The Gray Matter Lab – V6
Last updated on January 25th, 2026 at 06:59 pm
I’ve been lifting at home since 2013 out of the same garage, but things are quite a bit different today than they were back then. I’m married, have a kid, work full time as a home gym content creator, we have a group of friends (and kiddos) that lift in our gym as well.
So our gym has evolved over that time-frame to accommodate all of that. Full rolled rubber flooring, mini split, insulation, more rack attachments, unique solutions, a Ninja Warrior set up, and even a content creation corner.
Lets check out The Gray Matter Lab – V6!
Transparency Note
Thanks to the support of everyone who watches my videos, reads these articles, and participates in all the goodies I’ve got going on, as well as the companies that support what I do in a number of ways, I have been making this my full-time gig since 2013.
Some of the equipment in this garage was sent to me for free, for sake of review. And some of the companies support me with affiliates links or sponsoring the Garage Gym Competition.
If you enjoy home gyms as much as I do, I hope you enjoy this Version 6 Tour of the Gray Matter Lab… lets dig in!
Overview
Today we are going to walk through this 22ft x 21ft space, break it down into a few different sections including our accessories and storage, power rack and bars, cable section, my daughters Ninja Warrior section, my YouTube production space, and we’ll take a glimpse at our backyard cardio corner as well.
Before we dive in… Keep in mind that my gym is going to be different than a lot of other people’s gyms because we have equipment to accommodate multiple athletes, because I test and review equipment for a business, and because I need this space to be usable for all of that, all year long.
AND we still use it as a garage… we’ve got storage up above for Halloween and Christmas decorations, a washer and dryer and standing freezer, our bikes, some sports stuff… we even park a car in here.
Full List Of Equipment
I believe this is everything in my gym, with links and discount code details and reviews where applicable. If I missed something or you have additional questions, just ask.
| Category | Item (Link) | Review Link | Discount Code/Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Power Rack and Attachments | Iron Bull Strength Frankenstein Rack | Link | |
| Power Rack and Attachments | Mutant Metals Snap Back Rollers | Link | |
| Power Rack and Attachments | Mutant Metals Ultimate Dip Attachment | Link | |
| Power Rack and Attachments | Beyond Power VOLTRA I’s | Link | |
| Power Rack and Attachments | Bremmy Spotter Arms | ||
| Power Rack and Attachments | VOLTRA Quick MountsDarko Quick Mounts | ||
| Power Rack and Attachments | REP Pegasus | Review | |
| Power Rack and Attachments | REP Belt Squat | Link | |
| Power Rack and Attachments | OAK Club KLO Step | ||
| Power Rack and Attachments | Aperture Red Washers | ||
| Power Rack and Attachments | Frog Fits Rack Beanies | ||
| Power Rack and Attachments | Frog Fits Thread Armor | ||
| Barbells | Ivanko OB-84 | Not in production | |
| Barbells | Rogue Bella Bar | ||
| Barbells | OSO Kid’s Bar | ||
| Barbells | Texas Deadlift Bar | ||
| Barbells | Rogue Log | ||
| Barbells | Edge Fitness Systems Cambered Bar | Edge is no longer in business | |
| Barbells | Edge Fitness Systems Rickshaw | Edge is no longer in business | |
| Barbells | Bandbell Earthquake Bar | Link | |
| Barbells | Rackable Curl Bar | ||
| Barbells | Seal Row Bar | ||
| Barbells | Strengthshop Knurled Fat Bar | ||
| Barbells | Prime Fitness Super Squat Bar | Link | |
| Barbells | Primal Armor Appalachian Bar | Link | |
| Barbells | Intek Strength Neutral Grip Bar | Link | |
| Machines | Booty Sprout | Link | |
| Machines | Freak Athlete Hyper Pro | Link | |
| Machines | Xebex XT4 Sled | Link | |
| Machines | Force USA Tandem Tower | Link | |
| Cable Attachments & Accessories | TK Star Larry Scott Triceps Bar | ||
