather than simply adjusting the saw horses higher is because it can take quite a bit of time to adjust the horses up. Wooden saw horses don't adjust at all, but are strong. Plastic ones do adjust, but I wouldn't use plastic for this purpose. Metal ones also usually adjust and they're strong but adjusting them typically means taking out several bolts. Taking off a block of wood, secured by an allen wrench "pin" takes less than a second.<br />
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You could also use these to emulate things that normally require a power rack, such as "Rack Pulls" and Shrugs. And as you'll see in a future project, I've even made Dip attachments for these so I can do dips without needing a dedicated or wall mounted stand alone dip station. Should the mood strike you, you could also put a barbell over these stands and get under it and do things such as Inverted Rows.<br />
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These particular saw horses were $20 each, $40 for the pair. A few more bucks for the allen wrenches and 2 x 4s if you need them, gives us a total of around $50 after tax. Add this to the $50 Squat/Bench Stands and now you've made the equivalent of a Power Rack for $100. The cheapest new power rack I've seen ends up being over $300 when all is said and done. You can get them much cheaper used IF you can find them, which can be a big "if" depending on where you live.<br />
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By simply adding a few sawhorses you can take your 5 gallon bucket squat stands to the next level. You can Squat, Bench Press, Overhead Press, Front Squat, Shrug, Rack Pull, Inverted Row, and much more. All safely by yourself. Just like you had a power rack. But you can also fold it all up and push it into a corner or closet if you need the space. And many prefer the squat stands over a power rack because of the feeling of openness and freedom, though this is largely psychological as most power racks have plenty of room to do your lift.<br />
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-CarlCarl HmShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00174743788837229450noreply@blogger.com10