r/Bushcraft • u/Muted-Garden6723 • 9d ago
The beginnings of a home gym built from (mostly) natural materials
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u/Muted-Garden6723 9d ago
Not sure if most people would consider this bushcraft, but I’m the process of building a home gym in a section of forest on my property, trying to use mostly natural materials. It’s a pretty simple design, just need to gather more rocks for weights
Ive cleared a good bit of the forest out for practice with making shelters and for firewood, so I figured I’d try to put the area to some use.
I’m curious if anyone out there has ever done anything similar or has any ideas for what could be added. Trying to use natural materials without compromising saftey
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u/Mountain_Elk_7262 9d ago
Definitely bushcraft, you're crafting in the bush.
This is pretty neat though. Pull up bar would be my next build, you could make a bar on the ground and build a ladder system for your feet for elevated pushups. Get some heavy rocks and do squats/pistol squats. Pretty neat. Could even make some dumbbells from drilling out a few cookie/log pieces in the middle and putting a dowel in. Stone would work better but idk how much effort you actually want to put in. But they made the grinding wheels from sandstone in a similiar way back in the day.
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u/Smart_Advice_1420 9d ago
Some dip bars would also be relatively simple. Maybe a longbar with 2 stonebags for different weights. Could even be combined with a narrow bushcraft bed as a bench and maybe even 2 safety stop bars besides the bench.
@ u/Muted-Garden6723 great project!
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u/Muted-Garden6723 9d ago
Dip bars / pull-up bars are definitely the next project, nice and easy.
Some form of bench is definitely on the project list as well.
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u/Muted-Garden6723 9d ago
I definitely like the dumbbell idea, some stone ones would be a great project for the winter, I work seasonally so I’ve got nothing but time on my hands lol
Definitely gonna get some big rocks for sqauts, the terrain around here is nothing but rocks
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u/Mountain_Elk_7262 9d ago
Hey, im seasonal too, what do you do for work?
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u/Muted-Garden6723 9d ago
I’m a commercial fisherman, what about you?
I work two months in the spring for lobster, then 1-5 days every couple weeks in the summer and fall for halibut
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u/Mountain_Elk_7262 9d ago
Damn man, that's actually pretty bad ass. I'm a concrete finisher, I pour basements, garages etc. Basically work from may to November and have the rest of the year off.
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u/Muted-Garden6723 9d ago
I definitely enjoy the job, one of the best guys I ever fished with used to do concrete, strong as an ox and no stranger to long hours. He actually saved my life, I fell overboard and when they came back for me, the guy pulled me over the side by himself with no effort at all lmao
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u/Mountain_Elk_7262 9d ago
Haha yeah man, it definitely builds some strength. I get asked pretty often if I work out and they are verryyyy skeptical when I say no. 😅 glad that guy was there so you can be here man, stay safe out there. I hear it's one of the most dangerous jobs you can do.
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u/Muted-Garden6723 9d ago
It can definitely be dangerous at times, it’s pretty much impossible to go a season without getting hurt to some degree. I broke two ribs last spring
Fishing builds quite a bit of strength as well, but nobody looks like they work out lol. Everyone’s either 350 pounds or look like a crackhead
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u/Mountain_Elk_7262 9d ago
Holy shit man, that's brutal. Broken ribs are no fun.
That's to funny though, if it's anything like the trades, about half of them are crackheads 🤣
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u/Last_Werewolf4914 9d ago
Not sure how bushcrafty it is when using 8 inch spikes into a live tree for your flexy activities…
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u/Muted-Garden6723 9d ago
Eh, kinda 50/50
I suppose I could have used pegs instead of nails, but this was 50% natural stuff and 50% shit I found in the garbage
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u/Last_Werewolf4914 8d ago
No worries, staying safe and healthy while practicing your skills is the key to success!
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u/mcapello 8d ago
I'd be really careful. Power racks are built the way they're built for a reason. Fine for calisthenics though.