Homemade Ab-Wheel

Even though the standard 1-wheel store bought varieties are about as cheap, here is another alternative for the dreaded ab wheel that has been floating around for a while now. Intended for use as a pair, one for each hand, this design opens up a lot of new possibilities than your typical ab-wheel. However, I'd use pvc or rubber hosing on the handle though. Ross Enamait has concisely put everything together in an article and included a nice video demonstration on using the device. Check it out - Homemade Ab-wheel by Ross Enamait

Homemade Equipment Ideas

DaveDraper.com has a nice little page with some DIY homemade equipment ideas. There are plans for everything from weighted vests, wrist rollers, and PVC gymnastic rings to sleds, calf raise machines, and power racks and benches. The weight vest looks like it has some potential. I may rig up my own vest and modify it to where it would have a much snugger fit for Yoga or inverted and jumping movements. Homemade Equipment Ideas

Homemade DIY GHD!!!

Absolutley fantastic. Now I don't have to spend the time to draw up my own plans when I buy a house and have a spot to put one. This excellent document is compliments of Chris Kemp at Crossfit. Download the word document here - DIY Glute-Ham Device

Build Your Own Moon School Room Board

Moon Climbing has an awesome section that contains detailed instructions to building your own climbing board like the walls in the School Room. While this project could run you several hundred dollars after buying the necessary lumbar, bolts and a kit of climbing holds, the effort will be well worth it if you are interesting in climbing or just a fun addition to your fitness routine. School Room Climbing Wall Spending my first several years at college in the mountains of North Carolina, I had plenty of opportunities to put my foot in the door and start climbing. Unfortunately, my mind was elsewhere and I never took the chance to learn to climb. I hope that in the future I will be at a better place to start. Whenever I get around to buying a house that a space to construct a wall, this will be on the top of my home gym list (If only I could afford a Treadwall).

DIY Plyo Box Ideas

You would think that a box would be fairly inexpensive. Yet, once a simple idea gets marketed as a fitness product the price jumps so high that that it would break the bank of your average fitness enthusiast. There are plyo boxes going for $70 for each fixed height box. After buying several heights and adding on shipping costs, you just bought your child a semester of text books (that's a entirely different rant!). What follows are some low-tech, DIY options that progress from free and easy to more skilled, yet simple, alternatives to an overly inflated fitness product. This first idea came from an old Kung Fu training book I once had. The idea was to start digging a hole in the ground and jumping out until fatigued. You adjust the depth of the hole by taking away or adding dirt. Different sides of the hole can be adjusted to different heights for easy changes during a workout. It's a very simple and cost effective idea, yet it may not be practical in today's world of pedicured lawns. If you have reservations with defacing your yard, you can search for anything stable to jump to like the side of a deck, a cut down tree stump, a large tire, stacks of concrete block, etc. The possibilities are endless - be creative and use your imagination. If you want to go the route of purchasing a box, you can try the irrigation boxes sold at hardware or lawn and garden stores. These boxes are pretty stable (I tried them out at the store with my 200 lbs of sexyness), but they can slip, especially on concrete. You may need to apply some adhesive traction strips along the edges or screw the box into some type of wood base. And finally, the following two links come from a couple of Crossfit members who have laid out plans for making a set of professional looking homemade plyo boxes. Lincoln's Plyo Boxes Allan's "How I Pimped my Plyo Boxes"

Homemade DIY DARD

In my previous post on a calf workout from Steve Maxwell I mentioned using a dumbbell in lieu of a DARD. While this has worked great for me so far, there is another option for you DIY types. For those wondering what the DARD is, it's simply a device used to strengthen the anterior tibialis muscles of the shin. It is useful in preventing shin splints and balancing out your lower leg development. Here is a link to a homemade DARD plan that tells you exactly how to piece your own device together with plumbing parts for about $15. This guide is quite useful in that it provides the exact lengths that you need to buy for the various pieces of pipe, taking away any guess work (though you can always alter the plans to suite your individual needs). Making a Dynamic Axial Rotation Device (DARD) By; Vaughn Numrych

Very Nice Homemade Sled for Dragging

I am reluctant to post this site because the first item could potentially be very dangerous, but the rest of the information is too good to pass up. If you do visit and decide to make the squat stands, please please please take a lot of caution if you plan to put anything heavy on them. Now back on topic - the sled design on this site is gold. As a carpenter, I don't know how I managed to not come up with something similar when I was building my own sled. I opted for the quick and easy option of a tire, eye bolt and some plywood to load weight. Since I have all the materials necessary laying around in the garage, I'm planning on building a new sled. I'm going to alter the design to resemble The Prowler II from EliteFTS. What makes this great since I pretty much have all the necessary materials on hand is that I'm getting a similar product without having to pay $484 (shipping included). Be sure to look at the other Homemade, DIY ideas - Make Your Own Equipment

DIY Box Construction - Snatches, Jerks, Plyos...

