Eseentials for home gym?

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b00ts

pews&vrooms
Amateur Fighter
Oct 21, 2015
5,599
8,635
Finally turning the garage into a home gym and trying to jot down what to start shopping for. I mostly do a 5x5 and kettlebells.

I’m going to start with rubber floor sections, a bench/squat rack w/pull-up bars, bench, Olympic bar, weights @ 4x45, 2x35, 2x25, 2x10, 4x5, And 2x2.5, a kettlebell rack, and probably a speed bag in the corner.

Was thinking of installing a water machine, recessed speakers in the ceiling, and mirrors, but then I decided that would be douchey.

Any other tips from others that have done this?

I was going to do a home golf simulator, but don’t have the ceiling height I would like in the garage.
 

Rambo John J

Eats things that would make a Billy Goat Puke
First 100
Jan 17, 2015
71,541
71,465
I just have a pull up rack with squats and bench capability...only doing squats and pull ups right now...I do dumbbell bench on the mobile bench
Got ton of barbells...I collect old strongman looking dumbbells, I find a few each summer at old people estate sales...Old dumbbells feel so much better in the hand



I have heavy bag also...need to get back to giving some work(gotta clear out the garage a little more first)

Of course it really depends on what you like to do, sounds like you got that dialed in.

Check your Craiglist and stuff...Tons of great deals as people upgrade or sell off their shit...I am about to put a great Bench/multi purpose thing on craigslist for a screaming deal because I need the space so I can re-hang the heavy bag to practice my CroCop southpaw shit again

Mine Gym is Ghetto though...concrete floors and padding only in a square around the heavy bag...non heated area because it is part carport part garage...have boxed and pumped Iron in 25ish degree temps with many layers on
 

b00ts

pews&vrooms
Amateur Fighter
Oct 21, 2015
5,599
8,635
I just have a pull up rack with squats and bench capability...only doing squats and pull ups right now...I do dumbbell bench on the mobile bench
Got ton of barbells...I collect old strongman looking dumbbells, I find a few each summer at old people estate sales...Old dumbbells feel so much better in the hand



I have heavy bag also...need to get back to giving some work(gotta clear out the garage a little more first)

Of course it really depends on what you like to do, sounds like you got that dialed in.

Check your Craiglist and stuff...Tons of great deals as people upgrade or sell off their shit...I am about to put a great Bench/multi purpose thing on craigslist for a screaming deal because I need the space so I can re-hang the heavy bag to practice my CroCop southpaw shit again

Mine Gym is Ghetto though...concrete floors and padding only in a square around the heavy bag...non heated area because it is part carport part garage...have boxed and pumped Iron in 25ish degree temps with many layers on
I’ve got about $300 in Academy Sports gift cards I’ve saved up from Christmas and birthdays, so I’ll probably get a quality rack from there and then check sales there or Craigslist, Amazon, etc. after
 

Yossarian

TMMAC Addict
Oct 25, 2015
13,489
19,127
I just have a pull up rack with squats and bench capability...only doing squats and pull ups right now...I do dumbbell bench on the mobile bench
Got ton of barbells...I collect old strongman looking dumbbells, I find a few each summer at old people estate sales...Old dumbbells feel so much better in the hand



I have heavy bag also...need to get back to giving some work(gotta clear out the garage a little more first)

Of course it really depends on what you like to do, sounds like you got that dialed in.

Check your Craiglist and stuff...Tons of great deals as people upgrade or sell off their shit...I am about to put a great Bench/multi purpose thing on craigslist for a screaming deal because I need the space so I can re-hang the heavy bag to practice my CroCop southpaw shit again

Mine Gym is Ghetto though...concrete floors and padding only in a square around the heavy bag...non heated area because it is part carport part garage...have boxed and pumped Iron in 25ish degree temps with many layers on
I do a lot with dumbbells as well. Takes a lot more work, stabilizing, etc.
 

Tuc Ouiner

Posting Machine
May 19, 2016
1,816
1,467
jump rope, chin up bar, wrist roller-- a broomstick w/a hole drilled in it. stick about 1ft long. 550 cord about 3ft long with a plate10lb+.Roll it both ways. grip tape is good. great for forearms. foam on floor-- gotta do neck bridges.
 

Thunderhead

Assman Extraordinaire
Dec 12, 2017
106
225
Finally turning the garage into a home gym and trying to jot down what to start shopping for. I mostly do a 5x5 and kettlebells.

I’m going to start with rubber floor sections, a bench/squat rack w/pull-up bars, bench, Olympic bar, weights @ 4x45, 2x35, 2x25, 2x10, 4x5, And 2x2.5, a kettlebell rack, and probably a speed bag in the corner.

Was thinking of installing a water machine, recessed speakers in the ceiling, and mirrors, but then I decided that would be douchey.

Any other tips from others that have done this?

