Folding deadlift platform

[Marcuswhit]

I was looking for others' experience in trying something like this, so thought I'd post my results now that I've finished building my home gym. I didn't want a full platform taking up half the garage when not in use, so made the platform in two pieces, with hinges between to draw up the deadlift half when not in use. Very happy with the results - worked out better than I thought it would. Just used a couple of strong door hinges, which so far seem to be fine - I'm pretty gentle with it when lowering and raising. Also to save room, I made the deadlift platform 1000mm deep, which seems plenty given I won't be doing olympic lifts.

Shared album - Marcus Whitworth - Google Photos

[Mark Rippetoe]

That's a very clever design. Nice job.

[jfsully]

Very cool... I have thought of doing something similar to reclaim the parking space in my garage.

It looks like you used 1-2 layers of plywood underneath the top layer... I assume the hinges are screwed into the edges of the plywood. Any issues with the plywood separating around the screws or the screws tearing out?

[Marcuswhit]

That was definitely a consideration. To mitigate this, I have a heap of screws pulling the sheets together around where the hinges are. Then I used longer 50mm screws for the hinges, and pre-drilled pilot holes so they didn't spilt the ply.

As of now, it *seems* all fine. No creaking or anything to suggest it's not all holding tight. Given I just slowly lower and raise it a few times a week, I think it will hold fine. My plan B was to move the hinges so they attach to the tops of the ply panels, but that'd require them to sit further in within the boundaries of the matting, and could potentially be tripped on. Unlikely though - larger concern being asthetics 😂

[Slim E]

My platform is similar. I didn’t put a hinge on it and don’t regret it. It allows my benches to be stored inside of the rack. It may shift 1/4” during a workout, but a few kicks put it back in place. I used a single sheet of 3/4 ply for the middle section, and screwed a couple of cut stall mats to it. The four extra sections of 2x2 stall mats are stacked as need for deadlifts and rows.

[jfsully]

My platform is similar. I didn’t put a hinge on it and don’t regret it. It allows my benches to be stored inside of the rack. It may shift 1/4” during a workout, but a few kicks put it back in place. I used a single sheet of 3/4 ply for the middle section, and screwed a couple of cut stall mats to it. The four extra sections of 2x2 stall mats are stacked as need for deadlifts and rows.

Yes, I was wondering about skipping the hinges altogether, although 3 layers of 4x8 plywood gets pretty heavy to be kicking around. But them maybe it gets easier and you could add 5 lb plates to the platform each week!