DIY Home Gyms?

[TheBigCountry]

Anyone built a home gym? If so, what are the basics needed? I can see a squat rack/power rack some kind, and I’ve been eyeing a rower. I’ve already got a few jump ropes, an Elliptical, kettlebell, and some adjustable dumbbells.

I’ve looked at power racks from Rogue, but found one for a 1/3 of the cost on Amazon that looks like it would do.

 

[diverdon]

I just put in an Inspire FT2 from G&G fitness. So far it seems pretty easy to get a decent workout.

 

[Wlfdg]

I’ve looked at power racks from Rogue, but found one for a 1/3 of the cost on Amazon that looks like it would do.

I have this rack in my gym
https://www.strengthshopusa.com/power-rack.html

This is a good bench
https://www.strengthshopusa.com/flat-bench.html

I have this bar. It's solid
https://www.elitefts.com/1500lb-power-bar.html

I've managed to get hundreds of pounds of Olympic plates in the middle of nowhere Wyoming in garage and moving sales.
There's always weights on Craig's List

Don't underestimate how much you can get done with sandbags and big rocks either


In my professional opinion this is a must own book
https://www.amazon.com/Dinosaur-Training-Secrets-Strength-Development/dp/B0006RAMBO


All of my athletes programs have more band work than I would have thought when I first bought them
https://www.amazon.com/Bodylastics-...F8&qid=1541608891&sr=8-1&keywords=bodylastics

https://clenchfitness.com/products/...08_ExQuVOk-SIgQEk8y9E7EWPkWubdvOu94C89vzce4F8

 

[missed]

I gotta start doing something......

 

[One1Bravo]

I bought all my equipment from Rogue. If you order $xxx amount of equipment from them shipping is free. DO NOT cheap out on your rack, bar, or safety equipment. The last thing you want is a failure where you end up crushed and dead or severely injured. As far as what you need, that will depend on what your goals are. I'm a competitive powerlifter so I bought a power rack with an adjustable bench, loadable dumbbells, power bar, lots of plates, dip station that attaches to my rack, a GHR, and bands. This covers everything I need. I built my platform myself using 4 sheets of plywood and horse stall mats.

 

[Sethshaun]

I second the plywood and horse stall mats. Somekind of farmers carry setup is nice for warming up when you feel shitty. A sandbag is very versatile and cheap. Rowers are cool but I seem to use the assult bike way more.

 

[Stevo3556]

I have a nice home gym. Bought all the equipment I wanted and more on craig's list for pennies on the dollar. Some of my equipment came from professional gyms. Might be a place to shop.

I second Sethshaun. Bought the rubber mats at Tractor supply. Much less expensive than "gym" mats but thicker and heaver duty.

 

[Wlfdg]

I have stall mats in my gym.
Far more cost effective than commercial gym flooring

 

[RowdyAF]

I've seen wall mounted/free standing 4x4 wood squat racks and even cemented 4x4 posts in a bucket for a cheap squat rack. I built my own 4x4 framed bench as well. Heck a tire with a rope tied to it is a pretty good workout whether dragging it behind you or pulling it hand over had to you.
Just search for DIY gym equipment...lots of good ideas out there. And yes, horse stall mats here too, i love them.

 

[Srikaleak]

I've got a squat rack from Titan Fitness, a 300 lb barbell+plate+ez bar set from Craigslist, rubber dumbbells from 5 to 50 lbs in 5lb increments from Craigslist with rack, a treadmill, an adjustable bench and a diy plyobox. I used to have a water rower too which was bad ass. I'm thinking for XMAS I'll get the new Peloton tread to replace the treadmill I have.

 

[benchmstr]

I have more equipment in my home gym than I need...but I can always use more bars and plates....I scour craigslist weekly and try to find people getting rid of plates and specialty bars.

bench

 

[Stevo3556]

Bench,

I bought out several people's gyms on Craig's List to get the items I wanted. So I have more plates than I could use. Sold a few of them, but ran into the CL crowd..... Not showing ect. If you are in the Houston area I could sell you some if you are looking...

Steve

 

[mrogers]

Definitely don't do cheap on the rack. The quality of the good stuff is worth the extra money.

 

[shields shtr]

I've got a mish mash of stuff that I've collected over the years. Stall mats are a no brainer for flooring, I have a ceiling mounted storage system/pullup rack I built myself, a Concept 2 rower, A Rogue Echo bike, A couple of Rogue barbells, York bumper plates, rogue bumper plates, and 10-65lb dumbbells. I also have a sled, some sandbags, some jump ropes, and a whole host of bands and stuff for mobility and what not. I also put a TV in my garage so I can link my phone to it for a timer when I need it. If I had to do it all over again, I would just buy once and cry once and go all Rogue. They make amazing stuff, and some of it is really innovative.

