How High Is Too High?
Buds had a vision. The pull-up bars in the garage weren’t working the way we needed them to for quick, repetitive pull-ups. Plus, lots of our workouts involve running or lifting outdoors. It would be nice to not have to run into the garage for the bars.
He scoured the internet to find ideas, and we headed to Home Depot early on Saturday morning with a list and a very hazy plan.
We rented the HD truck for hauling some of the items home, and we got to work.
There were two major parts to this project: drilling out the holes, and mixing and pouring the concrete. The two-person auger was a tremendous help, but it still required a fair amount of power and effort. But, the job would have been impossible without it. (At least for us. My dad could have done it.)
We had to insert and lift the auger about 7 times/hole to get to our 3-foot depth. That equates to close to 30 deadlifts, for the CrossFitters in the room. (Functional fitness. That’s what it is all about.)
On our last hole, we tapped an underground stream, and we were a little stunned to look down in the hole to find a critter at the very bottom. Tennessee is home to the most species of crayfish in the country, and we were staring down at one. Buds and I were both more than a little unnerved to see a moving creature far below, and we hopefully urged him to head down stream by gingerly dumping a few rocks in to scare him off.
Brother Z and Nephew O and Monkey all helped lift and support at various times during the day. Having extra hands at just the right time is invaluable!
We got the tallest pole up first, and it was really shockingly tall. It’s used for muscle-ups (Link contains cursing, so don’t click it if you don’t like that.), so it may work out, but Z, Buds, and I were laughing as we stared up at it.
Note to Jenny: The orange tub is still being used!
Four trips to Home Depot, a couple hundred dollars, fourteen 80-lb bags of concrete, a little less than twelve hours of labor, and we were through.
Unlike many of our DIY projects, there were no major problems with this one. Buds had thought his way through the entire process, and it went smoothly and efficiently.
We were dead tired, and the cement needs to cure, but we’re tickled.
Oh, and neighbors were intrigued by our latest craziness. Lots of waves, questioning looks, and good-hearted teasing as people drove by.
Stronger, faster, healthier; here we come.
