Homemade Prowler Sled

DIY Homemade Prowler Sled


Knocked up a Homemade Prowler|Homemade push sled for a few quid at the weekend.

Used a couple of car tyres (one of which was a tyre sled in a former life, made by Pat Hodgson of HMGS - check out the tyre with the eye in the front/weight discs can be stacked inside via a welded bar resting on a piece of wood slotted inside)

No real need to explain what has been done to make this if you use 2 standard size car tyres, wood can be held against tyres to get sizes and then holes drilled into rubber (careful with this/I used a drill bit for wood), I've used long bolts to secure the wood to the tyre and used screws and bolts to attach the wood to individual pieces.

To create the handles I bored a hole about 25mm right through the wood and used some old dumbbell handles.

As you can see from the pics, weight can be stacked on top and also in the front tyre.


I tried my DIY Prowler out in my garage and works great on a hard concrete surface, but not really at all on grass.

I made this after being inspired by Chris Beardsley's Make Your Own Sled article from Garage Gym Online which is incidently a good place to start if you fancy making your own Strongman Sled.

If your stuck for exercises for sled training then you should check out Jedd Johnson from the Diesel Crew's Ultimate Sled Training Manual

Check out another awesome DIY-Homemade Prowler Sled

Read More

DIY|Homemade Gym Equipment|Homemadestrength review

HomemadeStrength DVD review

A while back Jedd Johnson and Joe Hashey brought out the Homemade Strength equipment video.

I bought it at the time and have made a couple of the items. Since it's a great resource brought to us by some very knowledgable guys who are pretty much leaders in Homemade Strength Equipment Niche, I thought I'd share a few of my thoughts on this great product.

Although there are some great free resources on the net for DIY Strength gear/Homemade Gym Equipment I think the Homemade Strength Video is well worth the low cost of $27 for the amount that it will save you once you've made all the low cost strength equipment from it.

Without revealing too much of what's demonstrated in the video's I'll say is that the Homemadestrength equipment online DVD will allow you to train all areas of your body and develop grip, explosive power, posterior chain and upper body strength for a fraction of the cost of buying branded equipment.

The equipment I have built have allowed me to blast my glutes, hams and lower back to new levels of strength and power and the other has really assisted my grip strength and forearm power (any clues!)

Check it out here

Read More

Furniture Glider Pads Training DIY

Furniture Glider Pads DIY Training from Ross Enamait

Ross Enamait has found a truly awesome DIY Fitness training tool in the shape of 'furniture gliders'.

Normally used for aiding moving furniture across carpets, Ross uses them for fitness training.

Check out the video where he demonstrates many exercises that'll give anyone of any fitness level a superb workout. These look especially like they'll blast your core.

These 'furniture sliders/gliders' will only set you back about $10 or £6

To buy in the UK I found this link 'furniture sliders'

Check out Ross' original post for details for the US



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XzhrM_vPI5I

Read More

DIY Grip Tools by Jason Steeves

Cheap DIY Grip Tools

Grip training should be a part of all athletes/trainers exercise regimen and doesn't have to cost the earth to do.

Jason Steeves of Shoggoth Basement is a seasoned grip trainer from Alberta, Canada with a keen interest in manufacturing his own grip implements.

Here are some of Jason's Grip/Training Achievements

505# Conventional Deadlift
405# ATG Squat
305# Bench Press
36kg Kettlebell Bottom up Press
46# Legacy Blob Deadlift
17.5# Sledgehammer Lever to Nose
172.5# Euro Pinch - Workout #5
Closed Ironmind #3 Gripper
MashMonster 0
B/H FBBC 3X Oldschool
2" V-bar - 190#
1" V-Bar - 260.75#
145# Rolling Thunder (I Suck)
Reverse Bend - 6" x 1/4" gr 5 & 80d
Half Playing Card Decks - Sabers, Caravans, Mavericks, Bee's, Bikes and a Mini Deck!
180' a SCF "1 Lite

Some of Jason Steeves grip tools are shown below.

The one that caught my eye the most is a device that Jason calls the wrist rocker, a forearm and wrist strengthener which is similar in design to an old style football rattle. Weight can be added to the end to increase resistance. This device is great for rehab to injury, good for warming up and at the top end a briliant device for armwrestling and grip ad forearm endurance.




If you have access to a welder or are pretty good with your imagination (alternative materials) then you can have a go at building one of these. Jason provided us with the necessary component parts below.




Jason Steeves Wrist rocker:Loading pin individual parts - 3" of 1" Cold RollHandle Core - 8" of 1" Cold RollHandle - 7.25" of NPS 1" Sch. 40 PipeArm - 9" of 1" x 3/8" Flat BarHandle Locking Washers - 1-3/4" with a 1" CentreHandle Washer - 2-1/2" with a 1.315" Centre

Also, in Jason's arsenal of grip tools are the pinch lever and the pinch grip trainer. The pinch lever requires some welding gear but the pinch grip trainer could easily be made using equipment found at your local hardware store.


Pinch Lever













Pinch Grip Trainer



DIY Grip training equipment is quite possibly as good if not better than off the shelf equipment.

If you don't have what it takes to build equipment like this or really don't have anyone to help you then take a look around you and find objects that could be hard to lift... think bricks, blocks, bags of sand, rocks, thick wood with weights attached, weighted plate discs, carpet wrapped around a dumbbell/kettlebel handle....etc just keep thinking and trying new stuff out and you'll discover some amazingly testing and useful grip equipment


There are always options, check out some of these articles to help
DIY Rolling Thunder
DIY Wrist Roller
DIY Ball Grip Pull Ups

Read More

Keg Training - How to Open Up and Fill a Keg

Keg Training - How to Open Up and Fill a Keg

Keg training is an awesome form of DIY Strength and Fitness Training

Kegs can be used for swinging, pressing, running with and squatting plus a whole lot more.

Keg training falls into the camp of Odd Object Lifting

To get you hands on a keg, go to your local brewery wholesaler or PUB and ask them for one, it may cost you a few quid but the benefits will be well worth it.

Dave Lemanczyk of Keg Conditioning shot this great video on How To Open Up A Beer Keg for Filling



Now if you really can't get your hands on a beer keg (it's worth it if you can), then next best thing is a water barrel which you're most likely to get from a hardware store or garden centre. Fill this with water and slosh your way to strength and fitness levels you never thought possible.

For more awesome ways to train with kegs check out Dinosaur Training: Lost Secrets of Strength and Development

Read More