How To BUILD DIY Squat Rack & Bench Press & Pull-Up - Space Saving Build with Few Tools - Affordable

Today I’m showing how I build DIY squat racks that enable you to squat, bench press, and pull-up. This design saves dollars and saves space. When you finish strength training you can fold the rack braces down and slide the rack stands to store against the wall. You can also build this with just a few tools. Unlike DIY power racks that have a large footprint, this design takes little space when stored without sacrificing stability. This homemade design provides a more stable alternative to concrete bucket racks that stand alone. The only saw I used for this build was a hand saw, and this can be built with limited tools. It is affordable. This is not a step by step tutorial and important steps are missing. All details are in the plans.
//LINKS
Squat Rack Plans: gum.co/AQjoK
Please tell me what you see as the pros and cons of this design. Share about it in the comments.
Do you have a channel or website about staying fit from home? If so, what is it about? Share what you are doing in the comments.
Coming Soon: buildyourgarag...
Materials needed to build may be found here: gum.co/AQjoK
Disclaimer: This description might contain affiliate links. If you choose to visit these affiliates by following the above links, we may receive a commision on products you purchase. Thank you for your support!
Key words: homemade gym, make your own home gym, how to build a squat rack for your home gym with limited tools, DIY squat rack, do it yourself squat rack, DIY bench press, how to build a squat rack, build a slim profile squat rack, space saving squat rack, build it yourself, affordable home gym equipment, build your own squat rack, build your own bench press.
Build and use at your own risk.
Copyright © 2020 Tired Dad Fitness LLC

[@DFNUVS]

THIS WAS ABSOLUTELY BRILLIANT 😱🖤👌💪🏽✅

[@RuvensE]

This is the best design on KZbin

[@buildyourgaragegym7835]

I really appreciate the kind words. Thank you!

[@zewdesmith7916]

From NY to Jamaica 🇯🇲 This is the best video yet and I’ve seen plenty. Not even 10 minutes ago I told myself that I have to build one of the DIY bench press and squat rack. 🤔 But I’m going to add an extra layer for pull ups💡As soon as I searched “this time”, boom there you were 🤯 The universe brought your video to me😁 Time to build our home gym 👍🏾

[@buildyourgaragegym7835]

I really appreciate that! Made my day reading this! I wish you all the best as you build!!

[@elijahmcintosh7230]

How much weights can you add to this without worrying that it might crumble?

[@danmark4038]

👋 from Australia, that wall support is genius. I’m going to add that to my similar set up so I fit my cars in .

[@buildyourgaragegym7835]

Thank you! I hope it works out well with your set up!

[@timberjkd3625]

Liked just because you used a damn hand saw to cut all those 2x4s. Lol.

[@chetdixon7005]

Thank you. My elbow is still sore. Gonna buy a circular saw.

[@robertolealtoledo]

🖐🇬🇹 From Guatemala. Nice Work!

[@louisshaker1327]

God bless you and your children Awesome build

[@buildyourgaragegym7835]

Thank you for the kind words!

[@jpmillan9985]

nice work dude

[@bardbarian4065]

i made a similar pair years ago, started looking around for diy squat stands bc i'm feeling frisky again, your design has some additional features i think i'll steal, thanks for sharing!

[@devooski4751]

Same here bro. I have two toddler girls and I had to move my weights somewhere else and my woman just threw my homemade squat/bench rack out the door 😂 Now I'm making something more compact now. Thanks for the video and tips.

[@Unique5611]

Absolutely amazing. Such simplicity.

[@samantharosario4631]

I love this

[@computerhotspot]

Badass man gonna save me some cash

[@kcdixaday5058]

This looks great. I'll give it a build and give you feedback. Thanks for making the thing!

[@buildyourgaragegym7835]

I’m glad you like it. I hope the build goes well for you, and I’m eager to hear your feedback. Thanks!

