Homemade Squat and Bench Press Stand

What You Need to Know
Cost: $31
Time: 2 hours
Difficulty: Medium

Equipment for Squatting, Benching, and Pressing

Material Needed:

3, 5 gallon buckets
3, 50lb. bags of Quikcrete (fast setting)
2, 8ft. 4×4′s

Step 1:

Go to your local hardware store and pick up your items. At Home Depot they will make 2 cuts for free. I had them cut the 8ft. piece at 5ft., which gave me (2) 5ft. pieces and (2) 3ft. pieces. Take into account how high you want your stands. I originally had it at 60 in. (5ft.), but decided I wanted it a little shorter after I started the project so I had to make two more cuts. I ended up with (2) 3ft. pieces and (2) 55in. pieces. I am 5′ 11″

Step 2:

Make your V-Cuts. If you have a skill saw, put it at 45 degrees and make the cut. This step was far more complicated than it needed to be, but if you mess it up you are screwed. If you are unsure how to make a V-Cut, Click on the Diagram picture to enlarge. If you are using a handsaw, just draw a V and cut accordingly. Any questions on this, let me know.

Step 3: Cement Work

Not as many pictures of these steps because it is a little messy and involved.

There are directions on the back of Quikcrete for setting a fence post, DO NOT use those directions. Mix all of your cement in your 3rd bucket, that is why you bought it.

Cement Tips:

Mix small amounts of the bag of dry cement with water, until you eventually use the whole bag
Do not mix more than one bag at a time

Put your fence posts together. I duct taped them together and placed them in the bucket. Once you have it mixed according to the instructions on the back of the bag you can now pour it from the mixing bucket around your fence post. It helps if someone will hold the post while you pour. You do not want any cement under the post, that is why it goes in first.

Recap:

Duct tape smaller and large post together
Put in one of the dry buckets
Mix cement
Pour mixed cement around post
Let Dry

Use a level to make sure it is straight. The cement should be thick enough to hold it upright with no assistance. Just make sure you make it straight before the cement sets. Click to enlarge the profile shots.

That’s it! I had some old spray paint I wanted to get rid of so I added that in at the end.

Check out my other projects in the DIY Corner

Filed Under: DIY

Seth

Can you comment on the stability of this setup with weight on the top position? It looks like it might be wobbly given the small footprint of the buckets.
- Jerred
  
  Good question, be glad to. It is a little wobbly, not gonna lie. However it is definitely not TOO wobbly by any means. As long as you are not making a ditch effort to rack the weight, you will be fine. I control the weight when I rack it and it is pretty solid. Love them so far!!
Seth

Thanks for the quick reply. When I get in position to start building (see below) I am going to put this together. Its just too easy/cheap to not give it a shot. If for some reason I don’t like it..then boom, I have a heavy “odd object” for carrying around.

In response to your email, I am in the first stage of putting together a collection, so no immediate plans to build until a couple months after the holidays. Currently shopping for 2 good bars (men and women) and set of bumpers. Probably go with the rogue bar and the bella bar, still undecided on the plates.
- Jerred
  
  Can’t go wrong with Rogue bars! Shop around on the plates. I have found it is best to go with some bumpers and some iron. Saves money and you really don’t need bumpers for everything. If you need any tips when you start building just contact me and I will help if I can. Also if you want me to point you to some good deals on weights I can do that as well.
http://twobargarage.com Trey

I made something very similar for my home gym. I have picture on my site. Never considered a lower position for bench press though. Great idea!
- Jerred
  
  Thanks! Yea I saw that today, looks awesome.
Corbin

Great DIY project!!! I saw your site and went out and built it right away. How long did you let it dry before putting weight on it? Can’t wait to use it.
- Jerred
  
  Thank you!! I waited 24 hours till I put weight on it for shoulder press, so not too heavy. Waited 48 hours till I put heavy weight on it for squatting. Let me know how it turns out!
  - Corbin
    
    I did some bench press work today and this stand worked great!! I got lazy and didn’t do the “V” cuts. Instead, I pre-drilled then screwed in some large bolts in a “V” shape that keep the bar from rolling forward/backward. Love this project!! Keep’em coming.
    - Jerred
      
      Great idea with the bolts! Glad you liked it, and no worries, plenty more to come!!
Bill

I was thinking – as I sometimes accidentally do – that if you were building the power rack, you could easily incorporate this into that. I’d say the major changes would involve securing the power rack down very well (so it did not come forward on you) and maybe using 4×4′s in the front. If you have a normal ceiling with rafters you could tack into them.

The trick would be how you would rack the bar on there… I was thinking maybe holes drilled through and massive bolts maybe? so you could raise and lower? But I have no idea on the sheer strength (when they break when pulled to the side) on stuff like that.