| Cable Attachments & Accessories | APT Ankle Cuffs | ||
| Cable Attachments & Accessories | American Barbell Rotating V Bar | ||
| Cable Attachments & Accessories | MAG Handles | Link | |
| Cable Attachments & Accessories | Mutant Metals Jack Hammer | This is not available for purchase | |
| Cable Attachments & Accessories | Iron Grip Twist Yo Wrist | ||
| Cable Attachments & Accessories | BWTG Canonball Grips | ||
| Cable Attachments & Accessories | Trak Handles | ||
| Cable Attachments & Accessories | Prime Fitness Kaz Handles (Small) | ||
| Cable Attachments & Accessories | Prime Fitness ROT-8 Handles | ||
| Cable Attachments & Accessories | Prime Fitness Spreader Bar | ||
| Cable Attachments & Accessories | Troy VTX SupraCurl | Google search, as these are commonly out of stock | |
| Cable Attachments & Accessories | Troy VTX Butterfly | Google search, as these are commo | |
| Cable Attachments & Accessories | Performance Pins x 4 | Link | Use code GGC to save 10%! |
| Cable Attachments & Accessories | Fat Gripz | ||
| Cable Attachments & Accessories | Gym Pins x 2 | GrayMatterLifting saves 10% | |
| Storage | Wall Control | Link | |
| Storage | Inspire 3 Tier DB Rack | ||
| Storage | Archon 9 Bar Vertical Storage | ||
| Storage | Husky Mass Storage | ||
| Storage | Maxicam Olympic Weight Tree | ||
| Benches | Custom Bench w/ Thompson FatPad | ||
| Dumbbells | Dumbbells – Assorted Urethane | ||
| Dumbbells | MicroGainz 2.5lb DB Plates | Link | Use code GGC10 to save 10% |
| Accessories | MicroGainz Micro Plates | Link | Use code GGC10 to save 10% |
| Belts and Lifting Gear | APT Lifting Belt | ||
| Belts and Lifting Gear | Custom Pioneer Belt | ||
| Belts and Lifting Gear | Pioneer Lever Belt w/ PAL | ||
| Belts and Lifting Gear | Glute Loops | ||
| Accessories | Sanddune Stepper x 2 | Link | |
| Accessories | Ironmind Captains of Crush | ||
| Accessories | Ivanko COT 2.5 | ||
| Accessories | Ivanko COT 1.25 | ||
| Accessories | Proloc 2 Collars | ||
| Accessories | Chains | ||
| Accessories | Bands | ||
| Accessories | Ghost Strong & Klevabuilt Deadlift Jack | ||
| Accessories | AbMat – original AbMat, Crash Cushions, Preacher Pad | ||
| Belts and Lifting Gear | Breath Belt x 2 | Review | |
| Belts and Lifting Gear | A7 wraps, straps, and sleeves | ||
| Barbells | X-Mark Big Easy Squat Bar | ||
| Barbells | Radian Sliding Grip Bar | Link | |
| Barbells | Prime Prototype Bar | Link | |
| Benches | REP Nighthawk | Link | |
| Benches | Freak Athlete ABX | Link | |
| Accessories | Cerberus Strength Sandbags | ||
| Accessories | Shogun Sandbags | ||
| Accessories | Prime Fitness Solos | ||
| Cable Attachments & Accessories | Atlas Bar | ||
| Cable Attachments & Accessories | LPG Muscle Boar Tusk | ||
| Cable Attachments & Accessories | TK Star Larry Scott Bar | ||
| Cable Attachments & Accessories | Arm Assassin Napalm Nightmare | ||
| Cable Attachments & Accessories | Arm Assassin Top Curl | ||
| Cable Attachments & Accessories | IPR Fitness Glute Kickback Pro | Save 20% on IPR Fitness Attachments w/ Code: GML | |
| Cable Attachments & Accessories | 1MR Adjustable Rope Cuffs | ||
| Cable Attachments & Accessories | 1MR ‘Titan’ Cuffs | ||
| Cable Attachments & Accessories | FitBar Strong Triceps Extension Grip | ||
| Cable Attachments & Accessories | GymPin Ergo Handles | 10% off w/ Code: GRAYMATTERLIFTING | |
| Cable Attachments & Accessories | Iron Neck | ||
| Cable Attachments & Accessories | IPR Iso Handle PRO | Save 20% on IPR Fitness Attachments w/ Code: GML | |
| Cable Attachments & Accessories | Squat Harness | ||
| Cable Attachments & Accessories | Pure Torque Trainer | ||
Garage Stuff
Lets start with some of the biggest changes to the garage since the last tour I did…
Summer of 2024 I pulled everything out of the garage, borrowed my neighbors spray gun, and gave the entire rafters and upper ceiling a coat of fresh paint to cover up the bare wood, and then hit the rest of the walls with a shiny white coat to finish it off.
