The Ultimate Home Gym Guide

The first thing I tell people when it comes to beginning to build your own home gym is two-fold. First, you’re going to use it less than you initially imagined you would. Second, the relief of having it when you need it will always outweigh the latter. 

The recommendations I make are to be disciplined in what your “wants” are versus your “needs”. Determine how much space you have available and how this fits into your lifestyle, and buy once - cry once. I can say with certainty that I use nearly every piece of equipment regularly, all of it fits into a one car garage, and that I take pride in the longevity of the most expensive pieces that I own.

Check out this video, or feel free to move on if you prefer your content in text.

Athlete Recommendations-

  • If you are an athlete actively competing in sport and you’re not investing in your ankles, feet, and posture you have a lot of ground to gain. 

  • Balance Pipes and Balance Poles can each be bought for less than $10 at your local Home Depot or Lowe’s, giving you an immense amount of training opportunity. For more information on this please email hunter@gymtwelve.com or check out Sport Science Labs and the importance of footwork in your training regiment.

    • Please note, you’ll want to start out on a pad, turfed, or rubber surface and NOT hardwood or concrete for this!

  • Coupled with footwork, is ballwork with a Stability Ball. Equally as important and simple from the comfort of your home, SSL is an invaluable resource. For more information contact hunter@gymtwelve.com



Adaptive Recommendations-

  • For many living with disabilities, custom-tailored equipment and programs are hard to come by, yet almost always a requirement. Fortunately, it’s entirely possible to do many things with the help of a few tools. The general encouragement is to always keep in mind a “tool” is designed to support, and enable you to accomplish something you otherwise wouldn’t be able to. Keep in mind, this in unlike a “crutch” that you rely on for anything and everything. Challenge yourself to recreate movements without any tools whenever you can, but don’t be afraid to utilize them, that’s what they’re made for.

  • Harbringer Hooks are the simplest and most effective in general for upper extremity deficiencies. They can easily be taken on and off with one hand and attached to a rower, a dumbbell or kettlebell, a band, a barbell, ski ergs, etc.. Really anything that it’ll fit. The only downside is that the hook swivels and moves unlike your wrist and hand that typically locks an implement in place.

  • Active Hands come in slightly behind the harbinger hooks simply because of the time associated with putting them on and off. If you’re looking to be rock solid locked into something for more than a couple minutes this tool is perfect. Rowing, Ski erg, dumbbells, strap it up and get after it. It is significantly more effective than the hooks when locking an implement in place so that it doesn’t move around much, but it’s tedious to take on and off more than a couple times.

  • Balance pads and mats can be invaluable, not only for the exercises you can perform, but also the safety they provide. Even I have little baby knees and a weird tailbone thing that makes kneeling and some core exercises super uncomfortable. I ain’t about that. Grab a variety and challenge yourself to some difficult movements with some added support.

  • One of the most versatile pieces are Split Ropes. For those seated, it’s invaluable. Even for athletes who aren’t adaptive this is a welcome challenge. Pick you poison between heavy and light, but you can challenge yourself through time, forward backwards, movements while doing them, just have fun and have another tool in your belt for getting your heart rate up!

  • In general, almost every exercise can be modified with enough ingenuity to recreate the biomechanics conditions you’re looking for. 

    • Many lower extremity amputees keep blocks to elevate their heels on certain exercises to eliminate the need for ankle mobility

    • Often times simply creating a safe environment using a box or a bench or a “controlled falling” space will give you the confidence to do a movement without scaling. This is wildly underestimated.

  • At the end of the day. There are few instances where you shouldn’t be able to recreate a traditional movement pattern. If you are struggling to find a way please contact hunter@gymtwelve.com and let’s make it happen.



Buying Used-

  • Often gyms pieces of high end equipment will become available second hand from various sources in your area. There are many pros and cons to each method, but it’s certainly worth spending time to browse every so often.

    • Craigslist + Facebook Marketplace: Keep in mind, all sales are final, you don’t know the condition of the equipment until you’ve paid for it usually and there’s no telling what it’s been through. This obviously makes it risky. But, there are times where people flash sale their entire inventory due to moves, lack of use, and many other reasons and if you know what you’re looking for and how to determine durability you can get some great finds.

      • The main things worth buying second hand are non-technical, solid pieces like plates, kettlebells, dumbbells, sometimes barbells, etc… Things that will hold their value regardless of the shape they’re in.