 

[Cheyenne Bodie]

I'm a big fan of olympic style weight lifting, or at least I was before getting a job and slowly losing 60lbs of muscle mass being a nerd. I need to get my shit together.

Anyways, I like standing bar exercises as a staple for core and form reinforcement. I made it through half an eight-week Bulgarian weightlifting routine that blew me the fuck up, all standing routines. I went from gym rat to brick shithouse by basically doing nothing but eating, lifting, and sleeping. It actually helped me get through a really tough time in my life, free weights in general turned me into a man. To really get to the point where your making progress consistently you really need a partner or machines, though. Having a bench with spotter bars is a good idea. A rack of some sort is a must, don't really need a Smith machine imo. Rowing machine exercises are really needed for back and shoulders, which are critical areas to make sure stay up to snuff with the rest of your muscles as they grow, and growing a big back takes a long time even with a machine. There are makeshift rowing machines you can make with exercise tubing and whatnot. Proportions are genetic, strength potential is not. Some machines are made to target specific areas through repetition that you might not even especially need them to target, there are machines worth a good bit which are basically just shakeweight cousins imo.

I'd settle with a good bench, a simple DIY welded rack, and a weight and bar set that I can drop hard as hell. Get my cardio moving plates, I loathe running. Spend the rest on a good vitamin pack, quality diverse diet, and some recovery supplements. Weight lifting equipment is the cheapest aspect of actually growing muscle mass imo, eating right and maintaining a lifestyle where you can recover quickly is much more expensive.

 

[winniethepooh]

I’ve toyed with the idea of a home gym. Rogue/PRX stuff. But how do you keep the motivation at your house???

 

[Srikaleak]

Motivation is a fickle bitch. Discipline is what you need. I've been lacking in that regard.
If you're like some people who get inspired by people who are super fit there are plenty of fitness blogs on youtube.

 

[echo6tango]

Discipline and accountability are keys to working out at home. If you can’t hold yourself accountable, find a buddy who will.

If you don’t have the self-discipline, start with a 30 day challenge of some sort to help build the habit. Everything will be much easier when you’ve built it into habit form.

 

[davere]

I'll just say, the Rogue stuff is built to survive more abuse than the vast majority of us will ever give it. I'm in an apartment right now while a house is being built, so I can't post pics of my gear, but... I have a bunch of Rogue stuff, and a variety of other things. Two Monster Lite uprights with cross members, safety bars, a Matador (dip station), plates...

Rogue actually made change plates (2.5, 5, 10) out of AR500 for the CrossFit Games for a while - they didn't have Rogue branded change plates at the time. They ended up with nice rubberized cast plates (they look like miniature bumpers), and never produced the AR500 plates for sale, because the projected cost would be $300/set. I was lucky enough to end up with a set of them - nice to know that some of my gym gear is literally bulletproof... ha ha

 

[Tangotag]

I built my rack from 2x3 tube and drilled it out following Rogue's Infinity line pattern. I added some Rogue accessories. For the amount of time it took me to drill out even using a DRO mill it would have been cheaper just to buy one.
I'm always looking at ways to improve my home gym gear. Over this summer I plan to make a hex/trap bar.

 

[shields shtr]

That's a sweet setup. I too have contemplated the DIY rig and also came to the conclusion it would be better to have Rogue do it...

I have an Echo Bike too. I giggle when people scoff at it as a gimmicky piece of exercise equipment and then hop on. I tell them to do a max effort 30 second sprint and most folks make it about 15 seconds before they gas and their heart rate is about 300 bpm.

 

[McNamara0851]

I have an elliptical and treadmill out of a local gym on the other side of the wall. Getting a lot more use out of the bar and reloading room on either side of the weight room these days.

 

[km77]

My lessons learned:

1. Don't buy cheap. Go for Rogue quality or higher. A cheap rack could get you seriously fucked up, or kill you.
2. Buy a nice bar right off the bat. There's nothing worse than pulling a deadlift on a slick bar. Get something that'll dig in.
3. Don't waste your money on a curl bar... Mine sat in the corner for months before I decided to sell it.
4. I am extremely happy I switched from pin & pipe safeties to straps. A) when you fail a lift, you're not damaging you good bar. B) doing things like pin press, pause squats, or rack pulls won't jack up your knurling.
5. You don't NEED calibrated plates, just don't weigh your cast ones (still having my internal struggle with this one).
6. Pretty much all dumbbells are made by the same company.
7. Spend your money on a good quality bench.
8. I wish I would have bit the bullet and bought a bigger rack so I could use the plate storage on the back. Looking back, I would have gladly sacrificed space for depth, rather than space for width for my current garage.

