My Little Barbell Tidy-Up Project
Alright, so my workout space at home isn’t exactly huge. You know how it is. The barbell was always the awkward thing, leaning in a corner, threatening to roll off if you looked at it funny. Drove me nuts. Just clutter, and honestly, a bit risky. I figured there had to be a simple fix, something to just stand it upright and out of the way without spending a bunch of cash on fancy store-bought stuff.
I poked around online, saw some holders, but they seemed too much for what I needed. Just wanted one bar stored vertically. So, I thought, why not DIY something simple? Looked around the garage for ideas. Had this old, fairly tough plastic bucket lying around, leftover from some garden project I think. Seemed like a good base. Strong enough, decent size.
Then I needed something heavy to put in the bucket, to stop the whole thing tipping over when the barbell was in it. Luckily, I still had a bag of sand and gravel mix sitting there from fixing the path last year. Perfect. Free material right there.
The main bit was figuring out what would actually hold the end of the barbell straight inside the bucket. Found a piece of leftover PVC pipe in the shed. Measured the end of my barbell sleeve – the bit where the weights go – and the pipe was just a little wider. Ideal. It wasn’t too long either.
Getting it Done
So, here’s what I did:
- Cleaned the bucket: First thing, gave that old bucket a good rinse. Didn’t want old dirt mixing in.
- Cut the pipe: The PVC pipe piece was a bit long, so I sawed it down. Just needed it tall enough to keep the bar stable, maybe about a foot high? Eyeballed it mostly. Sanded the cut edge a bit so it wasn’t sharp.
- Positioned the pipe: Stood the piece of PVC pipe right up in the middle of the empty bucket. Tried to get it as vertical as I could.
- Filled ‘er up: This was the main part. I started carefully pouring the sand and gravel mix into the bucket, around the PVC pipe. Had to keep checking the pipe hadn’t shifted, making sure it stayed dead center and straight up.
- Packed it down: As I filled it, I kept packing the sand/gravel down firmly. Used a stick to tamp it down around the pipe base. Filled it pretty close to the top of the bucket, leaving just the top opening of the PVC pipe clear. Really packed it tight to make it heavy and stable.
The Result
Let it all settle for a bit. Then, the moment of truth. I grabbed my barbell, lifted it carefully, and slid one end straight down into the PVC pipe sticking out of the sand. And what do you know? It worked!
It stood up straight, nice and secure. Doesn’t wobble much at all because the weighted bucket holds it firm. It’s not fancy, just a bucket with sand and a pipe, but who cares? It keeps the barbell vertical, tucked out of the way, and my floor space feels way clearer. Didn’t cost me anything either, just used up stuff I already had. Pretty pleased with that little bit of problem-solving.
