DIY-Monkii-360-Unofficial

Perhaps you, like me, went on a home fitness binge in 2020 when your gym shut down and you were working at home with a reduced household income.

I pledged for the "build your own" level of the Monkii 360, and I don't mean to take away from the official instructions which are here: https://www.instructables.com/DIY-Monkii-360-Tabat...

However, I did it even cheaper, with off the shelf parts.

The Monkii 360 promises the following:

• a ball to use as a gripping device
• grip training grooves
• resistance
• attachment device
• storage

The official Instructable covers all of these points. However, taking inventory of my previous purchases, I discovered that I already had the attachment points and resistance bands. I also do not own a heat gun or a can of contact cement for EVA projects.

• Resistance band (I have the Fitness Gear 50 lb Pro band with the carabiner ends: $13)
• Resistance band attachment device (I'm using one of a pair of Fitness Gear handles. $15)
• Net soccer/volleyball/basketball carrying bag. (I bought a soccer training system for $10 that has a bag, a waist belt, and a light, long elastic strap between them.)
• A ball. (I picked a couple of different sized of soccer balls. The #1 is something I can actively squeeze while working out, and the #3 is comfortable to hold in both hands. $10)
• (Optional) If you have resistance bands with ring ends instead of carabiners add two carabiners or quick links from the hardware store for $5.
• (Optional) If you have a pullup bar you can skip the handle. Add a foot or so of paracord. $1 (I'm rounding up.)
• (Optional) If you want to mount this on a vertical surface such as a tree, pylon, deck support, or lamp post you can swap a 60 cm nylon climbing sling or runner instead of the handle. (You can use this in a door or on a pullup bar as well. It should cost about $8.)

Gather your parts.

Put the ball in the net bag.

If you got the soccer ball trainer you may want to cut off any straps or connectors (other than the draw string). Remember, you're going to grab this with your hands so be sure not to leave hardware or rough edges.

The carabiner ends on the resistance band I have make this easy. Note that I am attaching to a piece of rope from the net and not the draw string. I did this because it is likely the draw string is not as strong as the resistance tube I'm using.

If you have ring ends on your resistance band, you can adapt them with carabiners or quick links from the hardware store.

If you are using the handle, just loop it up over the top of a door and pull the door closed on the strap.

Remember the cardinal rule of using doors as anchor points: You must be pulling the door into the closed position when you are exercising. This will give you the full structure of the frame to work against, and not just the mechanism holding the door closed.

If you are using the paracord and a pullup bar, tie the cord into a loop with a good knot such as the Figure 8 bend. Loop this over your pullup bar, pull one end of the loop through the other and you should have a nice cow hitch anchor point to clip your resistance band to.

And finally, if you are using the climbing runner on a pole, check out the pictures and directions at A Brother Abroad. (He also explains how to use it to anchor a suspension trainer.)

So basically we just turned a ball into an alternative grip for a resistance band. This gives you a lot of options for adding abs into a workout and more muscles is better, right?

Monkii includes the Monkii 360 in their free workout app. Load it up and check out what they've designed.

If you have a doorway pullup bar and a sandbag to weigh down the other end you can hang the ball as a double-ended boxing target bag. In this picture I'm using the neoprene waist band from the trainer around a couple of parts of the pullup bar for the top attachment. A loop of paracord extends the bottom of the net to a sandbag. (Just be sure to wear gloves or hand wraps as the rope from the net bag gets uncomfortable.)