      • I. personally. do not scour craigslist or the marketplace, as I believe in “buy once, cry once” and take great care of my things, but I do have saved searches that I check regularly and have bought a significant amount of my equipment off these sources.

      • There are many additions to equipment that make life easier, Ski Ergs have a handle extension and Rowers have options for adaptive seats that make them way more user friendly. Don’t down play ease of use!

    • Local Competitions: Get to know the local scene and who hosts competitions in your area. Often times, bigger venues will buy new equipment and sell it for below MSRP after the competition is complete. This is an awesome way to score “like-new” items at discount



Flooring-

  • There’s really only one recommendation I would make to the garage gym enthusiast and that is Horse Stall Mats. You can get hex weaved matting, you can pay top dollar for custom but at your local tractor supply or even reused these are hard to beat.

  • They’re cheap, they last forever if you take care of them, they’re easy to clean (pressure wash) over the years, and they can easily be cut to mold into any environment. 

  • I regularly drag them out into the parking lot to get some sun, and keep my equipment safe.

  • Note, they are a pain in the ass to move if you’re moving more than a couple. Check out these grips to make it easy.



Considerations-

  • Weather is fickle. In Texas we experience brutal summers and our southern skin is sensitive to anything below 50 degrees. 

  • Summer:I particularly enjoy sweating and usually equate that to a good workout, so a drum fan or two for circulation and a breeze works perfect for me. I know many people that repurpose old fridges for cold plunges in their garages. Do what makes you comfortable.

  • Winter: There’s no reason you can’t workout in the cold bundled up. Barbells and metal will be cold, but they warm up quickly. Invest into a space heater and you’ll be sweating. Even in an uninsulated two car garage this little guy can get you down to a t-shirt with some heavily breathing aiding it. In an insulated garage, you’ll be sweating quickly.

  • Get some sun! Utilize parking lots, drag mats outside, find what a 200m, 400m, 800m, and mile loop looks like in your area. Running is free and treadmills are expensive. Albeit, I rarely run.

  • Your neighbors are near you, quite literally. Be respectful to those around you or even above you. Barbells are loud when dropped and stall mats dampen sound well, but pound pads, along with literally just lowering it down under control, believe it or not!



Garage Gym Reviews- www.garagegymreviews.com

  • Your one stop shop for all things new and exciting

  • Coop (owner) does a wonderful job breaking down the pros and the cons of the big name brands as well as many of their competitors, including niche specialty equipment.

  • His objective way of measuring the pros and cons between the budget, quality, and space is a refreshing resource in today’s age where you just don’t know who to trust.

  • GGR Garage Gym Guide

  • Do It Yourself Equipment


THE GUIDE

Tier 1 - $100ish

  • Bands // KB // Ball

    • Band: #1 Red Band (Pair) $19

    • Kettlebell: 18lb (Female) // 35lb (Male) $36 // $52

    • Ball: 10lb (Female) // 20lb (Male) $35 // 58

  • Taking up virtually no space, and for less than a month's dues for an average gym membership, you now have access to an extremely higher degree of strength, stretches, core movements, and access to various planes of motion that with no equipment. Hide it all behind a door, in your car, in a box in the garage, or hire a professional to get you to look, feel, and perform better from the comfort of your own home. 

  • Between the addition of pulling exercises, anti-rotation, and a multitude of options for loading, you now have an immense amount of variation available beyond bodyweight only.

  • The recommendation for this tier is literally every home in America.




Tier 2 - $350ish

  • Pull-up Bar // TRX // Bands

  • Bands // KB // Ball

    • Band: #1 Red Band (Pair) $19

    • Kettlebell: 18lb (Female) // 35lb (Male) $36 // $52

    • Ball: 10lb (Female) // 20lb (Male) $35 // 58

  • Adding on to the aforementioned, this tier grants you access to a plethora of bodyweight strength movements, decompression, and traditional rehab exercises that are daily staples for many athletes and people who like having no chronic pain. We all have door frames.

  • From hanging, to pull-ups, to having a place to anchor your bands and perform a number of TRX exercises as well as fun and create warm-up and cool-downs with bands.

  • The recommendation for this tier is the average gym go-er looking to improve performance or mobility or quality of life.




