The BEST FAQ for Starting a Home Gym – 2024

The simple answer, and the best answer, is that a home gym is whatever you want it to be. Whether you are a powerlifter or bodybuilder, strongman, or even a Ninja Warrior, you can set up a space at your home to help you be happier, healthier, and chase down your goals, regardless of what that equipment selection looks like.

There are a ton of potential benefits to having a home gym, but the number one benefit to me is consistency. The most well-equipped gym on the planet does nothing if you don’t use it. And having a home gym, while not the perfect solution for everyone, can remove a lot of excuses to missing workouts.

Check Out – Is A Home Gym Right For You?

At a high level, nothing. At one point the term garage gym showed up, to separate what is more of a lifters gym with a bar, rack, bench, and plates… from something more like a Bowflex all-in-one set-up. The garage gym was a little more “hardcore” and the home gym was a little more “dad-bod trying to get in shape for his 20^th reunion”. In reality, the terms are basically interchangeable.

For the most part, yes. Me and my wife haven’t set foot in a commercial gym in over a decade. Your success here is determined by what equipment you want and the environment you thrive in.

I personally enjoy being by myself and chasing down a workout. You might need a group of people on-looking to keep you accountable. If you want a huge selection of machines, and you have a small apartment, it probably won’t work. If your goals and expectations, budget, and space, all line up, it can work. 

I typically recommend beginners go to a commercial gym, get a coach or personal trainer, and explore the gym environment for a while. You’ll learn how to lift, learn what exercises are available, what you like and don’t like, and then be able to determine if a home gym is feasible or not.

Nothing worse than spending hours researching equipment, spending hard earned money on quality equipment, setting it all up, and then after a few weeks realizing you don’t enjoy it. Think of the commercial gym as a lease program. You get to test out all of their equipment, take advantage of classes and trainers, all for a low monthly fee. Once you figure out what you want, you can decide if that is realistic at home, or not.

You have a couple options here. You could DIY quite a few things if you are handy and happen to have the tools. This can potentially save you a lot of money, depending on your path. My personal approach was buying second hand off Marketplace. This is going to depend greatly on the area you live in.

Check out – Cost Of A Home Gym

Highly populated areas have more used stuff, where as rural areas can struggle here. You also need to know what you are looking at, as a used $50 barbell might be a great deal if it is a $300 Rogue bar, or it might be a bad deal if it is a Walmart $50 barbell. Your third option is to take advantage of discount codes from content creators like myself, and leverage their articles and videos around what equipment to buy on a budget so you get something of decent quality without breaking the bank.

Check out – Used Gym Equipment Tips and Tricks

I would say you need about 8 feet by 8 feet of working space minimum to accommodate a bar safely, load it, move things around, you name it. But when in storage mode, that space can be drastically reduced.

We have a 22 x 22 foot garage, where we parked TWO cars, had a standing freezer, washer and dryer, hot water heater, and fit an entire gym with multiple bars, a bench, cable accessories, rack, platform, and more. So some careful planning and creativity can go a long way to turn a small space into a fully equipped gym.

Insulation is going to be your friend if possible. Insulate the roof, the walls, the garage door. Then we want fans for the summer and space heaters for the winter. And if you can swing it, a Mini Split can be a game changer. Others have resorted to closing the doors and simply opening the door into their house and letting their HVAC system work a little harder. Become friendly with layers in the winter, and have cooling towels in the summer.

Make sure your equipment is properly stored against the walls, on the walls, to the floor, and in general not something that a small child could pull down onto their head. Make sure your family understands some basic rules… no talking to the person lifting, no walking around or touching anyone who is lifting, only one person lifts at a time… these kinds of rules allow lifters to be safe while respecting the effort that is going on.

Check out – Should Kids Lift?

First, you need to think about your goals. What are you trying to accomplish? If your goal is to get in a good workout, you might just need a kettlebell and a few extra pieces. If you are trying to PR on the platform, you probably need a rack, bar, bench, and plates.

If you want to be a lifter, the basics are a Bar, rack, bench, and plates.

My Basic Gym Equipment Purchase List:
 
Rack: https://graymatterlifting.com/RepPR-5000
Bench: https://garagegymcompetition.com/LivingFitAdjBench Code GML to save 10%
Bar: https://graymatterlifting.com/Rogue28.5BY
Plates: https://graymatterlifting.com/WeightItOutCastIron45s
Lighting: https://amzn.to/4gx9dvk
Flooring: https://graymatterlifting.com/HorseStallMats
Organization: https://graymatterlifting.com/WeightItOutCastIron45s
Cleaning: https://garagegymcompetition.com/BBRescue
Cooling: https://amzn.to/47lHeKE

I had a video where I managed to Squat 500lbs, Bench 330lbs, and Deadlift 550lbs with a $45 barbell from WalMart. Now, this isn’t my go-to recommendation for a bar. It was already showing signs of wear and tear after a month or so of solid use. But I don’t think you need to spend a lot on a bar.

I’d recommend for most people to pick a bar between $150 and $200.

Check out – This Is The Barbell You Should Buy

My rack is from Rogue’s Infinity Line, it costs ~$800 right now, and it has handled nearly 600lb squats without issues. But, if I was buying a rack today I wouldn’t buy this exact one.

Check Out This Video on “The Best Power Rack For A Home Gym“

Flat Benches shine in their ability to be rock solid for heavy flat benching. If this isn’t your jam, go with an adjustable. You’ll have more uses for a lot of different things. I ONLY use our flat bench for my heavy bench work. Our adjustable bench gets used for everything else.

