Lifting Outdoors

I’ve been attending a gym for a few months, but recently my wife started going to school, which cuts into the budget, and so I’m considering other (read: cheaper) options.

I think the most affordable thing to do now would be to just buy a used bench, bar, and plates but then I’ll need a place to put it, and my tiny apartment is not going to cut it. What might work is setting everything up outside the building where I work. We have a fenced yard and a lot of space that’s not likely to be used anytime soon.

The ground is level enough out here that I won’t need to do any landscaping, and in Arkansas it very rarely gets extremely hot or cold or rains for more that a few hours at a time, so I’m not too concerned about the weather.

The only things I’m really worried about with putting my weights outside are thieves and rust. I suppose I could get a long cable lock to secure my weights to the bench, and cover everything with a tarp, but I’d like some input from you guys about leaving my weights out, what should I watch out for?

As an aside, I suppose I could rig a cart for my weights and just put everything in the building at night… I don’t know yet.

Thanks in advance for any input.

when you’re squatting/DLing near 1RM your feet might sink into the dirt a bit so watch for instability there. also realize it might take away from the numbers you can put up because of reduced force transfer to the bar. if you’re doing olympic lifts watch your balance on the landing, can get messed up.

Thanks for the heads up Son. We have some open area of concrete slab that I can probably use if I have my heart set on any heavy deads or similar, but other than the deadlift, I don’t intend to try anything too close to 1RM since I can’t count on having a spotter.

Sounds awesome and hard core, like prison. Let the stuff rust, who really cares?

Anyone that would break into a fenced in area to carry away your heavy weights may just bring a bolt cutter so locking them might be a waste.

Also covering things with a tarp often traps moisture and can be worse than just having it exposed to the elements.

Simply move to Venice Beach!