DIY "Atlas Stone"

 Recently I have been training for another Spartan race. One of the obstacles I have struggled with in the past has been the Atlas Stone carry. You lift up this heavy ass concrete sphere and carry it back and forth a few times, then try to move your broken body down the rest of the course...that was my experience anyways. Lets fix that! This is how I made my DIY Atlas Stone.

   The Atlas Stone in the race was 115-125 lbs from what I have been able to find online. My DIY version ended up weighing about 93 lbs. Not perfect, but it is a great training tool. This tutorial is best when you follow along with the FULL BUILD VIDEO HERE

MATERIALS NEEDED:
 - 5 gallon bucket.
 - 80 lb bag of concrete.
 - 3 pieces of 12" long re bar (optional).

TOOLS NEEDED:
 -Shovel or something to mix the concrete.

STEP 1.
   Take the 5 gallon bucket and start mixing the concrete a little bit at a time. I found it worked best if you add a little concrete mix, add a little water, mix and repeat until you have mixed it all up!

STEP 2.
   This step is optional, but I found some re bar and decided the extra support couldn't hurt. I took the 12" pieces of re bar and inserted them into the wet concrete so that they formed an X shape. See the build video for an example.

   I set this bucket aside for a week to fully cure and it was ready! This is one of the most simple projects you can do and the rewards are amazing. I used this to help me get my form down for the Atlas Stone carry. Also if you are familiar with the SPARTAN RACE and the BUCKET BRIGADE, this is an excellent training device for that as well.
   Make sure to watch the FULL BUILD VIDEO HERE and always have fun!

P.S. it also makes a great stool...