The very next day my other neighbor helped me install full rolled rubber flooring throughout the garage.
I snagged this through my guy Ashton from Freedom Fitness Equipment. We chatted for awhile about my needs, that I needed to be able to park a car on the open space, as well as have it work for general purpose lifting, and he got me the right stuff. We ended up painting the garage curb black to match the floor as well.
We then insulated our garage door, and had a company come in and insulate the ceiling and walls for us. Then we finished this project with a new mini-split for handling AC and Heat needs throughout the year.
We’ve got our overhead lighting ran on the joists and connected to a switch over by the door, and we’ve got a wall mounted garage door opener which really opens up the space in the center of the garage… And for the bright but not so hot Spring days, we’ve actually got some patio shades installed on the outside of the garage to keep the sun from burning our eyes while letting the nice fresh air in.
While the majority of what I just laid out is not gym equipment, it all adds up to making our space more usable all year long for lifting and recording purposes.
Storage and Accessories
This is a basic Mass Storage piece from your local hardware store and we use it to store the vast majority of our odds and ends, attachments, pads, belts, and a lot of the items we are currently working through.
One key thing I did, was pull this off the garage door about a foot to let me access both sides. Not only does this make access easier, but it means I can leverage both sides for storage purposes, whether we are talking about hanging things or simply stacking up items like sandbags on one side and regular access machines on this side.
We’ve got our first set of Wall Control boards right here as well, for collars, chains, bands, and different stuff.
We also store all of our plates right here on the weight tree. This weight tree actually came out of the very first commercial gym I ever lifted in. I bought it off the son of the owner randomly and then realized what I had later that day. Pretty cool.
Back in 2016, I was looking around Craigslist and found an interesting ad for gym equipment down by my wife’s parents’ place. She happened to be down there with her car, so I asked if she would be willing to pick something up for me…
She said “If you want it, I’ll get it”
While other guys are figuring out how to hide their latest gym purchase, my wife picked up over 1000lbs Made right here in Northern California Vintage iron, and drove it back from Southern California to Northern California for me. I spent the next several months cleaning and painting them and they have been our daily drivers ever since.
I will be buried with these plates.
Power Rack and Bars
Next up is the center piece which includes our barbells and power rack. Up until the middle of 2025, I was rocking a Rogue R-3 for my entire home gym journey. Iron Bull Strength launched their Frankenstein Rack and it was the first power rack that made me want to jump into something new.
Since then we’ve added a lot of accessories, most of which are focused on either supporting some big lifts, or being add-ons for the VOLTRAs. I added a crossmeber to the backside to give me a bench dock, which was sent to me from my guy Joey… and we leverage it for some additional storage as well. Behind the logo plate I’ve got some more storage for carabiners, because I almost have enough carabiners in this gym.
The barbell wall is set up using a stringer and 3d printed wall mounted barbell hanger from Aperture Engineering.
I was looking for something like this for awhile, no one made it, so I had Greg make it for me. These hangers will fit your traditional barbells as well as specialty bars all the way up to axles.
I’ve also got a vertical barbell holder for the more awkward bars for storage.
Cable Machines & Cable Attachments
We recently sold our Inspire FT2 and snagged a ForceUSA Tandem Tower. It takes up less room, and provides similar functionality for us. You might be asking, why the Tandem Tower when we have two VOLTRAs?
Well we need more cable machines to use with all these cable attachments.
I am a full blown cable attachment addict at this point, with 6 full Wall Control boards donning what I would argue to be the greatest cable attachment collection on the planet.
For my programming, my wife’s, my daughters, and most of the people who come into my gym, cable movements make up a LARGE majority of our accessory movements from biceps and triceps all the way to back and leg day.
There are times where I might be doing 3 or 4 exercises in a circuit, or we have multiple athletes
all working out at the same time.
