How to Make Homemade Gym Weight Plates from CONCRETE | DIY Duke 

He’s the perfect combination of Ned Flanders and Bryan Cranston.

This dude is a national treasure in a time where you can't even get gym equipment there is one man showing you how to make it yourself hell yeah 💪

I live in an apartment and theres literally no way I'd be able to do this, but still watched the whole thing lol

Yeah... I guess It's time we all start making concrete weight plates, the price of iron ones is insane, if you manage to find them...

This method is excellent. I did almost exactly the same thing a few years ago, down to the screws in the wood to keep the form in place :) Notes: - Concrete Sonotubes: Waxed inside releases easy, can be used a few times. They come in various sizes. - 2" Abs pipe needs to be deeply scored on the outside surface (the part that needs to bind to the concrete), or it can pop out of the concrete plate - 1 7/8" Galvanized fence post makes a perfect bar for this system! Fill it with concrete so it can't bend (no flex, wide grip bar, makes it tough!) - Concrete is about 1/3 the density of iron, so your plates need to be BIG (ie ~18" like olympic plates), and thick. - Heat gun-flattened 3" abs pipe inserts as handles, so you can carry it like a normal plate. Love the buff videos!

Another thing you can add to the weight instead of spray paint is Truck Bed Liner Spray. It almost makes it like they are rubber weights

Wow. I did not expect to see him bench 200 pounds at the end lol. (Assuming he used the 2 75’s and a 45 bar)

THer's something about this dude that reminds me of Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad)

Just came across free 4x4s that we’re used as sleepers for highway beams and I was worried about finding reasonably priced weights after i built my half rack. DIY Duke saves the day again

Your dad is easily cooler than both of the buff dudes combined.

Just a friendly tip. Put diesel into a spray bottle and coat everything that the concrete will be touching. Get a thick coat on there then lightly rub it in with a rag. I promise you it will work better than any lubricant out there. I've been doing concrete my entire life and they don't make anything better than diesel for form oil

Almost forgot: Do this on a scale! I get mine within about 200g of target, which is also the accuracy of the scale. I go a few hundred grams over, to account for the stuff that leaks out when you vibrate it, and for edge chips during early use.

Great vid, didn't expect they would be so strong. Maby an idea for follow up video, drop test or something to see how much they can handle. Shame to break them, but would be an entertaining video. Keep it up, fun and entertaining as always.

I'm gonna weld a latch onto the mold. Show off lol. Love the enthusiasm. Great video

I really appreciate the way Duke laid out expectations at the beginning, stuff like "I'll give you options for that later." It's really helpful for us folks with ADHD =)

Hey Duke, did you know you can improve the mechanical characteristics of concrete by adding extremely fine particles to the mix? Fine activated charcoal powder, at a concentration of 4% dry weight is sufficient to reap the benefits and activated charcoal is very very cheap. This addition gives a few interesting characteristics to the concrete like resistance to cracking when exposed to high temperatures and resistance to permeability by water. The reason it works is because when there's much smaller particles in the mix, they fit in between the spaces that the larger particles of cement just are not able to. This causes a lot of the of the porous voids that normally form in concrete to be filled and so you get a higher density concrete with improved mechanical characteristics. Superplasticizers can be added to the mix water to make the water wetter. When you use superplasticizer you can use less water in your mix and still achieve the same wetness in your mix, this will also have the effect of increasing density.

Finally somebody on this subject! For me to do 200kg deadlifts I'd have to buy over 1000 euro in equipment, insane 🤦‍♂️

I'll never be able to do this but its interesting to see him make such cool things

10 seconds in and I already absolutely love this fella

I like the fact that he gives it all. He doesn't just make something simple and quick. He explains every possibility so that we all could make one

The star of this video is Buff Cat.

God bless the buff family. You guys are great! Hope all is well with ya buff dad.

Wow Duke, I was a bit hesitant of how heavy a concrete plate set can be. But man, that plate is heavy. 6 of those , ie, 3 each side on a 45 pound barbell can reach upto 475 pounds. For Non-Americans like me, that is roughly equivalent to 230 kg, which is more than enough for regular home "gymmers". In fact you can be a beginner to medium intermediate powerlifter with those plates. Duke, you are awesome !