[@tommytran1236]

Have you thought of drilling holes and using a plumbing pipe and flange to work as Jhooks? To make it more adjustable to variable heights? Alternatively you could buy barbell racks in sets of 2 and buy 2 so then you can have the barbell rack near the bench press and shoulder area. Love your work

[@stevensauve9944]

Good

[@luislopes-pk1gl]

Very nice rack, will be nice to see wall storage and some safety when bench press

[@wowguywhy]

Awesome Gonna try this!

[@Buyongjajangman]

Incredible work! Thank you very much for making this guide!

[@buildyourgaragegym7835]

Thank you for liking the video! I hope the guide gives you some good ideas!

[@robv5625]

Great design. Im going to try this out, and just add some angle iron where the barbell touches the wood.

[@buildyourgaragegym7835]

I think that's a great idea! The angle iron will equally distribute the weight of the barbell on that little cross section of wood. Wonder if you could put a bit of rubber or something on top of the iron to protect your barbell. Good luck!

[@martinlaw449]

Great job looking good

[@buildyourgaragegym7835]

Thank you!

[@chrisw9445]

solid idea for the wall supports. i need to do this.

[@buildyourgaragegym7835]

Thank you for the kind words. I've been using the wall supports for several months now and they work well. Makes my morning commute to the gym about 2 min.

[@bizzaroamnumber7525]

Looks awesome, love the slim profile!

[@buildyourgaragegym7835]

Thank you for the kind words!

[@damancandance1]

ur a genius!

[@buildyourgaragegym7835]

...nerd or geek is more like it; thank you for the kind words!

[@myco1631]

Thank bro this helps a lot cus rona football szn is not hapining so

[@buildyourgaragegym7835]

Man, I’m glad to hear you’re still training even though rona ruined this season. I hope you make some serious gains in the next few months and crush it when football comes back! Good luck!!

[@franklinbruce7121]

GREAT VIDEO !!!!! I MIGHT try this my self or have someone else build it out for me ......

[@buildyourgaragegym7835]

Thanks for the encouragement! Good luck building!!

[@Antananarivo48]

Niiice. The layout of tools you are using is great. Straightforward and an awesome idea!

[@buildyourgaragegym7835]

Thank you for the positive feedback!

[@LairdRoss]

Nice work mate. I am definitely looking into building all my own equipment. Want my own unique set up

[@buildyourgaragegym7835]

Thank you! Grab a copy of the plans found in the link. I’m trying to give those to people who will use them during this time when a lot of us are quarantined at home. Hope you can incorporate some of the design elements into your set up!

[@LairdRoss]

@@buildyourgaragegym7835 that is very kind of you thank you mate

[@josephcroft4268]

i would reverse the upright sections and use the bar inside the cage and use the cross pieces as a safety bar

[@gulshanl.c5139]

This looks dope man!

[@Alexander-dt8sk]

Like the design! Would you consider simply using 2x4 bases with a 45 degree diagonal for stability? I’ve seen a guy do that in Iieu of using the concrete anchors. Combined with your clever norizontal stabilizers on the wall stringers it ought to work. You could easily store these flat again the wall and they’d be a whole lot lighter to move around.

[@buildyourgaragegym7835]

I like that idea Dr. K! Properly constructed, I do think a 2x4 base with 45 degree supports (multiple 45 degree supports) can work. That sort of design could work well with the horizontal stabilizers. Good thinking! If you build it, I’d like to hear more about it.

[@wanderingenigma1984]

Awesome!

[@wushulion]

Hi there! I built something very similar and it's almost finished, it also has the same kind of rack for the pullups with the barbell. I was wondering how you go about stopping the barbell from rolling?

[@elijahmcintosh7230]

Love your video bro btw how much weights can you add on this without injury of it falling apart? Or damaging youself?

[@bedubia]

Nice job !

[@buildyourgaragegym7835]

Thanks!

[@thomasolson7447]

Bench press needs customization. Actually all three probably do. You wanna be near full extension so you don't hurt your elbows.

[@buildyourgaragegym7835]

This is a thoughtful comment. I think if I were to improve my rack I would raise the bench press posts just a bit so that I'm not pressing up several inches when un-racking or re-racking the barbell. Guess I'm just in the habit of gyms that don't have adjustable bench press racks, and I used 36" posts for mine. I have been careful to add some detailed notes regarding this in the DIY plans. I'd be interested in your feedback on that section of the plans if you get ever get a chance. Thank you again for your observation.