Being able to have 4 different stations to not have to constantly change out attachments and weights between sets is simply a quality-of-life feature that works out well for our space.
Ninja Warrior
If we jump to the other side of the garage, we’ve got a few quick items… We have a full open space on this side, where we do our warm ups, set up benches, machines, whatever it might be.
We currently have our dumbbell storage rack along with some overflow of equipment we are testing.
We’ve got our bikes, which are a pretty common use item for us as my daughter’s school is in bike riding distance, so is our neighborhood park, and several of her best friend’s houses.
Just to the side of the bikes is the beginning of my daughters Ninja Warrior set up. We toss down some gymnastics pads, which we snagged off marketplace a few years back, and then take a peak at the ceiling where we have all of her grips and obstacles.
We ran two 2x4s across the top of the joists and screwed them in. Put eye bolts into the boards, and strapped carabiners with daisy chains to them so they can be adjusted to different heights.
Then we connected everything from rings to bananas to an oreo cookie, a pegboard and even this crazy rotating pull-up bar from Fit Bar Strong. Some of my cable attachments have made their way here as well, like the Kodo Grip.
This set up is strong enough for me to hang from, and plenty strong enough for her activities for the foreseeable future as well.
YouTube Production
And as they say, this is where the magic happens. I have a full desk, computer, and what not that I do the majority of my work from in the office, but this space here is used for two purposes. The computer plays our music, and runs our programs from Excel for all of our athletes.
The toolbox and the storage cabinet here hold all of my camera stuff, lights, and various accessories as well as equipment assembly tools, maintenance stuff like my barbell brushes, and more.
I was originally storing this in my office, and having to drag it out every time I needed to grab a quick clip. Not great. Now I get to simply open a drawer and I’m rocking for some B-Roll and footage.
If you want more details on this life, check out my Home Gym Content Creator Article.
Cardio Corner
For the last piece we need to take a ride outside for our cardio corner. We had a rower out here for a bit, now we’ve got this elliptical and ski machine we are testing. I come out here often, cook some chicken and steak while doing some cardio, or watch a show on my phone, get some fresh air and get the cardio in.
By having this space here, it means we can continue to tinker with the garage without overcrowding it, but we also maintain cardio options year-round, instead of selling them because we don’t have room.
What Is Next?
Because a home gym is never done, I figured we would finish this up with current projects I am working on.
Some of the various equipment like benches and accessories and bars and stuff can come and go as projects begin and end. I’ve got a dozen belt squat belts right now and a similar number of collars, by the end of the year that should be down to 1 or 2 of each.
I’ll likely add more wall control boards for cable attachments, because, I have a problem. I’ll have a new cable attachment video coming soon by the way.
The Tandem Tower will likely be here for the majority of this year, then who knows. Might try something like a Quantum Free Trainer, or I’ve been tinkering with creating my own “all in one” rack with a half rack, VOLTRAs, smith, and more.
I am currently working on a project to overhaul the production corner for a more sustainable set-up, easier video production, and more equipment assembly tools.
And honestly, I have no idea what else. If you had asked me in 2013 when I started my gym, if it would look like this today… there is a zero percent chance I’d say yes… so what it will look
like next year, let alone by the time 2030 rolls around… who knows?
But I’m sure excited to see.
You can check out my entire home gym journey in the following articles.