I was going to do a home golf simulator, but don’t have the ceiling height I would like in the garage.
You can't go wrong with a pair of these Olympic dumbbell handles:


Beats buying a full rack of dumbbells if you're on a budget.
 

sparkuri

Pulse On The Finger Of The Community
First 100
Jan 16, 2015
34,420
46,562
For guys like us, I feel an inversion table is necessary.
Also physical therapy colored bands & gym rings w/straps.
I just started setting up my morning studio, got some puzzle mats(3-layers then some) & about to mount a 55"tv for meditation or music on that osb.
Got the perfect pushup swivels, you can see the one by the base of the inversion table.
I'm gonna build a small bench for flies and gravity presses, tricep extensions, dips and whatnot.
The rings will mount to ceiling pulleys which will cover rows at all angles, and bands will tie off on some some eye lags on that wall.
I'm a firm believer in balanced, practical exercise, so I've pretty much got all I need, except the big wall-mount mirror, which imo is actually truly important.
In the beginning stages...

 
Dec 1, 2019
13
10
I have:
  • Rubber mats
  • Dumbbell rack
  • Power rack (cage)
  • Barbell
  • Barbell Weight rack
  • Adjustable bench
  • Pull up bar
  • Dip station
  • Dumbbells/Kettlebells
  • Assault Bike (Airdyne)
  • Foam rollers
  • Hex bar
  • TV
  • Treadmill
  • Heavy Bag
 

Leigh

Engineer
Pro Fighter
Jan 26, 2015
10,925
21,293
I have Olympic rings, which about covers me. I also use a kettle bell to do Bulgarian Split Squats.
 

BJTT_Kiwi

My member is more well known than yours
Jun 25, 2015
3,268
5,866
Power rack (something like this FULL CAGE 2.0 )
Adjustable bench (flat / incline)
Olympic bar
140kg of plates
10, 20, 30kg dumbells
 

Rambo John J

Eats things that would make a Billy Goat Puke
First 100
Jan 17, 2015
71,541
71,465
Sold a sturdy weight bench with like 280 in weights a few days back...complete with curl bar, tricep bar and some other goodies.

Neighbor kid is a runt with insane basketball skills...Hope he gets a growth spurt and ends up all jacked up and goes pro, then I will be his agent.

Gave a screaming deal under the condition that I can still go over and use it a few times a week.
 

Rambo John J

Eats things that would make a Billy Goat Puke
First 100
Jan 17, 2015
71,541
71,465
Power rack (something like this FULL CAGE 2.0 )
Adjustable bench (flat / incline)
Olympic bar
140kg of plates
10, 20, 30kg dumbells
I have a similar one in my living room...with the bar dip accessory...mine is a lil beefier and has more pull up grip options

Can only rip off sets of 12 pull ups right now though...I used to do 20 before surgery set my abs back for a few years

I love the different pull up grips on my rack
 

Guerrilla

Banned
Apr 24, 2020
108
304
Finally turning the garage into a home gym and trying to jot down what to start shopping for. I mostly do a 5x5 and kettlebells.

I’m going to start with rubber floor sections, a bench/squat rack w/pull-up bars, bench, Olympic bar, weights @ 4x45, 2x35, 2x25, 2x10, 4x5, And 2x2.5, a kettlebell rack, and probably a speed bag in the corner.

Was thinking of installing a water machine, recessed speakers in the ceiling, and mirrors, but then I decided that would be douchey.

Any other tips from others that have done this?

I was going to do a home golf simulator, but don’t have the ceiling height I would like in the garage.
I have three recommendations for you...

bags, bags, bags

Don't waste your time on resistance training or steady state cardio... instead focus on your bag training because it will convey much more usable skills and sport-specific conditioning than anything you can do solo

A teardrop bag is a critical part of your infrastructure and a banana bag will round out your heavy bag requirements

After that a couple double-end bags (one strung vertically the other horizontally) are a fantastic addition and believe it or not the old classic speedbag is another wonderful tool to help you maintain your upper body conditioning head movement and punching timing
 

Jesus X

4 drink minimum.
Sep 7, 2015
28,766
31,291
my job is basically my gym keeps me swole. only exercise I do on my free time is ride a bike 40 miles in fixed gear and a jump rope for 2 rounds.I dont weight lift on my free time because I lift heavy things at my job all the time.sometimes ill grab a sledge hammer and smash it into a giant tire at work.

View: https://youtu.be/RNm9tllgYLk
 

SAJ

Posting Machine
Aug 2, 2015
1,754
2,803
You can’t go wrong with gymnastic rings. Best piece of equipment I’ve bought for training and i use them quite regularly

My entire training is mainly callisthenics based. I just own a pull up bar, gymnastic rings, medium sized parallette, weighted vest. 2 x dumbbells, 1 x barbell

Upper body I’m pretty much set with just the rings to be honest. I might invest in few kettlebells though as I don’t have a lot of heavy weights
 

Leigh

Engineer
Pro Fighter
Jan 26, 2015
10,925
21,293
I've recently installed a wall bar to do my flags on. I've noticed a significant increase in strength.

I also added Fat Gripz to my rings and the strength transfer to grappling is legit.