My Current Recommended Bench: https://garagegymcompetition.com/LivingFitAdjBench Code GML to save 10%

Standard plates like these have a 1” hole in the center. Olympic plates have a 2” hole in the center. I would not recommend you buy standard plates brand new, under any circumstances. Standard plates have a limited selection of other equipment it is compatible with, and it is going to limit your gym.

That said, if you are starting out, especially on a tight budget, 1” weights weigh the same as 2” weights, so you can likely get a great deal on some used standard plates. But that is the only time I would recommend that.

The old thought process was that bumpers cost more. So if you didn’t need to do any Olympic lifts, iron was a better choice. Today, that isn’t entirely the case. Iron plates are pretty close to the same price as bumpers, and on sale they are often cheaper.

You can even go the route of American Made bumpers from Home Grown Lifting and get them at around $1/lb. If you are looking on the used market, feel free to grab whatever you get a deal on. Bumpers are only truly helpful for Olympic lifts, or for smaller athletes because the smaller plates are the same size as a 45lb plate for deadlifts.

But when buying new, unless if you are a competitive lifter or find a great deal on iron, I’m pretty convinced today that bumpers are a better route.

My Favorite Bumper Plates: https://garagegymcompetition.com/HomeGrownLifting Save 5% w/ Code: HGLGarageGymComp24

Personally, I like riding my bike, walking my dog, and chasing my daughter around the soccer field. If you need a dedicated piece of cardio, I think the two that get the most love are an AirBike and a Rower, with a VERY close third being a SkiErg. The SkiErg takes a big win because it takes up essentially no space. But the rower and AirBikes are fantastic full body cardio options. They are going to eat up real estate, they aren’t exactly cheap, and they are TOUGH, but they work well.

Check The FringeSport Raptor: https://graymatterlifting.com/FringeAirBike

I’m going to ask you a second question… how heavy do you plan to lift? If you plan to stay under 50lbs, I think you can likely get away with a good set of dumbbells on something like a Synergy Customs dumbbell rack. It’ll take up almost no space, and give you a lot of options.

If you plan to go higher, unless if your budget is awesome, dumbbells get expensive quick. This is where adjustable starts to make sense. You take up less space, and for a pair of 100lb dumbbells you could essentially buy a set of good adjustable dumbbells.

Check out: The Best Dumbbells For A Home Gym

If you have a small space that you plan to lift on, horse stall mats are likely the most economical and equipment friendly option from your local feed lot or tractor supply store. If you have a wider area you would like to cover, and not all of it is going to be lifted on, you can take a look at the rubber interlocking mats or rolled rubber flooring. These have some pros compared to horse stall mats for coverage, but aren’t necessarily as “robust” and dense.

Check out Horse Stall Mats: https://graymatterlifting.com/HorseStallMats

Historically I would have said no, but more recently companies have been doing a good job of making these much better for a home gym.

Something like a Powertec Levergym is a great start, or my current Inspire FT2. But you can also dig into racks that do a lot, or create your own contraption with something like a VOLTRA I and a VTS… Sorry, a lot of name dropping there.

Machines and All-In-Ones can get complicated. Think about what you want to do with your previous space, and maximize it with a good piece or two. Expect to spend over $1,000 for anything valid in this realm.

For your plates, consider either a plate tree or rack storage. Rack storage is often the go to, but depends on your space. For bars, a vertical 9 bar storage is great, if you keep it simple you can get a single or double option for your rack. From there, I would go with a Mass Storage rack from your local hardware store to keep all your various nick nacks organized, and then Wall Control on your walls for attachments, bands, hooks, and various stuff.

Check out – Wall Control Comprehensive Guide

If your gym isn’t built out yet, please take the time to finish any walls and paint first. This will make a huge difference in the look and feel of your space and it’ll save you time down the road. From there, you can go with flags or banners, Amazon has a ton of options or get some cool garage gym themed ones from Garage-Gyms.com. You can get custom ones made up by my dude at Plate Snacks, who also makes just about any kind of sticker or decal you could imagine. You can make your plates into Kiwis or Coffee, add decals to your cable weight stacks or even custom order decals to cover up anything in your space.

Check out Plate Snacks – https://graymatterlifting.com/PlateSnacks  Save 10% w/ Code: GGC

Some people will add mirrors to their gym, that isn’t my cup of tea, but if you want the best price is typically Marketplace. People selling mirrored sliding doors or getting rid of them from a Salon.

Check out Garage Gym Banners: https://shop.garage-gyms.com/

As long as you aren’t running a business from your gym, the answer should be no. If you are running a business from your gym, or plan to, check out Go-RX Fitness. They have a ton of resources to help you turn your home gym into a successful business whether you are renting out the space when you aren’t using it or trying to run a personal training studio from your garage.

Make money with your home gym via GORX Fitness: https://garagegymcompetition.com/GORX

Your bar needs a barbell rescue brush. It’ll last forever, and with their oil kit, so will your bar. The oil and rag can clean and lubricate any moving parts in your gym, and then you simply need to keep the floors clean with a mop, broom, vacuum, etc. I like an all in one mop vac personally.

Check out Barbell Rescue: https://garagegymcompetition.com/BBRescue

Take a step back and look at your space, your training, and your goals. If anything is missing, like you aren’t getting enough back work in your life, then buy a cable tower and cable attachments for some rows. Or maybe you need more recovery, snag a massage gun or something. Maybe pull-ups are too easy, buy a weighted vest. You get the idea.

The best approach is often to buy something that fills a need in your programming to keep your progressing, instead of just buying the next flashy toy. That said, you can definitely come to the dark side and join us for cookies and long arguments about why we need a dozen or more bars.