Just my opinion, take it for what it's worth.
*Edited to add picture*

 

[davere]

1. Don't buy cheap. Go for Rogue quality or higher. A cheap rack could get you seriously fucked up, or kill you.
2. Buy a nice bar right off the bat. There's nothing worse than pulling a deadlift on a slick bar. Get something that'll dig in.

To this end, I'll say that the Rogue Ohio bar (and the other bushing bar varieties they sell that are essentially Ohio bars with small modifications) are a great price/performance point for a good bar that should last you a lifetime. I own a Castro bar, which is basically an unfinished Ohio bar (so, bare steel) with slightly differently knurling, and it's badass.

I wouldn't go lower than the Rogue Echo bar in terms of price/quality - a good bar will last a lifetime, and anything cheaper seems to just fall apart.

 

[davere]

I built my rack from 2x3 tube and drilled it out following Rogue's Infinity line pattern.

Turned out nice looking!

 

[km77]

To this end, I'll say that the Rogue Ohio bar (and the other bushing bar varieties they sell that are essentially Ohio bars with small modifications) are a great price/performance point for a good bar that should last you a lifetime. I own a Castro bar, which is basically an unfinished Ohio bar (so, bare steel) with slightly differently knurling, and it's badass.

I wouldn't go lower than the Rogue Echo bar in terms of price/quality - a good bar will last a lifetime, and anything cheaper seems to just fall apart.

For sure. I love my Ohio Power bar.

 

[Romeo458]

My home gym is basic. I have kettlebells, a jump rope, and a heavy bag, and sparing gear. I want to add a speed bag. I also have an elliptical so I can do something whenever I watch Netflix.

 

[pewpew300WM]

If your into saving cash but getting quality items check out rep fitness. I have a power cage setup with their fid adjustable bench and it’s great. All in all between the cage, bench, Olympic weights that total 1450lbs and then two bars, then I have 1” plates that total 350lbs use with dumbbells and some other accessories I’m at $1500. Bought some new and some pieces used.

 

[padronanniversary]

I just dropped $18k on Rogue on one order. I had some cheap stuff, and it was time to redo the gym right this time. Hopefully my stuff will be here in three weeks.

I will say as you get older, I did things a little different like get a monolift. Little things like that not having to lift off or walk off makes a big difference. Cage, proper safeties, a few differ bars, land mine, benches, dumbbells, plates should get you all the major movements, and then some.

I’m not a cross fit fan, just due to the injuries and different techniques they do such as kipping.... but one thing I love is slam balls. Takes little to no room, 20-30 lbs slam over head as well as one heavy ball to lift onto platform, is a great workout to get heart rate up.

 

[Walter Haas]

I bought all my equipment from Rogue. If you order $xxx amount of equipment from them shipping is free. DO NOT cheap out on your rack, bar, or safety equipment. The last thing you want is a failure where you end up crushed and dead or severely injured. As far as what you need, that will depend on what your goals are. I'm a competitive powerlifter so I bought a power rack with an adjustable bench, loadable dumbbells, power bar, lots of plates, dip station that attaches to my rack, a GHR, and bands. This covers everything I need. I built my platform myself using 4 sheets of plywood and horse stall mats.

I love Rogue equipment! That's what I have in my home gym. Only brand I'll buy.

 

[missed]

Another +1 for Rouge.

I built my rack with 3" 11ga, bars plates.... Bought from Rouge.

 

[EN2722]

A resource that I’ve found is Facebook Market Place...at least in SoCal! People are forever selling exercise equipment

 

[padronanniversary]

don’t forget sorinex too

kabuki bars are great, the knurl ingrid amazing and i have ohio bars

 

[benchmstr]

don’t forget sorinex too

kabuki bars are great, the knurl ingrid amazing and i have ohio bars

I was sponsored by sorinex for a while and there stuff is simply unbeatable....but I would never pay that much for equipment on my own.

the stuff i have from them will never not be used though...

bench

 

[camotoe]

Craigslist

 

[padronanniversary]

just wait a few months the used market will be flooded after this corona virus settles down

 

[19Scout77]

 

[TheGerman]

I have a Rogue squat rack in the garage bolted to the ground and have 6 of the rubber mats from the farm store around it. Rogue bar, Rogue bumpers and then a bunch of steel weights, preacher bar, etc.

In our house we have a gym with Concept2 rower, treadmill, elliptical, spin bike and my wifes yoga area.

