Outdoor Home Gym Setup

Hey Folks,

I'm wanting to get a power rack setup at home, and though id ideally want to have it setup in the garage, in reality there probably isn't enough space. There is a space large enough for the rack in the backyard to the rear of the garage but I'm not sure if it would be ok to have a setup like this left outside all the time?

Does anyone else have their power rack located outside permanently? If so what sort of stuff do I need to take into consideration? Would a tarpaulin cover over the rack when bot being used be enough? Will it rust if left outside? Would the rubber flooring be ok outside?

Cheers

The rubber flooring would definitely die a short death, it would get wet and not dry out for days, its like a sponge, it will get mouldy and perish because of the moisture/sun.

The power rack would survive outside but i would reccomend some serious care. Get a can of spray on silicon (kinda like WD40) and coat all the welds and joints, and if you start noticing surface rust in any areas, scrub it off with a nylon scourer or fine steel wool and recoat the area with Silicone spray. If possible store your bars and weights inside. perhaps you could come up with some sort of on wheels solution to move your weights and bars inside and out easily, you dont want to leave the collars exposed to the elements.

I'll have to disagree with the rubber mats not lasting.
We have had some rubber mats outside at our business for 2 years now, the same ones we sell for gym flooring.
They have been out in the sun and rain during that time and driven over by a forklift many, many times.
Still going strong.
I expected UV rays from the sun may break them down, but has not occured so far.
The mats getting wet causes no problems at all.

Another idea to help protect the rack outside would be applying cold gal to the joints, and edges of the steel members.
You can get it in a tin or spray can.

The rack will die from the inside out, water or moisture will get inside it from the adjustment holes, and rust away.

trofius said:

The rack will die from the inside out, water or moisture will get inside it from the adjustment holes, and rust away.

Click to expand...

This is likely.

On a lot of old, or even not so old buildings, the only thing holding stuff together like gutters and some steel beams is a thick coating of paint.
Sometimes the stuff just crumbles in your hands when you disturb it.
Similar to termite damage.

If you want a guaranteed rustproof method, probably need to get the steel members of the rack hot dipped in gal.
This will coat inside and out.

Any scratches in the paint on your plates and they will rust like crazy too with the slightest bit of moisture.

Can you build a shed and put the rack in there?

Thanks for the replies.

Will definitely be keeping the bar and bumpers in the garage, will just be taking them out to the rack when needed.

This might sound odd but going through the junk mail the other day i spotted gazebos for sale at an outdoors store, this would keep the rack out of the elements, what do you reckon?

I would throw over some plastic tarp for the roof and install some sort of plastic as walls with an anchor to hold them down.

3 sides of the outside area essentially act as Walls as is: rear garage door is one, side of the house is another, and a 2m metal fence is the third. Not sure if or how I would be able to secure a tarp as a roof though unfortunately

I should have made it clear. Im sorry for misleading you. Throw tarp over the gazebo for extra protection.