Our high school booster club is looking at making some training equipment for the school. Anyone have some good ideas for homemade stuff? Pictures and/or links would be appreciated. The equipment would potentially be used for males and females from 100-300 lbs., but we can have some sport, size specific items. Thanks in advance for your help.
Kegs, big tires, sandbags.
Kegs: Ask a local bar if you can buy them. I paid $10.00 each that way.
Big Tires: Local truck/tractor tire dealer. I get mine for free.
Sandbags: Sand from large hardware store or landscaping place/nursery.
Contractor 3mil trash bags (3) and an old canvas bag Army/Navy surplus or a discount “everything” store. Duct tape.
Oh, yeah. I made a sled.
I went to our local metal supply shop and bought a 20x20x3/8 plate, 14" of 2" round stock (pipe). I had a metal fab shop (they make railings, steel doors etc.) bend up the plate like the bow of a ship so it wouldn’t catch the grass ---------/ and they welded the 2" pipe upright in the middle of the sled for plate-loading.
I drilled 2, 1/2" holes in the front “lip” for chains/straps and use different kinds of handles for pulling/dragging.
Cost about $35.00 total.
First bench press apparatus I ever used was 2 cinderblocks with a piece of 2x6 plywood on top and my resistance was a 60 lb bag of concrete which my little brother handed to me. This info wasn’t meant to be useful at all, just reminicing. Good times:)
Buy a weight catalog with dimensions and pictures of weight equipment. Make good friends with the high school AG/Auto-tech/metal fab teacher. Order in some steel, turn on the welder, and make some equipment. 3/4 inch plywood, foam padding, and marine grade vinyl makes great benches and seats.
The kids and teachers in your high school are a wonderful, often under utilized resource. I know this from experience. I am a football coach, and a high school teacher who has equipped a high school weight room, and a personal weight room in a like manner.
Mike
Wristt rollers are pretty easy to make on the cheap.
Do a search, there was a pretty good thread on this very topic in the last 3 months.
You could make a grip machine, as pictured. You could also make some objects that you could use for isometrics.
You can find free stuff all the time on craigslist.com, plus lots of times you can get oil barrels and other neat stuff for free from the junkyard.
Do a search for Poor Man’s Equipment