Human Flag Pole

A sturdy, vertical pole is a great piece of calisthenics training equipment. So long as you aren't working on spinning moves, it can be easier to mount a pole to the side of a wall or playground equipment, than to mount it floor-to-ceiling, indoors.

Here's how to build one.

Here's what you'll need:

• 6' length of 1-1/2" O.D. galvanized Schedule 40 steel pipe
• Two pipe elbows
• Two pipe flanges
• Rubber mallet or deadblow hammer
• Bolts, washers, and nuts for mounting
• Pencil
• Drill and drill bits
• Socket wrenches or adjustable wrenches

Insert each end of the pipe into a pipe elbow. You can have the pipe threaded at your local hardware store and then screw on the elbows, or simply tap the unthreaded pipe in with a mallet or hammer for a solid fit. Make sure the elbows are aligned in the same direction.

Screw the flanges to the end of each elbow, these will be used to mount the pole to the surface.

Hold the pole in place where you would like to attach it to a wall or structure, then mark the flange holes with a pencil.

Drill pilot holes with a small bit, then move up to the proper sized bit for your bolts.

Fasten the flanges to the surface with the bolts, washers, and nuts. This is a heavy duty piece of equipment that will be subject to a great deal of force, so be certain the surface onto which you mount it can take the strain.

There are many good resources out there for calisthenics training and conditioning for the human flag trick. Now that you're done building, it's time to start training!