Christianiron.com

My new lever system attachment for power cage, shown with bench for pressing station

The lever arm( base of an old bench, slipped over rack pin)

Chain hoist piece with 1 in, bar & collars for loading
plates onto, held in place by collars on std bars which
are inserted into main lever piece.

Squats with lever system


The incline bench that was originally on the base, attached & secured to lever arm with pin raised for inversion. Drop down a hole or 2 for inclined situps

Showing getting into inversion position with help from
swing attachment( yard sale special)


Showing the bolt that secures the bench seat to the lever arm

Remove 1 bar from lever to do T-bar rows


These are handy attachments for a number of things

Suspension pullups

Sissy squat setup( I saw this on Home Gym Bodybuilding.com, which was one of my influences)

Easy forearm roller using push down bar univ. attachment. Use caribiner to clip chain on & twist it up.


Reverse Hyper using various pieces of old benches

I used a piece from a leg extension attachment as the lever arm for weight.

I attached a chain at the bottom of lever to attach my feet straps to.

Preparing for action

Dual bullworker chest press ( I have several of these purchased from thrift stores at around $5 ea.)

Dual BW partial deadlift

Dual BW full deadlift

Dual BW lat pulldown


Platform banded deadlift setup. The platform consists
of 2 2x6s with a piece of particle board screwed on top
loop the bands around the ends.

Here are my Farmer's Walk bars, using Kettlebell
attachments from York Barbell, slid onto std barbells.
Very simple

Easy to change weight,too.

Here is a youtube clip of the lever system shown above:


See the training tip of the week link for squat demo on it! More to come soon!!

I setup a mini trampoline rebounder for my home-made med ball( basketball, cat litter & fiberglass patch)

Seated for a new angle. Try about 50 of these in a hurry!

Here's a photo from my Autometrics book; a complete manual on how to workout in your car.

I took a very ridgid rubber gasket, looped it over the headrest to hold an exercise band in place.
 

Pop out some band presses when stuck in traffic, or waiting for the wife to get done shopping,etc.

For videos & discussions on the above & much more;
Check out the training tip of the week, video clip of the week, forum links on the left hand panel, as well as my youtube channel ( IFISHNHUNT/Christianiron's clips)
 Other Peoples Ideas I like:


The Original Quad blaster rack attachment
that I was inspired by
(pretty self explanatory)( Home Gym Bodybuilding site)

in use:


Alternatively, build a free standing model with a
wooden base, straps, and leg cushion as seen in
the training tip of the week video and the forum
DIY equip thread this week.



Jan 11th
DIY Suspension Trainer how to
( from other site link)







Jan 5th 2010
Back to the strongman DIY theme
Log:

Clay Johnson's log

When it comes to home-made gym equipment, Clay Johnson never stops. Here's a look at his latest project - a DIY Strongman log.

Here's how it was done :

I started just under 11 inch in diameter, 8 foot long log.

I cut the log in half (my neighbor wanted a throwing log). I used an old
standard bar from a garage sale (it was one of those three piece ones). I cut the standard bar to use for the handles and also for the weight loading pins.

I found the center of gravity and marked out two 8 inch by 8 inch boxes. To smooth down the bark, I ran my belt sander over the log.

Now this was the hardest part. Since I did not want to cut through the
entire log, I tried to find the easiest way to dig the boxes out. I tried an axe, reciprocating saw, and an air hammer. I finally resorted to using my small chain saw to cut out small blocks and then used a hammer and chisel to cut them out. This took awhile.

I dug down just under eight inches and then used my belt sander to dig out some more room for my hands. Although I drilled the handle holes small and had to pound them in, I used some waterproof, 2-ton epoxy to be sure down the road. I drilled the handles at half the diameter of the log. They are resting in over two inches of wood on each side. They feel very secure.

I mounted the loading pins about six inches deep and used more waterproof epoxy. I drilled the hole 7/8 of an inch so I could pound the bars in. I did have a problem with a large knot when drilling but using the bubble level on my drill I was able to keep the hole pretty much straight.

The log weighs about 125 pounds. I plan on putting some sealer on it after the epoxy sets up. I added 50 pounds on it and it held up very well!

Total cost : a couple of bucks for the log (the bar was already lying around, but they're cheap enough). Superb.

Dec 10th
DIY Club bells:( link from other site)


Dec 2nd

 DIY Gym Rings

After a recent thread discussing (in part) ring training, Jim C writes, "gym rings can be very easily made from 1" PVC pipe. I heated a couple 26-inch lengths in the oven for 5-minutes at 350 F, then wrapped them around 8-inch diameter iron weight plates (10 pounders). They are cheap and sweet."

