With gyms closed across the country, some fitness fanatics are getting creative in constructing their own workout stations at home.
Zachary Skidmore, a personal trainer from Jackson, Ohio, made his own home gym out of timber in his yard.
The 26-year-old spent two weeks constructing what he called the ‘Lumber-Jacked Gym,’ which includes seven stations made almost entirely out wood
Heavy lifting: Zachary Skidmore, 26, from Jackson, Ohio, made his own home gym out of timber
Getting innovative:He has been quarantining at his parents house and unable to go to the gym, which is closed
That’s creative! He build several pieces of equipment, including this treadmill
In shape: Zachary, a former US Army police officer, stresses the importance of fitness
Zachary, a former US Army police officer, has been stuck at his parents’ house due to Ohio’s stay-at-home order, but he’s still determined to get his workouts in.
Buying all of the equipment typically found in a gym would cost a fortune, so Zachary built his own, using timber in his yard.
‘My gym closed, so I grabbed a chainsaw and went to work,’ he wrote on Facebook. ‘I built what I’m calling Lumber Jacked Gym in around 60 hours over the span of two weeks. I managed to satisfy my hunger to work out.’
His setup has seven stations, including a bench press and a cable fly machine.
There is also a treadmill, which he cleverly built with logs lined up horizontally on an include, which spin as he runs.
His other equipment includes a leg press, to which he can add additional pieces of wood for added weight.
Starting out: His first piece was a bench press, which he made from a fallen tree
Working hard: He spent 60 hours over the course of two weeks building the equipment
Adaptable: He can add logs of different sizes to change the weight he lifts
He said: ‘I think everyone should try and incorporate some type of health or fitness or wellness’
And when it comes to lifting, he has plenty of free weights made out of logs of varying sizes.
‘Actually came outside here one day on my parents’ back porch, and I decided that I would do a full body weight workout. But in doing so, I thought it would be kind of nice having a bench to work out on,’ he told Spectrum News 1.
‘Didn’t have one, so I decided to make one out of a tree I had seen that had fallen down here.’
‘After I made the bench,’ he added to the New York Post, ‘I made some dumbells for a more real-gym feel. And at that point I realized, I had nothing but time due to work being postponed from COVID-19. So why not continue?’
He went on: ‘Some pieces of equipment I drew out before the sun came up to get an idea, but for the most part I was just making it up as I went along.
‘Some pieces of equipment I drew out before the sun came up to get an idea, but for the most part I was just making it up as I went along,’ he explained
Variety: His setup has seven stations, including a bench press and a cable fly machine
Woosh! Zachary is seen running on his homemade treadmill
‘In this kinda time, people are cooped up inside, they don’t know what to do with their hands,’ he said, encouraging others to try it themselves
‘Between the engineering and planning of how to execute parts, I was going as fast as I could because I wanted to get back to my normal workout routine.’
Zachary stressed the importance of exercise, and thinks others should make a point of staying in shape while home in quarantine.
‘I think everyone should try and incorporate some type of health or fitness or wellness. It’s not all about physique or look, it’s about feeling good, it’s about having something to wake up in the morning early to get yourself to do,’ he told Spectrum News 1.
‘In this kinda time, people are cooped up inside, they don’t know what to do with their hands,’ he added. ‘So I think it’s kind of just look, something good is coming out of this.
‘If he can be creative,’ he hopes others will think, ‘I can be creative.’
Go, dad, go! Virginia-based college senior Rylee Woelk has gone viral on Instagram with a video of her dad using his own lumber gym
Very cool: Using trees as anchors and chopped woods for weights, he has come up with several different spots to exercise
All the details: The handy dad also employed some pulley systems to help in pull weights, ropes for some reverse push-ups, and handles on chopped wood
Meanwhile, Virginia-based college senior Rylee Woelk has gone viral on Instagram with a video of her dad using his own lumber gym.
Her family appears to have a wooded area behind their house, where her dad built up several workout stations.
Using trees as anchors and chopped woods for weights, he has come up with several different spots to exercise.
The handy dad also employed some pulley systems to help in pull weights, ropes for some reverse push-ups, and handles on chopped wood to make lifting his ‘free weights’ a bit more comfortable.