With this guest post by Matthew Porter (@porter_physed), he shows us that a lot can be done with some creativity & a Plate Loaded Cable Tower.
You can listen to him chat about this on the GGE Podcast: Spotify, Apple, YouTube.
(Also, if you are an equipment manufacturer, you should definitely consider working with him!!!)
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Introduction
On a small budget, I had big dreams for my home gym and wanted to maximize the limited space with as much equipment as possible.
Ultimately, I wanted to eliminate my need to step into a commercial gym. I started my DIY journey in a single-car, townhome garage that my wife still wanted to be able to fit her car in. Little by little, I added things like our deadlift platform and custom weight tree with a lot of help from my brother.
When we transitioned to our next home, I had even bigger expectations for our two-car garage.
My ideas grew, but my budget did not. I would regularly check Facebook marketplace for items that I could “Frankenstein” together. This is truly where my inspiration for custom gym equipment started.
The Cable Machine
I had been looking for a cable machine with the potential to be the most versatile piece in any home gym. I found the Bells of Steel cable tower and picked it up. The tower would be a small footprint in my overall space. I saw its potential with its unique design of four-way holes, and my mind began to race with the potential to add attachments. Through tinkering and trial and error, I have now built out a line of attachments for the tower to make this equipment exactly what I wanted it to be.
I’ll break down each below, but this includes:
Leg Extension
The first attachment I worked on was my leg extension. Made from an old bench
leg extension, Kyle (@kaizendiygym) saw its worth and asked if he could share it on his platform, and it blew up on Instagram. This attachment brought a commercial leg extension machine to your home without the sacrifice of space. I was excited to make more.
Preacher Curl
From the same old bench that made the leg extension, I obtained an old
preacher curl attachment. I used the same bracket I created to connect the preacher curl to the Bells of Steel spotter arms.
Lat Pulldown
Since I’m limited on space, as most people with home gyms are, I started playing
around with the idea that this Bells of Steel tower could also function as a lat pull-down with some modifications.
I tried a few variations, but what worked best was a stabilizer foot flipped on its head and pulley brackets welded on. It worked great, but I did not like what I had to use as a leg holder.
Leg Holder
When I ran into a problem with the leg holder after creating the lat pull-down
system, I moved my attention to that and decided to go with a welded T design.
The mounting bracket only held it on the tower with one hitch pin. I decided not to work on the seat because Bells’ seal row pad would work better than anything I can make.
Belt Squat
Next up was my pin-in-design belt squat. This attachment was a little tricky because I wanted to start at the movement’s top. So, I made custom hitch pins with an eye on the end of them and attached the cables with sailing carabiners for a quick release from the top of the movement.
The belt squat itself is an angled rectangular tube with two pulley wheels welded on and a bracket that allows it to pin in the tower.
Fly Arms
The latest project is a fly arm attachment that will turn the tower into a functional
trainer while keeping the footprint small. It bolts on and will articulate using a hitch pin and bracket.
Conclusion
I saw a need in my gym and began creating these items for myself. When I bought the Bells of Steel tower, I had grandiose dreams for it that I was not sure would come to fruition.
I am glad that other people see value in these attachments and, through sharing them on social media, have been able to begin selling the lat pull-down and leg holder.
After seeing the demand for these items, I plan to sell more of the attachments in the future.
Podcast
Listen to Matthew chat about this & his home gym journey on the GGE Podcast: Spotify, Apple, YouTube. An episode outline is below.
- (0:39) Who is Matthew?
- (1:24) Home Gym Origins
- (3:15) First DIY Project
- (5:57) Favorite DIY Projects Outside of BOS Cable Tower
- (7:38) Favorite Equipment Purchases
- (9:15) Purchase Regrets
- (10:45) Bells of Steel Cable Tower Story
- (19:59) Amount of Time
- (20:55) Wife’s Thoughts
- (21:29) Start Selling
- (24:07) Items for Sale
- (25:35) Next Up!
- (28:18) Current Workshop
- (30:04) Failed/Unfinished Ideas
- (32:33) Future Plans