 

[19Scout77]

6 rubber mats? Try moving 54 of those motherfuckers!!

 

[Crabcore]

I have the Rep Fitness 1000 series rack with the weight storage and lat pull-down accessories. The lat pull-down also has an attachment point for doing rows, but you kind of have to sit on the floor. This rack free stands in my basement on horse stall mats. Very satisfied with this rack. I also have their basic adjustable bench which is also very good.
I will echo the sentiments above of buying a good bar right away. I went with the Rogue Operator bar, because I did not want center knurling on my bar. I paired that with Rogue Echo bumpers in 45 and 25 pounds. then added basic Rogue cast plates, 2 sets of 10, 1 set of 5, 1 set of 2.5s. This combination lets me achieve any weight from 45 to 240 pounds.
I chose to get the Rogue EZ curl bar after a couple of months because I like it for skull crushers and bicep curls, and I would have to spend more money on free weights vs getting the extra bar. It also uses all the other regular weights to change, and is a nice even 30 pounds versus cheaper ones which may be 22 pouds or some random number.
Obviously, if you are going to lift heavier, you will need more weights. The nice thing about the Rogue Echo bumpers is they are supposed to be within 1% of stated weight, and are some of the cheapest bumpers dollar/pound that you can get. I figured if I had the majority of my weight super accurate, the potential variability of the smaller plates would't ever matter that much.

 

[hondo1312]

All I really need is a fold away squat rack. I've got a Rogue Castro bar and bumpers and change plates, a TRX suspension system, a plyo box, and bands. Since my gym has temporarily closed, I mainly do Olympic lifting and either run/bike. And there's always burpees if I feel I need more!

 

[beenjammin]

are you guys getting this stuff right now? I cant even find anything on amazon that will deliver remotely soon. Yok Barbell has some good prices but they are closed like I imagine many other mfg are as well....

I have gone through construction yards picking up scrap 2x4s to transform my kids tree house in to a pull down station. ID rather just give money to get some equipment sent....

 

[Crabcore]

I got my setup in early February. It looks like a lot of stuff is back-ordered now, or there are delays in filling orders.

 

[JasonB]

Here is my gym ...

 

[Gregor.Samsa]

Love the Vulcan stuff too! Great deals to be had on blem barbells from American barbell. Super tight tolerances and no rattle etc. scored the Ivanko revolvers from Craigslist. Tractor supply horse stall mats and plywood platform with the rack atttached with lag bolts.

 

[WhiskeyWebber]

I'm really happy with my Texas Strength Systems rack. Built in San Antonio by some awesome people. This thing is built like a tank. I've got the comp power bench, lat pull down/row contraption, the platform that allows hip squats, dip and pull-up bars, and the landmine. I also have the half rack safety bars outside so my Son and I can squat different loadings at the same time. I've got two sets of weights/bars so that my Son can take one set with him when he leaves. Pendlay colored bumpers and bearing bar and York bushing bar and bumpers. There's a hate/hate relationship with that prowler in the corner.

A couple of key additions for Texas summers; 3/4 foam insulation cut to fit in the channels on the garage door and a 30" Drum Fan to keep things cool.

 

[padronanniversary]

wanted to add this... buy USA made if given the chance. I know a lot of bumpers are made over seas but for the core items, but once cry once

Racks and other items

Sorinex
Texas Str
Rogue
Elite FTS
Legend
Ghost Strong
Kabuki
Bridge Built

I’m sure I am missing others on the list but my personal preference if possible avoid items made in China. I know it’s attractive price wise, but support America ! Plus you get way better quality, not copies of things.

 

[mason.ostrom]

Here is my setup. The jerk blocks double as a squat rack and can be used for box jumps also. A set of rings hanging from the ceiling facilitate pull ups, muscle ups, ring rows etc. the bar and plates are all werksan IWF certified competition equipment. I primarily Olympic lift, so having a bearing bar that spins well and has good knurling and whip are paramount.

 

[Agrippa]

Here is my setup. The jerk blocks double as a squat rack and can be used for box jumps also. A set of rings hanging from the ceiling facilitate pull ups, muscle ups, ring rows etc. the bar and plates are all werksan IWF certified competition equipment. I primarily Olympic lift, so having a bearing bar that spins well and has good knurling and whip are paramount. View attachment 7304653

Dope Oly setup. With all gyms pretty much shut down I wish I'd invested more in home gym equipment. Making it work though with EliteFTS bands and some KBs

 

[Blaster7Romeo]

The price and availability of Gym equipment had gotten worse than guns and ammo during this bull shit! I have severely understated the need to Toilet paper and a good weight set in my prepping !

I got the guns and ammo covered lol