[{"id":12225,"link":"https:\/\/graymatterlifting.com\/the-gray-matter-lab-v6\/","name":"the-gray-matter-lab-v6","thumbnail":{"url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/graymatterlifting.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/GrayMatterLabV6_Featured.jpg?fit=1280%2C720&ssl=1","alt":""},"title":"The Gray Matter Lab - V6","postMeta":[],"author":{"name":"Joe Gray","link":"https:\/\/graymatterlifting.com\/author\/gray-matter-lifting\/"},"date":"Jan 14, 2026","dateGMT":"2026-01-15 00:29:19","modifiedDate":"2026-01-25 18:59:49","modifiedDateGMT":"2026-01-26 02:59:49","commentCount":"0","commentStatus":"closed","categories":{"coma":"<a href=\"https:\/\/graymatterlifting.com\/the-gray-matter-lab\/\" rel=\"category tag\">The Gray Matter Lab<\/a>","space":"<a href=\"https:\/\/graymatterlifting.com\/the-gray-matter-lab\/\" rel=\"category tag\">The Gray Matter Lab<\/a>"},"taxonomies":{"post_tag":""},"readTime":{"min":10,"sec":49},"status":"publish","excerpt":"Today we are going to do the first Home Gym Tour in over 2 years of what I call\u2026 The Gray Matter Lab - V6!"},{"id":3355,"link":"https:\/\/graymatterlifting.com\/the-gray-matter-lab-v5\/","name":"the-gray-matter-lab-v5","thumbnail":{"url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/graymatterlifting.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/wordpress-cover.jpg?fit=1080%2C1080&ssl=1","alt":""},"title":"The Gray Matter Lab - V5","postMeta":[],"author":{"name":"Joe Gray","link":"https:\/\/graymatterlifting.com\/author\/gray-matter-lifting\/"},"date":"Jan 6, 2023","dateGMT":"2023-01-06 09:31:06","modifiedDate":"2026-02-27 16:49:36","modifiedDateGMT":"2026-02-28 00:49:36","commentCount":"1","commentStatus":"open","categories":{"coma":"<a href=\"https:\/\/graymatterlifting.com\/the-gray-matter-lab\/\" rel=\"category tag\">The Gray Matter Lab<\/a>","space":"<a href=\"https:\/\/graymatterlifting.com\/the-gray-matter-lab\/\" rel=\"category tag\">The Gray Matter Lab<\/a>"},"taxonomies":{"post_tag":"<a href='https:\/\/graymatterlifting.com\/tag\/gray-matter-lab\/' rel='post_tag'>Gray Matter Lab<\/a><a href='https:\/\/graymatterlifting.com\/tag\/powerlifting\/' rel='post_tag'>Powerlifting<\/a>"},"readTime":{"min":4,"sec":29},"status":"publish","excerpt":"The Gray Matter Lab - V5... This continues to be a labor of love, passion, and crazy. I didn't think I'd be here... but here we are!"},{"id":1714,"link":"https:\/\/graymatterlifting.com\/the-gray-matter-lab-version-4\/","name":"the-gray-matter-lab-version-4","thumbnail":{"url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/graymatterlifting.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/1-Overview-Left-scaled.jpg?fit=2560%2C1707&ssl=1","alt":""},"title":"The Gray Matter Lab - V4","postMeta":[],"author":{"name":"Joe Gray","link":"https:\/\/graymatterlifting.com\/author\/gray-matter-lifting\/"},"date":"Dec 30, 2017","dateGMT":"2017-12-30 18:45:21","modifiedDate":"2025-10-01 09:42:54","modifiedDateGMT":"2025-10-01 16:42:54","commentCount":"1","commentStatus":"open","categories":{"coma":"<a href=\"https:\/\/graymatterlifting.com\/the-gray-matter-lab\/\" rel=\"category tag\">The Gray Matter Lab<\/a>","space":"<a href=\"https:\/\/graymatterlifting.com\/the-gray-matter-lab\/\" rel=\"category tag\">The Gray Matter Lab<\/a>"},"taxonomies":{"post_tag":"<a href='https:\/\/graymatterlifting.com\/tag\/cable-attachments\/' rel='post_tag'>Cable Attachments<\/a><a href='https:\/\/graymatterlifting.com\/tag\/diy\/' rel='post_tag'>DIY<\/a><a href='https:\/\/graymatterlifting.com\/tag\/edge-fitness-systems\/' rel='post_tag'>Edge Fitness Systems<\/a><a href='https:\/\/graymatterlifting.com\/tag\/levergym\/' rel='post_tag'>Levergym<\/a><a