I figured I should write something on the topic of building your own leg exercise equipment. This may sound like an easy way out if don’t have enough money for those fancy squat racks from the Amazon, but it is not that simple. This actually depends on few factors. OK, let’s break it down.
There are basically three options that you are presented with when it comes to spending money on such stuff; buying new, buying used and building your own. Building and used usually cost the same, although both of them require some work. For the first you need to find someone who is selling his old stuff while making from scratch requires finding someone to do it for you if you don’t know how. If you’re on a budget, it’s best to build a squat rack. This is by far cheaper solution than buying a completely new squat rack.
What Exactly do You Need?
To build a squat rack or any other construction for exercising you need to know what you are doing. That includes having a plan about what material you will use, finding the necessary tools to actually do the job and of course blueprinting the whole shebang (calculating dimensions, spacing, etc).
One note about material; it’s best to build these constructions out of metal. It guarantees a long life and can be maintained very easily, which can’t be said for wood. I have seen quite a few people that made their constructions using wood. If you squat seriously that party won’t last long, trust me. My advice would definitely be to go with metal. You won’t need a lot of material. The most of it will go into assembling heavy side post.
Since metal requires welding, in case you never did this, don’t worry, there are plenty of services out there that do this and it’s not even that expensive. Just visit the nearest workshop with your blueprint and let them know about your plan. You can be surprised how cheap you can get by. I have built a few racks this way, each came out about $100 – $150.
Recently I came across a blog called Harry’s Mobile Welding. Apparently this guy offers services that I mentioned above. I never tried him myself, but as you will see on his blog, he has done plenty of metal power racks and has a lot of experience with gym equipment, especially intended for leg workout. His location is Clearwater, Florida. Maybe it’s not close to you but is definitely worth asking how much does he charge for such service.
Pros and Cons
Definite pro is lower price in oppose to out of the box fancy stuff. By making custom stuff you are risking some inexperienced person to do the welding, which can result in poorly measured and badly assembled angles of the construction. Although this rarely happens, be sure to double check his previous work.
Since my reasons to train are professional I do need some reliable equipment that can’t be custom made that easily. But I do recommend you to build a squat rack because this is one of the simplest things to make, even if you’re not that crafty. Roll your sleeves or hire somebody else to convert your ideas into reality.
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