This week I created three kinds of workout equipment to play and get stronger at home: a kettlebell, a balance beam, and a tire sled.

Tools I used:

Tire sled

• An old tire

• A piece of rope (3 metres, I should have got longer)

• An eye bolt + nut + washer

Balance beam

• Dowel rods made of pine, 2 metres each, 2.5 inch thick

• Sand paper (80 and 180 grade)

• Marine varnish, paint thinner, a metal can, a brush

• Wood glue + tape

Kettlebells

• 2 cheap differently sized soccer balls

• Quick cement

• PVC pipe

• Sand

• Duct tape

• Spray paint

Context

At the start of 2020, just before the pandemic, I spent a month in Thailand living and training at the Diamond Muay Thai gym (an experience I would HIGHLY recommend). While I was there I also discovered the Momentum Mixed Movement Arts center - and my eyes were opened to all kinds of movement play and practices.

Soon after, I landed back in San Francisco and into deep lockdown for the rest of the year. Luckily enough, my living situation was pretty ideal, I had my own tiny cabin out the back of a 12 person community house. I promptly converted it into a ‘backyard dojo’, complete with floor mats, slacklines, trampolines, suspension rigs, and more.

so I can leave it outside during the rainy season

• Glued it together with wood glue - this didn’t work very well because the beams are slightly warped, so they don’t have edges that are flush together the whole length

• Accidentally let it sit in heavy rain for 2 days (oops). Upside: the marine varnish works!

• Taped it a few times, and it works!

Kettlebells

• Got 1 metre of PVC pipe, cut into 3

• I need to bend each piece into the shape of a handle, I read that using a hairdryer would get it hot enough to melt, maybe for very very thin PVC, didn’t work in my case, so I’m going the hot sand approach

• Heated up sand on the stovetop for 5-10 mins (my sand was a bit wet at first so it gave off a lot of steam)

• Taped one end of the PVC, then carefully poured in the hot sand. After a few minutes, the sand passed on the heat and the PVC became soft and malleable:

• Video above is my first attempt, it worked, but the resulting handle was too small to fit my hand. Luckily I had 2 more pieces and these ones worked out better:

• Next, I cut a space for the handle in the ball:

• Then I mixed up some wet concrete cement, filled the ball with it, and jammed in the handle:

to do the second ball, so I’ll have to come back to it

• I let that dry for 24 hours, then added some tape on the handle for better grip and to cover up some of the rough edges. Then I gave it a few coats of spray paint:

and then they bring you the product. This + my beginner’s Spanish + my beginner’s tool and material knowledge meant I ended up buying the wrong things a few times

• Working with wood is rewarding but takes a long time. Many steps need you to let something dry or cure overnight, and need to be repeated several times

• Repetitive mechanic movements, like sanding and painting can be straining on the body. I learned the importance of having the right tools and working setup (because I at first I didn’t have the right tools and felt sore and uncomfortable)

• There were many moments this week where I noticed myself go ‘meh, good enough’. Luckily I’m not a perfectionist

• By the same token, I probably shouldn’t build my own house or anything structural with that attitude

• You can easily remove wood varnish from skin by rubbing it with almond butter

• Cement is not the same as concrete. I should have added sand to my cement to make it heavy

• Cement is really hard to get off stuff once it’s dry :/

Next steps

• Make heavier kettlebells by adding sand or metal to the concrete

• Find heavy stuff to drag around inside the tire sled

• Host a balance beam battle competition

• Make a second balance beam for perpendicular balancing or hopping between beams

• Dream up new kinds of movement gear