Here are plans to make a pair of great looking adjustable-height boxes. The author built these specifically as a jerk box, but it looks like they could be used for a variety of activities: snatch high pulls, plyo boxes, box squats. If you follow these instructions with 2x lumber you will end up with a heavy duty box with a nice clean look. The finished product will be heavy, so you may want to devise some sort of base that is on casters for easy movement and storage when not in use. Just be sure to remove the base with the casters before use. It will be a pain in the ass but worth it in the end. Jerk Box Construction Plans Here is a vid from Mike's gym showing one use for the boxes: Jerk Practice If you get sound but no video on the above movie, you'll need to go to quicktime and download the latest free 7.0 viewer.

J.V. Askem Tribute Site & DIY Farmers Walk Bars

This is a "partial mirror" to the original site of J.V. Askem (1947-2003). Askem was a personal trainer and Olympic weightlifting coach who has held lifting records and has been published in Milo. There is a ton of information here. Thank you to the kind people who are keeping the site alive. John Victor (JV) Askem Tribute Site Askem's site also has information on a cheaper alternative to farmers walk implements. For less than $20 a pair for bars that hold over 300 lbs, you would be hard pressed to spend the money on a high-dollar commercial equivalent. You can find the plans here: Askem's Farmers Walk Bars

Workout Timer Options

If you workout near a computer visit Speedbagforum.com Workout Timer for a simple timer you can use for just about anything. I've been using this for some time now whenever I want to get a quick Tabata session at the house. If you are looking for something more on the go try out the widely recommended Gymboss interval timer. Set it, clip it on and get to work. A great value for $20. Some of you may be feeling more creative. You can always create your own mp3's with your favorite songs using something like Audacity. This will give you total control while also letting you listen to music that jacks you up. This is a great option to set whatever intervals and rest periods you like.

Make Your Own Medicine Ball

I've tried out several different methods for making medicine balls. All seem to work great. My first attempt was simply taking an old basketball that I had sitting around and cutting a small 'X' shaped slit with a box cutter. I put a funnel into the slit and opened up a $3 bag of sand and started filling. I then took a roll of duct tape and taped the hell out of it. I was left with a silver ball, which weighed in at 23 lbs. I finished up by writing the weight on the ball with a Sharpie. The ball has lasted a couple years, and I still use it from time to time. Browsing the Internet I found an article that showed how to make a medicine ball that you could pump air back into to retain its shape and give it more bounce if you wanted. This way produced a ball that rivals the expensive Dynamax balls. Here are the plans: THE SLAMMER: A How to Guide to Making Your Own Medicine Balls

DIY Fitness Equipment Update

For those of you who read my post on Building Your Own Fitness Equipment and are interested in bringing some of the ideas to life; take a look at McMaster.com for a lot of the harder to find materials. They carry a ton of items that you will not be able to find at most Lowes or Home Depots and will probably beat other local parts suppliers in prices. I've ordered from them several times, and the service was excellent and the shipping was very fast. A great resource for your homemade projects. Highly recommended. I've added a link in the DIY section on the left.

Build Your Own Fitness Equipment

I have always been a do-it-yourself type of guy - an acquired taste from years in the construction industry. Luckily for me, I discovered several Internet gems that will no doubt save you some money and give you a sense of accomplishment. Just don't do like me and turn a hobby into an obsession, building equipment just for the sake of building it. Your spouse will kill you. My personal favorite: Grunt & Shen's Workshop This site has a ton of useful ideas that will save you a lot of money from buying commercially built equipment. I've used numerous ideas from this site to construct some pretty functional fitness tools. Other useful homemade equipment sites: Brian Long's Site Aptdwler's Site

Garage Gym Shopping List

The good people at Crossfit San Diego have provided us with an excellent resource for creating your own home gym: Garage Gym Shopping List. It has everything from what you will need, where to get it, and price comparisons to reviews, recommendations, and discount information. Please keep in mind that this list is geared towards a CrossFit ready gym, but don't let it stop you from getting ideas for creating a home gym that will suit your individual needs. Just because it is on this list doesn't mean that you need it to succeed. Be sure to check out the DIY links to the left before purchasing any equipment. You can save yourself a lot of money with minimal effort.