Concrete Paradise

Concrete Paradise 3 years later...

Table of Contents

• Background
• Concrete Weights
• Bench
• Accessory Equipment
• Conclusion

Background

If you turn back the clocks to that hazy period of early 2020, the world was a very uncertain place- I was in a very uncertain place. As a bit of a control freak back then, to be sent home from College and all the gyms closing down was a bit of the nightmare. For a day, I wallowed in not knowing how to train without a gym but like most challenges I come across, I quickly looked at this as an opportunity to train in a new fashion. With my creative insight, I began obsessing with new ways to train with little equipment as the gym equipment market skyrocketed. I started making my own routines and making interesting equipment with what I could find around the house.

As the months rolled into May and those high equipment were stagnant, I opted to continue my creative endeavour of turning Pandemic workouts into creative outlets by creating my own equipment with the help of my Dad. I came up with designs for concrete molds for weight plates and researched the perfect balance of cement, sand, gravel and water. I came up with designs for a workout bench and my Dad and I theorized how we could make everything compact so bikes, cars and other things stored in the garage would all fit.

When prices weren’t crazy, I snagged the only barbell I could find online, a cheap axle bar from Titan Fitness and a random Squat stand from Amazon. With all the materials gathered, I went from there! At this point, the first online semester had just ended in May of 2020, I had just turned 19.

The basic equipment I could gather during the wild west that was fitness equipment at the time

Concrete Weights

From Home Depot, I got a large bucket with a base that seemed the circumference of an actual 45 lb weight plate, along with steel rebar, bags of concrete mix and pvc piping. I then drilled two peices of 4x4 under the bottom of the bucket so that the bucket was elevated off of the ground. Then, I drilled a whole directly in the center of the bucket so that some PVC could fit through. Before inserting the PVC, I drilled small divots into the pipe for extra reinforcement so that concrete would form into parts of the pipe. From there, I cleaned the rust off the rebar, cut it into smaller sections and welded the four ‘sticks’ of rebar into a tic-tac-toe shape.

Then, the concrete was measured and mixed with water, then half of it was poured into bucket, then the rebar piece placing the PVC inside with the center of the tic-tac-toe. The rest of the concrete was added and then just waited for the concrete to settle. From there, the plate was popped out and the excess PVC was removed. The process was done multiple times for more 45 lb weights and done with a smaller bucket (the typical home depot orange bucket) for a set of 20 lb, 10 lb and 5 lb weights.

Bench

To be honest, I don’t remember much of the design or the creation of the bench. I remember the frame was made first, a section of 4x4 made out into a rectangle with 1x4 screwed in place on top, creating a table. From there two legs were added on either side, at an angle so that the weight was distributed properly and secured with a bolt system. I stapled a yoga pat on top for cushioning.

Accessory Equipment

From there, most of the gym was set up! I ordered foam puzzle pieces off of Amazon to place under the squat rack and so that when a car was pulled out, more pieces could be added for more space. I also built the first iteration of the suspension trainer that went over the pullup bar of the squat stand but those quickly turned into fat grip pullup handles. Along with that, I created a pulley system that went over the pullup bar, learning the important skill of stitching that I would often use later on in my other builds.

Conclusion

And that was it for the main builds that summer! This gym has lasted me three years and I really fell in love with the process of designing my own equipment and using it to better myself. During a there was so many contraints, I forged my own path. During that time, I started training here with my best friend. He had an Uncle with some old one inch weight plates, a bar and an adjustable dumbbell which added to our ensemble. We weren’t very close at the beginning of our training but as time went on, we became best buds. During the time, it the only thing we could do together and through that we cultivated a deep friendship, one which I cherish very much . To be honest, I don’t think training will ever be as much fun as when he and I were lifting these weights around in the garage and having a laugh. Not only did this project occupy my time during the lockdown, it helped me find my best friend. Those are some of my favorite memories and it’s something I wish everyday I could have again. I guess what I’m reflecting on is that this project brought me closer to a friend and for that, Concrete Paradise will never die.