How to Build Your Own Weight Lifing Equipment
You know the benefits of weight lifting for health and fitness. Weight lifting can build muscle, burn fat, increase strength, and even improve cardiovascular strength, according to Stuart McRobert's book "Brawn."
Many people are hesitant to commit to a multiyear contract with a gym or health center, and buying equipment can be expensive. For centuries though, people used "weights" to make themselves stronger. They managed this despite the fact that the manufacturing processes that give us barbells and dumbbells are modern inventions.
There are several ways to construct your own equipment for weight lifting.
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Instructions
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Go to the local liquor store or pub and ask for a used or "expired" beer keg. These can be partially filled, or completely filled, with water or sand and used for a wide variety of weight lifting movements, such as power cleans, rows, overhead presses and squats. According to the book "Dinosaur Training" by Brooks Kubrik, performing the so-called "strongman lifts" like these provide additional athletic benefit over performing them with a standard barbell because the stabilizer muscles that are activated.
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Visit your local hardware store and purchase a couple of sandbags. These can be filled with various amounts of sand to provide another "strongman lift" tool. Sandbags can weigh anywhere from 40 to 50 lbs., all the way to 200 lbs. In addition to the exercises listed above, sandbags also work well for various throwing exercises, in order to build the explosive strength that is often needed for sports.
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3
Find a tractor tire and flip it from one point to another. These can often be procured from farm stores for free, so they won't have to pay for the disposal fees. Tire flips are considered a fundamental strength and power exercise by Martin Rooney, head of the Parisi Speed School and author of the mixed martial arts conditioning book "Warrior Training."
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Cut a large diameter log, about 8 inches thick, into a section 5 or 6 feet long, depending on the weight of the wood and your strength. The log lift is another common strongman lift that can be very effective for building strength and fitness. You can use it to perform clean-and-presses, as well as the caber toss as a variation of the clean.
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Tips & Warnings
Despite the unfamiliarity of these exercises to the majority of gym goers and personal trainers, they are proven, time-tested methods of developing effective, functional strength that will provide the kind of strength that is useful in daily life. They are finding new life in both strongman competitions and the world of mixed martial arts training. If you incorporate them into your strength training program, you will find them useful to you as well.
The use of homemade strength training equipment can be hazardous. Please observe appropriate safety rules when using these methods.
You should consult your physician prior to beginning any exercise program.
