Hey BBM team,
I recently upgraded my basement home gym to a larger garage space which I’m pumped about. One thing I didn’t account for was the slope that comes standard with most (all?) garages.
My question is - in absence of building and leveling out a platform (which I frankly don’t have the skillset or patience for) how big of a deal would it be if I deadlifted perpendicular to the slope? My thought is as long as it’s not overly noticeable it should be a non issue over time….? Perhaps alternating the direction I face between sets would help as well?
thanks!
Howdy!
Good question. My garage gym in medical school was also sloped. I built three platforms and shimmed each one of them to make them mostly level. For me, it was mostly about the bar rolling vs. any real concern about asymmetry or injury risk. My recommendation would be the same, as it’s very easy to make a platform and shim it.
The Clif’s notes for building an 8x8 platform to bolt a squat rack to and still have room to deadlift on:
- 4 pieces of 4x8 plywood. Lay 2 long ways and put the other 2 in the other direction to make the base of the 8 x 8 platform. Use a drill to put screws around the edges of each sheet to secure them together
- Cover platform with horse stall mats
- Use wood shims to make platform mostly level
- Bolt rack to platform (cut horse stall mat and bolt directly to platform)
- Marvel at your DIY skills
- Get strong and jacked
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