His videos are really cool,buff dudes are lucky to have you as a dad man

I lived in Brazil for a while. Literally every apartment and house has concrete weights. When the pedreiro (mason) is done on a job he dumps the rest into buckets like you showed or big cans and just puts a metal pipe connecting the two

I was literally thinking about doing this yesterday 😂

You don't need to be nervous. You have a lot to say and your words are worth listening to; thanks for your insight.

Duke is too cool. I was seriously impressed. The weights looked great. They seemed tough as well. Great video.

one day I'll be a rad dad like this guy 💪

One day I will have my own house out of the big city and be able to do even more DIY stuff :D in my freetime.

I love coming back to watch DIY Duke. Always an awesome character and so knowledgable!

Just found this channel from the buff dudes. Gotta say the quality over here is much better. Gotta be the personality

He gives me a "i wish he was my dad!" type vibe.

I've been thinking about doing this because iron is so expensive. It's like DIY Duke can read minds.

You're the man Duke. A father every young man should have.

This is seriously rad! dude has grit and makes this process look easy, thanks Duke

This guy is a man's , man 👨 oldschool type of guy who loves to build things with his hands , works on cars paint and fix things around the house etc. Every generation these men are becoming exstinct. Help save the Man's Man.

N-95 Dust Mask my man; PPE is the most important tool in your gang box 👌🏼

After watching this I feel as though my fancy diplomas are such a waste compared to being a do it yourself technician. I feel such satisfaction just by watching this.

This guy knows what he's doing! These DIY videos are the best!

If you want to protect the edges, you could use some silicone sealant and it would help you very well!

This man: (Creates Concrete weights) Me: ( Uses a iron bar and backpacks that have heavy objects)

Theres allot of tutorials for concrete weights/plates including dumbells, but this looks high quality.

Yes, just realize daddy is BACK !!! Love your channel of building sir. Keep up the good content. God bless.

I need to move out of my appartment and get a house. Cant do shit living in a shoe box.

Is it possible to cast your own metal plates from scrap metal? Thanks for the video and your time.

Duke is the dad I strive to be. Keep it up my man.

This guys is just too cool. Makes the weights then benches them. I was holding my breath when he dropped the weights, I was waiting for them to break, but nope ! Awesome video, sir. Thanks for doing it.

I new before even hitting play, i was going to watch something special. There are a lot of videos out there about concrete weights, but you did it better! If you have the time, try to built concrete dumbells. I once builted a pair of 40lbs and i used some large plastic containers as molds, but i didn't took them off, instead i used a heat gun to shape them around the concrete and the finish was aesthetically better.

Great job Buff Daddy! They turned out really well. When do you start selling them?

duke and his family are the most wholesome people i have ever seen. They also make me wonder if eugenics is a good idea!

I've been doing these for years!! Literally have a home gym with concrete dumbells and discs, and it's actually aesthetic because I shaped and painted them. Probably won't do like CrossFit/powerlifting agressive weight drops on the floor, but it works just fine! 😃

Damn I never thought you would actually lift the weight pretty impressive for you age sir

DIY Duke smashing it with these DIY gym equipment videos! Amazing! Running out of superlatives for Buff Dad. Great content it's appreciated. Can you use fibres instead of the wire mesh inside the concrete? Or is the wire mesh a much better option? Cheers DIY Duke.

It is incredible to see your ability to create exercise equipment. Go job! But above all, the energy that you transmit in the process. Thanks to you, I may end up creating my own set of weights.

This guy deserves millions 😂 such an awesome old timer

Is that mask protecting you or the concrete...🤔

"Imagine the catnip you could've bought me instead of wasting your time and money on this!", said Cat.

DIY Duke always impresses. I like that all his stuff is heavy duty and practical, good reinforcement in whole material, and its no baby weight :). That pvc is great as you can cut it so easy even after its cured. I was searching for something to coat it with that would be a bit thicker than paint, and found out that some guys are using truck bed liner, and it sounds like a good idea.

