Building a Deadlift Platform

Off Topic
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I might get to build a home gym, or well, set up an adjustable rack with a bench and barbell. How would I best go about building a deadlift platform for indoor use, and preferrably outdoor use too.

I was thinking along the lines of building a foundation of wooden planks and fill it with a decimeter (4 inches) or so of concrete and then seal it with some more planks on top. Would this work well? I know it would be a bitch to move, but I’m guessing it’d be pretty durable. If it helps my garage floor is concrete and the weights I would be getting are not rubbered.

Also, I could use some advice on where to do dips and chins at home. I can do them in a tree but it’s a bit awkward for dips.

Edit: Some tits to get your thinking started. Seems like they’re shy, I’ll try uploading them again later.

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I thought I read somewhere that you can build a “poor mans” platform by buying four sheets of half inch thick plywood and laying two parallel to each other. Next, stack on top of those, the other two sheets, both perpendicular to the first two sheets. Nail them together.

You can also take two folding chairs and put them back to back and do dips on them.

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ironmind.com/ironmind/opencms/ironmind/Main/homesweathome6.html

Maybe stain and seal the plywood for outdoor purposes.

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[quote]rrjc5488 wrote:
I thought I read somewhere that you can build a “poor mans” platform by buying four sheets of half inch thick plywood and laying two parallel to each other. Next, stack on top of those, the other two sheets, both perpendicular to the first two sheets. Nail them together.
[/quote]

Yea this is what I was going to say, but I would probably add a rubber mat on top as well.
Probably too big to move, just lift on the grass if you don’t mind having holes all over your yard lol.

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[quote]hardgnr wrote:
rrjc5488 wrote:
I thought I read somewhere that you can build a “poor mans” platform by buying four sheets of half inch thick plywood and laying two parallel to each other. Next, stack on top of those, the other two sheets, both perpendicular to the first two sheets. Nail them together.

Yea this is what I was going to say, but I would probably add a rubber mat on top as well.
Probably too big to move, just lift on the grass if you don’t mind having holes all over your yard lol.[/quote]

Haha, I’m not worried about holes, it’s more the difficulty of having the barbell lay perfectly flat I was thinking about. Might not matter much though.

Thanks for the tips all, I’ll add a pic or two with less nipple, so it can stay up.

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Just to be clear, plywood, with or without rubber mats on them, should be able to handle poundages of 200-250kg in steel weights right? I’m planning some progress :wink:

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http://www.T-Nation.com/free_online_forum/sports_body_training_performance_bodybuilding_strength/poor_mans_equipment_thread?id=1132144&pageNo=7

The platform I built is about 1/2 way down the page.

3 sheets of 3/4 tongue and groove plywood, one ripped in half and then layer them to make a 6x8 platform. Get a 4x6 sheet of horse stall matting at any farm supply store, cut it in half so you have rubber on the outer 2’. Add another sheet of plywood to level out the center, or lay down engineered hardwood like I did.

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That’s awesome, and you lift a shitload more then me also, so it’ll hold no doubt :smiley:
Anyway, what’s the cheapest you can usually find weights for? I found a 300 pound set for 500$ with a bench and adjustable rack for 250. Is that good or should I keep looking?

Edit: Steel weights, International 220cm bar in good shape. Will have to move them about 200 miles by car but my dad’s going there soon anyway.