The other thought was to mount additional 4×4 to front to hold the bar just like in this design.

Since I have not built any of this yet, I’d love to hear your thoughts.
- Jerred
  
  Do you mean setting your power rack in cement buckets? I have my power rack secured by a 2×4 on each side connected to the studs in the wall. This way I can kip with no problems at all.
  
  If you do the massive holes drilled through I would use pipe to set at each level as opposed to bolts. It would just be stronger.
  
  Let me know if I am on the right track with what you are talking about.
  - Bill
    
    The pipe comment is a good thought.
    
    I was not thinking of the buckets of cement for the 4×4… I was thinking that the boards themselves may not be able to support a 300lb weight securely, hence the upgrade to 4×4′s.
    
    thanks!
    - Jerred
      
      It is always a good idea to use wood that is going to be stronger than necessary. I like your idea. Are you thinking of doing it soon? I would love to see it.
Bill

I am still building out the basement room that will become my little “box”. My wife has been promised that it gets finished this winter so…

That being said, I’ve been working on it for two years now (off and on).

When I do, i will be happy to show it to you. I got the idea for using the power rack for this from going to crossfit… they use it for racking and also for doing bench presses.

I will have to work out some details on the pipes… I’d want them angled a bit so that the bar would not roll off. Inclining the holes means the pipe would slide down so something will need to be done there. Hmmmm.
- Jerred
  
  Wow that sounds awesome. Perhaps you could use a T-joint, or something similar. That way the pipe can go all the way through for stability, but it stops at the joint where it doesn’t slide out.
cody

If I just wanted to build bench press stands, do you think it would be stable/okay to build it with only one post in each bucket (around 3ft. each)? Or does having two posts in each bucket make it more stable? Thanks!
- Jerred
  
  I don’t think it would make it less stable. It would actually require more concrete so it would probably be more stable. However, you would have to be very precise with racking, as you would have no backing to guide the weight down.
  - cody
    
    Got it, thanks for the quick reply!
Drew Griffith

Hello again, I posted on the power rack too…but quick question on this: when coming back to rack (let’s say) a heavy back squat, how do the buckets fare when you walk into them with the bar to set them on/in the grooves? Would you improve upon the setup by running a 2×4 along the back to use as a stopper? (I have a TON of 2x4s….finishing our basement).
- http://endofthreefitness.com/ Jerred
  
  I would add the 2×4′s as a guide to getting to the grooves. However due to the weight and nature of the cement buckets, too much force will knock them over. So they can be used as a guide but never slammed into.
Barbg

I found that cement wasn’t heavy enough to offset the weights on the bar. You had to be careful not to bump into them otherwise they come crashing down. 2 methods I used to stabilize the bottoms along with the concrete. One was to make a cross (+) out of leftover pieces of 2×4, notch them to make them fit flush. Then cut holes to size of the 2×4 in the bottom of the bucket. Make careful cuts to fit, otherwise you’ll have concrete spill everywhere. Slide the pieces into the bottom of the bucket, place your posts on top, then pour concrete. Another method to stabilize. Go to a local tire shop and ask for old lead balance weights (for tires), they should have buckets of them! Pour these in the bottom of your bucket before you pour the concrete and you have a very heavy bottom to counterbalance your barbell.
Matt

Spent weeks searching Craigslist for a something cost and space effective with no luck. Found this with a Google search. Built these in about an hour for a whopping $37 and they are great. Thanks for posting!
Ross

Awesome tutorial mate going to have a look at some parts tonight. Live in middle of nowhere so gym is difficult getting to…I’m thinking of using metal brackets to rest the weights on rather than cutting into the wood. Does your version support Olympic bars or is it a regular barbell? Thanks!
- http://endofthreefitness.com/ Jerred
  
  Should support any barbell.
http://www.facebook.com/NoelnNat Natalia AlwaysBlessed Carnegie

made mine yesterday. ..thanks for the inspiration!
- http://endofthreefitness.com/ Jerred
  
  Awesome!
Pingback: Problem staying with training programs. Any advice? - Page 3 | Mark's Daily Apple Health and Fitness Forum page 3
Eric

Just finished making the posts this morning. Now for the dumb question I should have asked myself beforehand: how do you lift/move the things? The buckets have such a low center of gravity and no obvious places to grab on, I can’t seem to get them off the floor…
- http://endofthreefitness.com/ Jerred
  
  Tilt and roll my friend!

Homemade Squat and Bench Press Stand

Equipment for Squatting, Benching, and Pressing

Material Needed:

Cement Tips:

Recap:

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