I'm doing this this week. Got a new job during these tough times. Excited to be happy again

Bro my father never teach me nothing it's always drinkong I want to do all this things, adopt me lol, amazing I'm gonna do This too

I bet some millionaire, somewhere, has weight plates made of solid gold.

This is really cool stuff. I love lifting weights and I love building stuff.

DIY duke is the dad I never had!

First time I've noticed his hands shaking this much. After noticing it I believe the voice shakes a bit too. Any insight on the cause? Some neurological disorder?

Everyone how did you get your 21" guns ? Me solid concrete baby

What a well made video! I don't happen to have 16" steel drums lying around, so I was glad when you pivoted at the end to mention buckets. Thanks DIY Duke!

Nice project. Couldn't help but notice your tremors as you previously mentioned as essential tremors, you're a champ tackling these projects! Continue the work!

am I the only one that sees his hands shaking ? cant remember the diease but seems like he has it

CBD would help his shaking, no judgement just informing

The Platonic idea of a dad's dad! He looks daunting when he's not goofing around :)

So now I've watched buff dad build gym equipment out of logs AND now concrete. This guy is a man's man

Is Duke alright? He seems very shaky :/

Instead of using mold release, I use saran wrap and peel it off after it sets up. I also use pvc pide for the inner hole.

Good DIY video. I made a pair of 65lb'ers for my hex bar (trap bar). I dont have a dirt floor so I wrapped them with 20 mil pipe tape to prevent chipping. Also added about 10lbs of Portland cement to the mix of each. 130 lbs for under $25. Thanks for the video DIY Duke.

I suppose if you want to make it look fancy and put it in the house, you could give it a really good polish and then a thick clear coat and polish until it's glossy. Great work! This is proof that you don't need to spend a fortune to buy expensive weights.

I built my bench and squat rack following your videos. Looking forward to making my own weights now! Thanks!

This is cool. Nothing I haven't already thought of. I've still got my set of concrete weights for when I was a kid in the 70s. Thrift stores are a treasure trove of used fitness equipment. Hard to damage weights and bars.

Absolutely good for plate discipline for not slamming weights

Sweet 2X2 motorbike in the back round! 😍

Can't fault Buff Dad/DIY Duke. He's the dad of dads, the duke of Dukes, the teacher of teachers! Thanks for the gym hacks - very well presented.

Just found this channel. Love how the video is edited. I'm surprised there isn't more subscribers

In Rwanda there are no sports stores with weights. People make weights like this all the time, but this may have inspired me to make a slick set according to your procedure. Thank you!!!

yooooooo, I have been looking for your vids for years again, idk why it didnt give me updates and you finally popped up again, glad to see your doing well. god bless🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏽🙏🏼

This is awesome. I remember back in the dy they used to make plastic coated weights with concrete in them.

Greetings from Argentina, I admire your way of being, the workshop is very creative and very good.

09:00 That little kitty cat is living the life.

You're awesome! Seriously thinking about doing this with the buckets after looking into the price of weight plates...

You are literally a saint! thank you for this DIY Duke. Health and blessings to you Sir!

The Wild West model in the back shelf is amazing! Make a video of that, too! Cheers

This is easily the most definitive and helpful DIY concrete weight tutorial on RU-vid --nice job, Duke! I made some of these for myself about a year ago but they're fragile because they don't have the same reinforcement. Looks like I'm off to the hardware store to make some proper ones!

This is better than buying Barbells or dumbbells online.

The cat supervising the whole process

I was so jazzed to see another video by you today man. Hope all is well keep up the great content.

DIY duke is way more cool than buff dudes. ❤

Very good idea for an affordable home gym. Thanks for the good idea.

Just had second lockdown here in the UK, will be trying this out in next few days! Cheers chief x

You do an amazing job making all the stuff that you make and showing all the workouts Etc and I just wanted to tell you that we appreciate everything you do and all your videos!

This is an exceptional idea.

I've been using my concrete weights for like 2 months now, I luv em haha. I even took the time to create a hexagonal mold and calculated how much I needed for a 10kg plate. Hopefully whoever tries this out enjoys their plates and they last :P