[@elijahmcintosh7230]

How much feet is the bench press rack is of the ground? And how much you would of raise it a little high so that you dont have to push up to rack and unrack?

[@davidjames8367]

Great video, thanks for going to the effort to post it. Looked for your plans but can,t find them, any suggestions on how to get them? Thanks again.

[@buildyourgaragegym7835]

Try this link for the plans: gum.co/AQjoK. If that link doesn't work for you, shoot me an email at [e-mail], so I can email you the plans. Thanks for the kind words!

[@lorini11]

This is just beautiful, congratulations. Just one little bit of advice,,, please, drop the suicide grip on the bench press, it really is, in the best case scenario, a bad habit.

[@davidjames8367]

Hi again, quick question, I'm in the UK and am in the process of buying the lumber to build a rack. My lumber yard will supply 4inch x 2 inch boards but I was wondering if your 4 x 2s were an exact 4 inch by 2 inch or a metric equivalent, as in the video the 3.5 inch hinges appear to be the same width as the board. Could you clarify this for me before I begin cutting, thanks again for a great video.

[@buildyourgaragegym7835]

Good question. The actual dimensions of a 2x4 are 1.5”x3.5” or 38mmx89mm. That’s why a standard 3.5” door hinge fits well. Most lumber has an actual size that is smaller than its named size. The “nominal” or named size refers to the dimensions of lumber before it was dried and milled. Most stores advertise lumber by its nominal size and not its actual size. Good job paying attention to detail! Hope the build goes well for you!!

[@connormartin2214]

Do you have any ideas from safety spotter arms?

[@romeobravo78]

How bad was the elbow bursitis from sawing? J/k nice work on these.

[@buildyourgaragegym7835]

Bad enough to make sure I use a sharp saw next time😁. Thanks.

[@joeschraer925]

The wall support doesn’t seem to be very sturdy with only some door hinges holding it, have you found any issues with that?

[@buildyourgaragegym7835]

Keen observation and good question. The door hinges have not created any issues with overall stability for me. That is because the hinges do not do any structural work when it comes to racking and holding the barbell. When I rack the barbell the forward force of the barbell gets transferred through the rack and into the wall the support braces are mounted on. The wall is a load-bearing, shear wall with a great deal of structural stability, and the brace design transfers the forward force of the barbell directly into that wall without the hinges doing any structural work. I could, however, see the hinges being a problem if someone used a lot of weight and racked the barbell unevenly. If someone started pushing or pulling really hard on a loaded barbell side to side, left to right, then the wall braces would probably fail, and the concrete bucket racks could tip over. This set up does not provide the type of lateral, side to side, stability that a hefty, iron power rack that has a large square footprint might have. Good question.

[@joeschraer925]

@@buildyourgaragegym7835 me and my brother are gonna be building a design based off of yours we are not limited in space so much so I think I’ll go a little over the top to make sure it’s sturdy and durable we both are looking to go heavy but great video it’ll get the job done and I won’t have to spend an arm and a leg for a steel rack

[@buildyourgaragegym7835]

@@joeschraer925 I really like that you are going to go over the top to make extra sure its sturdy so that you can safely lift heavy. I recently worked with a structural engineer about the suitability of wood for heavy weight and also calculations for how much my design can hold. Shoot me an email at [e-mail] if you want a copy of the engineer's comments on the wooden rack. Good luck with your build!

[@flippmogaming1]

If u want to see your kids grow up I highly suggest you change that thumb-under-bar bench press grip. No point making a gym when you're risking your life every session!!

[@buildyourgaragegym7835]

Thank you for the warning! I didn't even know I did that, and I need to pay more attention. Suicide grip is nothing to play with. Thumbs wrapped around bar from here on 👍👍👍

[@rockyevans1584]

Get a corded circular saw, save you so much time

[@rockyevans1584]

Haha but this is tremendous, woods a bit pricier now

[@buildyourgaragegym7835]

Thank you for the kind words. Yeah, a circular saw would be easier on the elbows! Hopefully the price of wood goes down soon. I think wood prices doubled during quarantine(s) because of supply and demand.

