Homemade Equipment

The Bulgarian Power (Fitness) Bag

Alright..., I first saw these being used at Mark Twight's Gym Jones site. I have never heard of them before, so I googled it and came up with hundreds of hits.

Here are a couple...

http://www.suples.com/bulgarian-training-bags/

http://www.mytrainer.com/action/viewvideo/534/Bulgarian_Power_Bag/

I then search Mark's Daily Apple and sure enough, he talks about them also. So, I though I would make one.

There are several videos on-line that show how these can be made, just search the phrase.

Weight: 33 lbs. (They can be made to weigh whatever one wants).

Total approximate cost: $25.00 - or a lot cheaper.

Components

14 inch Inner tube - used or new

Sand or some other sort of filling for weight

Zip Ties

Cord or tubular webbing (optional)

Duct and/or electricians tape

The Inner Tube

I bought my tube new at a tire shop. One could probably get these for free if you asked around, but I didn't want to deal with the holes or weak sections associated with used inner tubes. The new one I bought was 14/15 inch @ $16.00.

I cut out the stem section. I will adjust the length later on.

Leaving about 6 or 7 inches for the handle, secure the closer with the first zip tie. If adding additional handle (tubular webbing or cord), lay it in and tie off with 3 or 4 more zip ties.

As pictured below, when I trimmed off the tag end of the zip tie, I left a couple inches so I could tape them down later on. Cutting them short leaves a sharp edge that will cause problems later on.

I used the burly Duct Tape to cover and secure the zip ties, then used stretchable electricians tape to to form a tight handle.

Fill the tube with the desired material and weight.

Pull it up tight and repeat the process of creating a closer and preliminary handle. Depending on how much material one puts in, one might end up trimming several inches off the tube.

Here is the finished product before shaping better handles.

I Built up the handles with tight wraps of electricians tape. I like the softer, stickier feel of cloth athletic tape, so I used that to finish up the handles.

Here is the finished product.