Oct 29th

another great DIY link:

http://homemadegymstuff.blogspot.com/

 Oct 22nd

Homemade T-bar row

The T-bar row will add size and thickness to your middle back and lats. The rhomboid, latissimus dorsi, teres major and trapezius are the major muscles involved in the T-bar row.

Commercial T-bar row machines are expensive ($300 to $1100 and more) and take up a lot of space. You can make a homemade T-Bar row for alot less. I know other lifters take an olympic bar and shove one end into a corner so the bar won't slide and do T-bar rows that way. I thought about butting my Olympic bar up against a corner of a wall, but my walls have wood molding around the bottom and I don’t feel like damaging them.

The biggest problem with this method is that as you increase the weight, the lighter, empty end starts to rise if you don’t put a 45lb plate on it.

Obviously others have experienced this problem and this is a solution Body Solid came up with:

The bracket mounts underneath the base of your power rack. But for $55 including shipping, I knew I could make one for less.

During a visit to my local Home Depot, I picked these items up and made my own.

List of materials needed:

I removed one of the bolts from my Powertec P-PR power rack and replaced it with a 1/2” x 8” piece of threaded rod.

Next, I drilled a 1/2” clearance hole through the 2” x 6” pipe nipple. I started with a 3/16” bit and worked up to a 1/2” bit. A 1/2” bit is the largest bit my drill will accept, so I had to enlarge the hole slightly with a round file so the 1/2” threaded rod would go through.

I assembled it using the washers, nuts, and locknut. The locknut goes on the far left end of the threaded rod, like this:

The pipe nipple pivots on the threaded rod, and the threaded rod keeps the Olympic bar from sliding through the pipe nipple. The assembly is a little stiff at first, but wears in nicely.

To make it easier to add and remove weight, I bought a single jack stand from Wal-Mart ($10.97):

Lifting the weight, you can use a d-handle, or I was also using an EZ-curl bar. But I decided to buy the Body Solid Lat Blaster Bar. This easily fits on all standard and Olympic Bars.

Total cost of my homemade T-Bar Row: around $67. If you decide not to buy the Lat Blaster Bar and use a bar you currently have, the cost is only around $20.

Important: When this t-bar row is heavily loaded and you are pulling back on it, the power rack may move if it's not anchored down. I took care of this by bracing the power rack against my weight rack. (see the first FAQ and photo on this page)

Tips for using your T-Bar row:

Keep your abs tight, pull the bar up and squeeze your shoulder blades together.

Use 25lb and 35lb plates. These have a smaller diameter than 45lb plates. Bigger plates could limit your range of motion.

Maintain an arch in your back and suck your stomach in, this will prevent lower back injury.

Keep your elbows close to your sides. Flaring your elbows decreases effectiveness of this exercise.

http://christianiron.com/forum.aspx

http://christianiron.com/forum.aspx

The details on construction are available at Grunt & Shen's workshop

( THere's a link further down this page)

Look under the homemade equipment page under

Isotonics.

Lots of other cool project ideas there,too.

BW-using balls JustinP

 Here is an intro to Justin's site:

The Bodyweight Files

Welcome to my bodyweight-based strength training blog. I've built a

powerful and healthy body using nothing more than resistance supplied by

my body. Here are my insights, techniques, and opinions on the topic.

Please feel free to comment! Thanks for stopping!

http://thebodyweightfiles.blogspot.com/2009/02/playing-with-my-balls.html

 These are brutal on the grip, particularly the muscles that control the thumb. I wasn't

used to this grip when doing my pull-ups. They're larger in diameter and more awkward

 than a bar. Plus, I've been able to try out a new pull-up. With the balls, I'm allowed to

turn my palm away from my shoulder execute the pull-up. This variation hammers the

deltoids like no other pull or chin that I've tried to date.

And another great idea using balls:
Here it is...

You can use these much like an ab wheel. The difference between this and an ab wheel

are stunning. It's not simply that they require each side of your body to fend for itself.

Since they can roll in any direction (as opposed to back and forth) stabilizing these things

is even more difficult. Plus, you can do chest flies or combine the chest fly with an ab

roll-out for a very unique exercise.



Now, it would have cost me around $200.00 to buy these two items. I suppose when

Dave Draper thinks your gear is cool, you can charge a fortune! I probably made them for

less than $30.00. They were well worth it! It's amazing how much hard fun that you can

have when you try!