A BODYBUILDING CHAMP'S WOODEN FITNESS CENTER

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Last issue, you saw two pieces of homemade workout equipment. Now here's the rest of . . .

In our last issue (May/June 1984), Virginia bodybuilder Carlos DeJesus described two workout machines that he and his training partner developed in the process of constructing—believe it or not—a home gym made entirely of wood ... a setup that eventually helped them both win national championships a couple of years ago.

Now, we didn't expect our readers to take up bodybuilding with the ardor of these athletes, but we did figure that for about $200 (Carlos's estimate of his expenses for his eight-piece gym, excluding weights), a health conscious person with few carpentry could enjoy the benefits of real fitness center with out having to deal with crowded facilities or monthly fees.

At first, we thought we'd detail just two pieces of equipment from Carlos's wooden gym: the incline/flat pressing bench and the leg curl/extension machine shown in issue 87. But, after constructing and using these two bodybuilding implements, our staffers were impressed enough with each one's simplicity and function to give the remaining six a try. So in the pages that follow you'll find as sembly details for a curling bench, a calf block, seated and standing calf machines, a "lat" worker, and a hyperextension bench.

If you've worked on simple wood-framing projects before, this undertaking shouldn't tax your time or patience ... but even if you haven't, you'll find that construction of these machines is essentially a cut-and-paste operation, requiring only a handsaw, a drill (with 5/64", 1/8", 3/16", and 3/8" bits, and 1/2" and 11/8" hole saws), a countersink, a screwdriver, a wrench set, a tape measure, and some carpenter's glue.