I am looking into setting up a home gym in a garage I rent. What are some successful ways to secure a power rack and not damage the floor?
Block it in from the ceiling.
Cut the boards or 2x4 or 4x4 about 1/16 long and press fit them.
Well you could secure it from the ceiling. Do something like drill holes in the rafters in the attic up there and have some pipes run through them down securing the rack.
Honestly, if it were me though, I’d call the landlord make sure he was okay with you drilling some holes in the garage floor, and tell him when you’ll leave you’ll have it repaired. Mention you’ll have a professional who is insured do this, and then hire a company or professional. If they damage the floor then they’ll be liable, otherwise if you try it you are.
Build a platform out of plywood. 4 sheets of 4x6’ will make a decent 8x6’ platorm. You can bolt the rack onto that.
Google it, there are instructions everywhere on the net.
Giant magnets.
They hold the rack down AND provided extra resistance while you’re lifting. Win-win
My rack isn’t bolted down. What do you plan on doing in there that requires the rack to be bolted down? Most racks are built to resist tipping as long as you follow certain basic laws of physics.
[quote]Iron Dwarf wrote:
My rack isn’t bolted down. What do you plan on doing in there that requires the rack to be bolted down? Most racks are built to resist tipping as long as you follow certain basic laws of physics. [/quote]
X2
My rack is smallish and on the cheap side but I never thought to bolt it down. What you doing in it? Sex swing?
V
^ ID, mine is in the garage and is a very sturdy decent priced rack (not from Elite or anything but still good). However when I go to rack a heavy squat it does move the rack, I am going to be bolting to the floor very soon.
[quote]DJHT wrote:
^ ID, mine is in the garage and is a very sturdy decent priced rack (not from Elite or anything but still good). However when I go to rack a heavy squat it does move the rack, I am going to be bolting to the floor very soon. [/quote]
Oh I see. I thought he feared it tipping over (as if all the weight on the pins on one side would do so).
Slipping is another story! My own power rack is on a carpeted floor, and the back “feet” are touching the wall.
I was considering a 8x8 plywood platform but thought that carriage bolts would grind into the floor underneath the rack. I wondered what the life expectancy of the plywood platform would be. Thanks for all the help.
I like the idea of blocking it down from the ceiling joist. As far as carriage bolts, you could bolt it to 2x4 and screw that to a plywood base by counter boring for the carriage bolt head.
My rack slips on the indoor/outdoor carpeted floor of my sunporch, so I am thinking of screwing it to 4x4’s and screwing them to my plywood subfloor.
As far as tipping, I sometimes do a type of row using a thick rope from the top of my rack and pulling my body towards the rack while at an angle to the ground. Kind of like fatboy pullups. I have to load the rack on the back side to keep it from tipping.
You can see more pics of my garage gym in my hub, but this pic shows the thickness of the platform I built. It’s 2" thick…if you took 1 1/2" wood screws and ran it through each foot straight into the platform…that bitch ain’t goin’ no where. There’s no need to use carriage bolts.
[photo]26374[/photo]
Mine’s not bolted either. We built a platform with 3 sheets thick of 3/8" plywood cross laid and screwed together creating a 8’ x 12’ platform. It raises the height of the rack enough that the top hits a venting duct across the garage ceiling where we’ve secured a board. When we walk in for heavy squats the rack pushes into the board. Otherwise, I’d bolt it to the plywood. We’ve recently added rubber mats over the plywood for another 1/2" thick that will extend the life of the wood.
We sell these where I work. Whenever you see storage racking in a warehouse or barriers to stop forklifts from crashing into things, this is what everyone uses. They are sold at homo depot or any of the big hardware stores.
Drill a hole using an impact drill (a reguler drill takes forever), pop the bolt in and start cranking, as it tightens up the flange expands and keeps it secure. I’ve installed a bunch of these at my last job, it’s a peice cake, just dont over tighten and strip the threads.
JPcleary…wow, nice gym!..I cummed lol. My basement gym I share with the washer/dryer and the kitty litter box :(…Takes alot of focus to squat properly when the cat is taking a shit and looking you straight in the eye lol, it does remind me to keep my back from rounding 
[quote]bond james bond wrote:
We sell these where I work. Whenever you see storage racking in a warehouse or barriers to stop forklifts from crashing into things, this is what everyone uses. They are sold at homo depot or any of the big hardware stores.
Drill a hole using an impact drill (a reguler drill takes forever), pop the bolt in and start cranking, as it tightens up the flange expands and keeps it secure. I’ve installed a bunch of these at my last job, it’s a peice cake, just dont over tighten and strip the threads.
JPcleary…wow, nice gym!..I cummed lol. My basement gym I share with the washer/dryer and the kitty litter box :(…Takes alot of focus to squat properly when the cat is taking a shit and looking you straight in the eye lol, it does remind me to keep my back from rounding ;)[/quote]
Homo Depot? Think you might catch the ghey shopping there.
The litter box coaching cue also really made me laugh!
[quote]tommytoughnuts wrote:
Giant magnets.
They hold the rack down AND provided extra resistance while you’re lifting. Win-win[/quote]
[quote]BobParr wrote:
[quote]bond james bond wrote:
We sell these where I work. Whenever you see storage racking in a warehouse or barriers to stop forklifts from crashing into things, this is what everyone uses. They are sold at homo depot or any of the big hardware stores.
Drill a hole using an impact drill (a reguler drill takes forever), pop the bolt in and start cranking, as it tightens up the flange expands and keeps it secure. I’ve installed a bunch of these at my last job, it’s a peice cake, just dont over tighten and strip the threads.
JPcleary…wow, nice gym!..I cummed lol. My basement gym I share with the washer/dryer and the kitty litter box :(…Takes alot of focus to squat properly when the cat is taking a shit and looking you straight in the eye lol, it does remind me to keep my back from rounding ;)[/quote]
Homo Depot? Think you might catch the ghey shopping there.
The litter box coaching cue also really made me laugh!
[/quote]
Next time you see someone rounding their back at the gym yer gonna start to chuckle and draw stares lol.
Another bonus of my arrangement in the laundry room is if the cats just pinched a loaf the smell is just like a shot of smelling salts, seriously…I could do without this thankyou but what are you gonna do. Once our son moves out I’m doing some rearranging for sure.
That ICP referance gave me a good laugh DRE. Fans of that band are like a cult.
Well heck, if we’re going to start using magnets and stuff why not ditch bands and use the field generated by the electro-magnets holding the rack down for accommodating resistance too.
I set the rack up. It moves a lot but would move even more if it wasn’t against the wall. I am definitely putting a plywood/rubber base under it and bolting it down. However I have to wait til the landlord clears away some of his stored “goods”. For now I can only hope to get healthy enough to really use the rack. I am also now considering getting a cat complete with litter box just for inspiration. Thanks.