href='https:\/\/graymatterlifting.com\/tag\/mag\/' rel='post_tag'>MAG<\/a><a href='https:\/\/graymatterlifting.com\/tag\/mag-grips\/' rel='post_tag'>MAG Grips<\/a><a href='https:\/\/graymatterlifting.com\/tag\/maximum-advantage-grip\/' rel='post_tag'>Maximum Advantage Grip<\/a><a href='https:\/\/graymatterlifting.com\/tag\/powertec\/' rel='post_tag'>Powertec<\/a><a href='https:\/\/graymatterlifting.com\/tag\/storage\/' rel='post_tag'>Storage<\/a><a href='https:\/\/graymatterlifting.com\/tag\/wall-control\/' rel='post_tag'>Wall Control<\/a>"},"readTime":{"min":3,"sec":21},"status":"publish","excerpt":"The Gray Matter Lab - V4 ... When I started down a path of perfection. Wall Control, MAG Grips, and much more make their appearance."},{"id":951,"link":"https:\/\/graymatterlifting.com\/the-gray-matter-lab-v3\/","name":"the-gray-matter-lab-v3","thumbnail":{"url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/graymatterlifting.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/V3-Lab.jpg?fit=748%2C418&ssl=1","alt":""},"title":"The Gray Matter Lab - V3","postMeta":[],"author":{"name":"Joe Gray","link":"https:\/\/graymatterlifting.com\/author\/gray-matter-lifting\/"},"date":"Dec 11, 2017","dateGMT":"2017-12-11 18:29:01","modifiedDate":"2025-10-01 09:43:04","modifiedDateGMT":"2025-10-01 16:43:04","commentCount":"2","commentStatus":"open","categories":{"coma":"<a href=\"https:\/\/graymatterlifting.com\/the-gray-matter-lab\/\" rel=\"category tag\">The Gray Matter Lab<\/a>","space":"<a href=\"https:\/\/graymatterlifting.com\/the-gray-matter-lab\/\" rel=\"category tag\">The Gray Matter Lab<\/a>"},"taxonomies":{"post_tag":"<a href='https:\/\/graymatterlifting.com\/tag\/american-made\/' rel='post_tag'>American Made<\/a><a href='https:\/\/graymatterlifting.com\/tag\/bench\/' rel='post_tag'>Bench<\/a><a href='https:\/\/graymatterlifting.com\/tag\/custom\/' rel='post_tag'>Custom<\/a><a href='https:\/\/graymatterlifting.com\/tag\/edge-fitness-systems\/' rel='post_tag'>Edge Fitness Systems<\/a><a href='https:\/\/graymatterlifting.com\/tag\/gray-matter-lab\/' rel='post_tag'>Gray Matter Lab<\/a><a href='https:\/\/graymatterlifting.com\/tag\/ironmaster\/' rel='post_tag'>Ironmaster<\/a><a href='https:\/\/graymatterlifting.com\/tag\/levergym\/' rel='post_tag'>Levergym<\/a><a href='https:\/\/graymatterlifting.com\/tag\/powertec\/' rel='post_tag'>Powertec<\/a><a href='https:\/\/graymatterlifting.com\/tag\/storage\/' rel='post_tag'>Storage<\/a><a href='https:\/\/graymatterlifting.com\/tag\/weights\/' rel='post_tag'>Weights<\/a>"},"readTime":{"min":8,"sec":13},"status":"publish","excerpt":"The Gray Matter Lab - V3 is another step in my journey to owning the most badass garage gym I could. Some big moves here!"},{"id":708,"link":"https:\/\/graymatterlifting.com\/the-gray-matter-lab-v2\/","name":"the-gray-matter-lab-v2","thumbnail":{"url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/graymatterlifting.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/V2-Lab.jpg?fit=748%2C421&ssl=1","alt":""},"title":"The Gray Matter Lab - V2","postMeta":[],"author":{"name":"Joe Gray","link":"https:\/\/graymatterlifting.com\/author\/gray-matter-lifting\/"},"date":"Mar 11, 2017","dateGMT":"2017-03-11 23:36:02","modifiedDate":"2025-10-01 09:45:06","modifiedDateGMT":"2025-10-01 16:45:06","commentCount":"2","commentStatus":"open","categories":{"coma":"<a href=\"https:\/\/graymatterlifting.com\/the-gray-matter-lab\/\" rel=\"category tag\">The Gray Matter Lab<\/a>","space":"<a href=\"https:\/\/graymatterlifting.com\/the-gray-matter-lab\/\" rel=\"category tag\">The Gray Matter Lab<\/a>"},"taxonomies":{"post_tag":"<a href='https:\/\/graymatterlifting.com\/tag\/gray-matter-lab\/' rel='post_tag'>Gray Matter Lab<\/a>"},"readTime":{"min":5,"sec":21},"status":"publish","excerpt":"The Gray Matter Lab - V2 ... When I started taking over more of the garage, buying specialty bars, and my garage gym game upgraded!"