A bodybuilder created his own gym in a rented garage during the lockdown for less than £3K
A bodybuilder created his own gym in a rented garage during the lockdown for less than £3K
A bodybuilder created his own gym in a rented garage during the lockdown - including weights machines and floor length mirrors, for less than £3,000.Micharel Rybarczyk, 32, depends on working out to manage his mental health, and before the lockdown was working out at 4am before work at Faslane Naval Base in Helensburgh, Argyll and Bute.The dad-of-one really struggled when the lockdown was introduced and knew he would have to continue training somehow, although he had no weights at home.He started out using paving slabs in the garden, then built a hut spraypainted with motivational messages when the weather got bad.With no end in sight to the lockdown, he rented a garage a 15-minute walk from the home he shares with partner Chanel Casey, 23, and their son Romeo, aged two.While free weights were much in demand and sold out quickly, Michael decided to look for weights machines which people would not want in their front rooms.He spent around £2,500 on transforming a run-down brick garage into a brand new gym, with mirrors obtained from a dance studio.Michael said: "I found when I was going to the gym in the morning my whole day would be different, so I made sure it became a part of my working day."I was going to the gym at 4am in Paisley, I made sure I would go."When Michael began working as a naval engineer in the Faslane base 14 years ago, he was stunned by the physique of the Marines walking around and determined to become like them.It took a couple of years for him to become confident enough to go to a gym but he soon found it addictive and it helped him to deal with the mental health problems he battled with.But when the lockdown was introduced, Michael's routine was thrown out although he continued working, but found it hard to set aside time to work out as well as being a dad.He said: "At the start it was really good weather, it wasn't warm but it was dry."I was doing workouts with garden paving slabs and then I got some weights."When it started getting wet I was thinking I needed to build a shelter so I built a hut and spraypainted it with quotes."I felt locked out in my head but I was saying to myself 'I'm going to the gym'."I've wanted my own gym and even thought about opening one, and when the lockdown started easing I decided to build one."Michael found a garage nearby for rent, and began looking on Facebook Marketplace for mirrors.A pal sourced some massive mirrors from a dance studio he was working at, for free.Soon the garage began to look like a proper gym, and Michael scoured Facebook for weights machines which were being sold, which he would thoroughly clean and strip down before putting in the garage.Chanel, who had been going to the gym regularly before the lockdown in a bid to get her figure back after giving birth, had been kept in the dark about how much work had gone into the garage.She was sceptical at first but when she saw the end result she was delighted - and gyms are not due to open in Scotland until September 14.Michael said: "I would be giving myself a bit of time each day and I was looking at it and thinking 'how have I done all this?'."My missus had just got her body back after having a baby and I was just kidding her on, saying I was doing a wee bit with it."She said I was doing too much but when she saw it she was delighted."Michael has been inundated with messages of support from around the world, with people saying he has inspired them to keep training despite the difficulties.It took five weeks to complete the gym, and Michael said as soon as he starts working out and puts music on he is zoned out.He was inspired by his grandfather, Bronislaw Rybarczyk, who was a prisoner of war for five years but kept in shape by bodyweight training, and put a picture of him on the walls.Michael said: "It's addictive, I wanted to keep this going."The main thing I didn't want to give up on was my routine."If I had been sitting here not working out since the start of the lockdown I don't know what that would have been like."
A bodybuilder created his own gym in a rented garage during the lockdown - including weights machines and floor length mirrors, for less than £3,000.Micharel Rybarczyk, 32, depends on working out to manage his mental health, and before the lockdown was working out at 4am before work at Faslane Naval Base in Helensburgh, Argyll and Bute.The dad-of-one really struggled when the lockdown was introduced and knew he would have to continue training somehow, although he had no weights at home.He started out using paving slabs in the garden, then built a hut spraypainted with motivational messages when the weather got bad.With no end in sight to the lockdown, he rented a garage a 15-minute walk from the home he shares with partner Chanel Casey, 23, and their son Romeo, aged two.While free weights were much in demand and sold out quickly, Michael decided to look for weights machines which people would not want in their front rooms.He spent around £2,500 on transforming a run-down brick garage into a brand new gym, with mirrors obtained from a dance studio.Michael said: "I found when I was going to the gym in the morning my whole day would be different, so I made sure it became a part of my working day."I was going to the gym at 4am in Paisley, I made sure I would go."When Michael began working as a naval engineer in the Faslane base 14 years ago, he was stunned by the physique of the Marines walking around and determined to become like them.It took a couple of years for him to become confident enough to go to a gym but he soon found it addictive and it helped him to deal with the mental health problems he battled with.But when the lockdown was introduced, Michael's routine was thrown out although he continued working, but found it hard to set aside time to work out as well as being a dad.He said: "At the start it was really good weather, it wasn't warm but it was dry."I was doing workouts with garden paving slabs and then I got some weights."When it started getting wet I was thinking I needed to build a shelter so I built a hut and spraypainted it with quotes."I felt locked out in my head but I was saying to myself 'I'm going to the gym'."I've wanted my own gym and even thought about opening one, and when the lockdown started easing I decided to build one."Michael found a garage nearby for rent, and began looking on Facebook Marketplace for mirrors.A pal sourced some massive mirrors from a dance studio he was working at, for free.Soon the garage began to look like a proper gym, and Michael scoured Facebook for weights machines which were being sold, which he would thoroughly clean and strip down before putting in the garage.Chanel, who had been going to the gym regularly before the lockdown in a bid to get her figure back after giving birth, had been kept in the dark about how much work had gone into the garage.She was sceptical at first but when she saw the end result she was delighted - and gyms are not due to open in Scotland until September 14.Michael said: "I would be giving myself a bit of time each day and I was looking at it and thinking 'how have I done all this?'."My missus had just got her body back after having a baby and I was just kidding her on, saying I was doing a wee bit with it."She said I was doing too much but when she saw it she was delighted."Michael has been inundated with messages of support from around the world, with people saying he has inspired them to keep training despite the difficulties.It took five weeks to complete the gym, and Michael said as soon as he starts working out and puts music on he is zoned out.He was inspired by his grandfather, Bronislaw Rybarczyk, who was a prisoner of war for five years but kept in shape by bodyweight training, and put a picture of him on the walls.Michael said: "It's addictive, I wanted to keep this going."The main thing I didn't want to give up on was my routine."If I had been sitting here not working out since the start of the lockdown I don't know what that would have been like."