[@stephenthompson1338]

Hey bro.I have built my own equipment now do to this virus crap and have done so in the past as well.since I work as a fabricator it just comes natural to build it myself instead of pay someone else triple the amount it costs me to do it.didn't exactly want a home gym right now since we are living in an apartment at the moment so space is definitely an issue for me too.I like your design for its simplicity and strength for straight downward force seems like it would be great however i dont like the hinges and arms too much.you don't need all that room behind you when you fold it out.you just need room for your head when you bench and squat so you could just get some brackets and shorten the arms to like 10" and just screw the things right to the wall.I am sure you can find some space to build a chin up bar up out of the way.can be your next video bro.take care and god bless

[@buildyourgaragegym7835]

I think being a fabricator is like having a super power; you can build anything and save tons of money. I'm trying to develop some of those skills. Learning to weld is my latest project. I think you're right about putting a chin-up bar somewhere else in my garage, and shortening the arms that fold out to support just a bench press and squat version of this design. I appreciate your insight! Thanks again.

[@stephenthompson1338]

@@buildyourgaragegym7835 no problem,thanks for taking the time to make the videos for us.as far as welding is concerned it's not nearly as intimidating as some people make it out to be.my suggestion is a simple flux core mig that runs on 220 volts,avoid 110 volt units they are just for tacking or light sheet metal such as car bodies.if you don't have an easy 220 hookup in your garage you can run a cord to your stove outlet till you get it set up in your garage.a lot of the flux core machines can be easily be converted to use argon gas and standard wire once you get good with the flux core wire.you can weld anything you would need to for gym equipment with the flux core wire anyway.arc is good to learn as well but that takes a little more practice for most people and the welds are a lot messier with all the splatter they make.I see good unites for on sale at Canadian tire for under 300$ often,princess auto sells affordable machines as well.get a auto dark shield that's adjustable for shade,trust me it is well worth the few extra bucks over a cheap ass model.you can make some cool stuff to do videos on

[@incorectulpolitic]

No spotter arms?

[@buildyourgaragegym7835]

I use adjustable saw horses as spotter arms. The same saw yellow saw horses you see in the video.

[@incorectulpolitic]

@@buildyourgaragegym7835 how much dropped weight can they handle? Let say you failed at squat or at bench press, could they save your butt?

[@buildyourgaragegym7835]

TheGermTheoryHoaxSlayer my saw horses are rated to hold 1,200lbs. I don’t frequently drop the barbell on them, but it’s nice to know they are sturdy if I fail a max effort lift.

[@anyC]

Builders could save time and money by eliminating the buckets and the cement. The only downside being the loss of free-standing usage.

[@buildyourgaragegym7835]

I’m afraid you would also lose lateral stability without the concrete buckets. I’d worry the racks could fall over on their side if enough weight was racked unevenly. I wonder if you could add stability to the racks without concrete buckets another way. If you build something like that and it is super stable I’d like to hear about it.

[@SefGutz]

Hi, this is a great video and idea. I tried getting your PDF plan though but it seems it cannot be downloaded when I received it from email.🙁

[@buildyourgaragegym7835]

Thank you for letting me know about this! I’m still trying to figure out what the problem is. Feel free to shoot me an email at [e-mail], so I can get you a copy.

[@SefGutz]

@@buildyourgaragegym7835 awesome. I will shoot you an email. Stay safe

[@bradpierce8776]

Nice job, but you need to put another plate on that bar! :o)

[@buildyourgaragegym7835]

Indeed! I’ll accept that challenge. In college I used to work out with some really strong guys, but that was a lifetime ago, and my tired dad bod needs to put in some work!

[@juliansabularse]

Hi! How does it hold up while doing pull ups while it's free standing (not mounted to the wall)

[@buildyourgaragegym7835]

Good question. It needs to be secured to the wall with the fold out wall braces to do pull ups. It is too unstable while free standing.