Tier 3 - $1100ish

  • Barbell // Plates // Stand // Bands

  • Pull-up Bar // TRX // Bands

  • Bands // KB // Ball

    • Band: #1 Red Band (Pair) $19

    • Kettlebell: 18lb (Female) // 35lb (Male) $36 // $52

    • Ball: 10lb (Female) // 20lb (Male) $35 // $58

  • Now we’ve got some substance. The addition of a squat rack, bar, and bumpers skyrockets the game up to pretty much whatever you want it to be. You can now always make an exercise easier, as well as harder. Squat stands can be moved easily, and bars and bumpers have a small footprint, but may require some space to set up. I’ve even used barbells inside a 2nd story apartment. I wouldn’t recommend it, but how bad do you want to get better?

  • If you’re buying this you’re an athlete. Hire a coach to get to know you, understand your goals, program for you, and hold you accountable to them!

  • This tier is for those looking to be better than they were yesterday, each and every day. Honestly, some of these may get used rarely and you probably have another gym membership, but they sure do come in handy when you need them.




Tier 4 - $2100ish

  • Ski Erg or Rower or Bike

  • Barbell // Plates // Stand

  • Pull-up Bar // TRX // Bands

  • Bands // KB // Ball

    • Band: #1 Red Band (Pair) $19

    • Kettlebell: 18lb (Female) // 35lb (Male) $36 // $52

    • Ball: 10lb (Female) // 20lb (Male) $35 // $58

  • The simple addition of a machine transfers your “garage” into a “gym”. At least in my opinion. It’s dealer's choice. Knowing what I know now I’d buy a ski erg first, a rower second, and a bike erg next. I have an assault bike now but I’d prefer a bike erg over it. 

  • Plus, the addition of “exciting simplicity” is a gold. We can all do 100 burpees a day and get in better shape, but who wants to actually do that? The data, the ease, the gamification and the competitive aspects of it should all be taken into account

  • You’re serious now, you can utilize this for multiple workouts within the day, active recovery workouts, finding a training partner that lives nearby and getting after it. You also probably don’t need a home gym guide either. Either way if you’re reading this. It’s worth it.



Additional Comments

  • Dumbbells, in my opinion, are less versatile than a single Kettlebell. You’re welcome to purchase two kettlebells, or a dumbbell equivalent if that floats your boat!

    • PowerBlocks DB’s are a little bulky, a little ugly, but the space they save is invaluable and they’re surprisingly durable and effective.

  • Barbells are way more versatile, but a Trap Bar gives you many of the same strength benefits, without axial loading (this is HUGE, email me for more info), and also without the need for a squat stand (more space). The Kabuki Trap bar is expensive but gives you a plethora of options. Band it, Jump with it, Carry it, you name it.

  • A good Mini Trampoline is a wildly undervalued option for creating “global blood flow” aka, moving a lot. This helps the waste in your body get eliminated faster, and make you feel better. 5min of casual bounces in the morning is guaranteed to make your day better

My Wish List

  • ML Lever Arm

    • Without taking up additional space, these will open up a whole new host of lever exercises that can be loaded, banded, and the safety of a fixed arm moving is super favorable for training alone or with a partner.

  • Rogue Slinger

    • This is the luxury version of the Econo pulley system. It doesn’t give me more exercises, but it takes up no additional space and gives me extreme consistency and safety over a haphazardly weighted pulley swinging around everyone (still worth it).

  • Reverse Hyper

    • This is the last piece of equipment I will buy and will not be worth it unless I have additional space above and beyond a 2-car garage. Not likely, but that’s why it’s called a wish list.

  • Kabuki Trap Bar

    • In my mind, the only garage gym trap bar worth buying. It’s pricey, but it gives you an extremely level of versatility and that’s the name of the game with garage gyms (my next purchase)

  • Belt Squat

    • Along with the reverse hyper, this is a long shot for me as space will be my primary concern. That being said, equipment that eliminates axial loading and allows you to work on force production is gold and worth the space + money if you have it.

  • Black Widow

    • I don’t care for having a multitude of attachments. I can make do with one, but if I have one that does it all then boom.

  • Home Gym Timer

    • This is a novelty. It’s super useful, but not necessary. I have a watch and phone that does the same thing but doesn’t look cool and give you a cool 10 second countdown with a beep.

  • Assault Air Runner

    • Sure, running is free… But, it also sucks, and if I’m gonna do it, I’m gonna do it right. A curve treadmill reinforces a healthy toe strike and the self-driven tread promotes extension and those are pretty swell things in running. Plus, the metrics it gives is worth it in itself for those serious about fitness (I’ll get one when I have a 2 car garage)

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Hunter Clark