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Fitness & Health

05th Nov 2020

This man built a wooden gym in his back garden to keep fit during lockdown

With gyms closed, a man in the US state of Ohio built a complete wooden gym at home in his back yard to stay fit during lockdown

Alex Roberts

He calls it the ‘Lumber-Jacked’ Gym

A man in the US state of Ohio built a complete wooden gym at home in his back yard to stay fit during lockdown.

With gyms closed all over the UK due to the new lockdown, perhaps you’ll find inspiration in this man’s creation.

Most home workouts comprise a simple set of dumbbells and some resistance bands – but if you’re really missing the gym, how do you make up for it?

Ohio man Zachary Skidmore found himself in that exact situation, the doors of his gym firmly closed due to America’s lockdown laws and strict social-distancing measures.

Not one to miss a good workout, Skidmore decided he would take his workouts outdoors. Quite literally.

Skidmore, a former U.S. Army police officer and part-time personal trainer, constructed his ‘Lumber-Jacked Gym’ entirely out of timber over a two week period. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)

Made entirely of timber, Skidmore has crafted a completely wooden gym – and we’re not just talking a pull-up bar and set of dumbbells here.

He’s built himself a cable crossover, power rack, bench press, seated row machine, chest press, timber leg press, there’s even a hamstring curl machine … the list is endless.

Yes, even a man who has made a wooden gym in his back yard is still training legs. So should you.

Skidmore still isn’t skipping leg day – even though the gyms have closed. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)

The list of equipment isn’t the best thing about Zachary’s gym. Remember, he doesn’t have to compete for the bench with people playing on their phones – or worry about tripping up over a sea of dumbbells someone’s left strewn all over the floor.

Writing underneath a Facebook post sharing video clips of the gym, Skidmore said: “So my gym closed. So I grabbed a chainsaw and went to work. I built what I’m calling “Lumber Jacked Gym” in around 60 hours over the span of 2 weeks. I managed to satisfy my hunger to work out. I hope you enjoy!”

If gyms reopen in the UK after December 2nd, maybe you don’t need to be quite this drastic. But with the furlough scheme extended until March, perhaps that’s an indication your home workouts aren’t going away anytime soon.