Homemade power rack drawing

This drawing of the rack neglects most dimensions because they are governed by variable factors such as available ceiling height and the span of the lifting bar. The desire for a large working footprint area on the mat is traded off against the bar return re-seating tolerance. I have a 1-1/2 inch allowance now which is a bit tight. Two or three inches would be better. On the other hand, having it tight forces me to be more deliberate with my lifts.

Power Rack - Base

This view of the rack base shows the nice open area available for a bench or even a section of wooden post that I use for my calf exercises.

(Hmmm. I should post some pictures of the rack being used for some typical exercises.)

Those small wooden blocks under ends of the base compensate for the small slope in the sun room floor.

I have more power rack information. I'll try to get it out soon. I'm also thinking I should make a separate power rack outline post filled with links to the various components.

Power Rack - Crossbar

My power rack design uses a crossbar shown here. The combination of a 3" separation between the holes on the vertical columns with 2" for the crossbar lets the pin control the crossbar height to a resolution of 1".

Other design notes:
1. Hard nylon trim on the edges help it slide a little better and some heavy leather on the top of the bars serves to tone down the clanging.
2. The purpose of 1" steel pins to support the crossbeam was originally to allow using an steel bar instead of the crossbeam. I never used that and if I were to make another rack, the holes and pins would be much smaller. Machining large holes is a bit of a bear without special equipment. On the other hand I'm real happy with it the way it is.
3. I make no claims to the strength of this design. It seems fine to me but if you lift a lot of weight you should get an engineering analysis including the effects of the welding, and steel tube wall thickness.

An exercise diary of power and grace

While fooling around with Google Docs Spreadsheets the other day, I came up with a fun little exercise diary. Here's an image snag and a bit of a description.


My Evolving Exercise Diary, as I call it, is a worksheet containing sequential entries where each entry is a row with a type defined separately by the user. This approach lets the user create a personalized chronological list of diverse but organized information. I also built in conversions between English and SI units which helps me on my trips abroad.

Here are some of my current entry type definitions.


I can now keep track of both cardio and strength workouts as well as other information that I usually just have scratched in the margins of my workout log. It's been transformational.

I might publish this here if anyone expresses interest. Google Docs Spreadsheets are great.

Training Program Snapshot - 2

Here's where I am since starting my new training program on 1 January, 2007.

• Age: 57, Weight: 174 lbs, %BF: 15
• Resting heartrate: Not measured
  
• Aerobic training and Walking on alternate days
  
• Strength training every fifth day

Where:
Walking = Heart rate at 120 bpm for 50 minutes
Aerobic training = Heart rate at 132 bpm for 40 minutes
Strength training {Exercise: sets x reps (weight)} =

• Squats: 3 x 8 (95 lbs)
• Bench press: 3 x 8 (75 lbs)
• Reverse Crunches: 3 x 20
• Shoulder shrugs: 3 x 12 (145 lbs)
• Calves: 3 x 12 (155 lbs)

Training Program Snapshot - 1

I started a new training program on 1 January, 2007.

Here's where I am today:

• Age: 57, Weight: 178 lbs, %BF: 16
• Resting heartrate: Not measured
  
• Aerobic training and Walking on alternate days
  
• Strength training every fifth day

Where:
Walking = Heart rate at 120 bpm for 50 minutes
Aerobic training = Heart rate at 132 bpm for 40 minutes
Strength training {Exercise: sets x reps (weight)} =

• Squats: 3 x 8 (75 lbs)
• Bench press: 3 x 8 (75 lbs)
• Reverse Crunches: 3 x 20
• Shoulder shrugs: 3 x 12 (130 lbs)
• Calves: 3 x 12 (130 lbs)

Four Essential Training Aids - Cardiotach

The four training aids I can't live without are:
1. My heart rate monitor aka cardiotach
2. My nordic track ski machine
3. My power rack
4. My training notebook

The most important is my cardiotach. It consist of a chest band that sends RF pulses to a watch-like display shown here. It is very accurate and dependable. A little water on the chest band electrodes helps.

Using a cardiotach keeps my aerobic training both safe and effective. It is safe because I don't let my heartrate get into a dangerous region. It is effective because I am sure my heart rate reaches my desired training level.

I don't do anything fancy with my aerobic training so the cheapest cardiotach is fine for me. I have been using a Cardiosport for about 10 years. I chose it at the time because I could replace the battery in both the display and the chest band at the local jeweler. I think this one cost about $75 but I've seen them for $35 although not recently.

I'll post more about how I use the cardiotach later.