},{"id":707,"link":"https:\/\/graymatterlifting.com\/the-gray-matter-lab-v1\/","name":"the-gray-matter-lab-v1","thumbnail":{"url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/graymatterlifting.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/V1-Lab.png?fit=816%2C566&ssl=1","alt":""},"title":"The Gray Matter Lab - V1","postMeta":[],"author":{"name":"Joe Gray","link":"https:\/\/graymatterlifting.com\/author\/gray-matter-lifting\/"},"date":"Feb 20, 2017","dateGMT":"2017-02-20 22:30:12","modifiedDate":"2025-10-01 09:45:12","modifiedDateGMT":"2025-10-01 16:45:12","commentCount":"4","commentStatus":"open","categories":{"coma":"<a href=\"https:\/\/graymatterlifting.com\/the-gray-matter-lab\/\" rel=\"category tag\">The Gray Matter Lab<\/a>","space":"<a href=\"https:\/\/graymatterlifting.com\/the-gray-matter-lab\/\" rel=\"category tag\">The Gray Matter Lab<\/a>"},"taxonomies":{"post_tag":"<a href='https:\/\/graymatterlifting.com\/tag\/gray-matter-lab\/' rel='post_tag'>Gray Matter Lab<\/a><a href='https:\/\/graymatterlifting.com\/tag\/rogue\/' rel='post_tag'>Rogue<\/a>"},"readTime":{"min":4,"sec":26},"status":"publish","excerpt":"The day I quit the commercial gym and started lifting exclusively at home. I had built The Gray Matter Lab - V1 with some Craigslist purchases and an order from Rogue Fitness."},{"id":399,"link":"https:\/\/graymatterlifting.com\/the-gray-matter-lab-pilot-testing\/","name":"the-gray-matter-lab-pilot-testing","thumbnail":{"url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/graymatterlifting.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/pilot-test-scaled.jpg?fit=2560%2C1707&ssl=1","alt":""},"title":"The Gray Matter Lab - Pilot Testing","postMeta":[],"author":{"name":"Joe Gray","link":"https:\/\/graymatterlifting.com\/author\/gray-matter-lifting\/"},"date":"Dec 31, 2016","dateGMT":"2016-12-31 01:49:53","modifiedDate":"2025-10-01 09:45:49","modifiedDateGMT":"2025-10-01 16:45:49","commentCount":"5","commentStatus":"open","categories":{"coma":"<a href=\"https:\/\/graymatterlifting.com\/the-gray-matter-lab\/\" rel=\"category tag\">The Gray Matter Lab<\/a>","space":"<a href=\"https:\/\/graymatterlifting.com\/the-gray-matter-lab\/\" rel=\"category tag\">The Gray Matter Lab<\/a>"},"taxonomies":{"post_tag":"<a href='https:\/\/graymatterlifting.com\/tag\/gray-matter-lab\/' rel='post_tag'>Gray Matter Lab<\/a>"},"readTime":{"min":3,"sec":51},"status":"publish","excerpt":"The Gray Matter Lab - Pilot Testing was me dipping my toe into the garage gym space. Small steps to make sure I was doing the right thing."},{"id":337,"link":"https:\/\/graymatterlifting.com\/the-gray-matter-lab-planning\/","name":"the-gray-matter-lab-planning","thumbnail":{"url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/graymatterlifting.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/Planning-The-GML.png?fit=2048%2C2048&ssl=1","alt":""},"title":"The Gray Matter Lab - Planning","postMeta":[],"author":{"name":"Joe Gray","link":"https:\/\/graymatterlifting.com\/author\/gray-matter-lifting\/"},"date":"Dec 18, 2016","dateGMT":"2016-12-18 20:06:37","modifiedDate":"2025-10-01 09:45:59","modifiedDateGMT":"2025-10-01 16:45:59","commentCount":"0","commentStatus":"open","categories":{"coma":"<a href=\"https:\/\/graymatterlifting.com\/the-gray-matter-lab\/\" rel=\"category tag\">The Gray Matter Lab<\/a>","space":"<a href=\"https:\/\/graymatterlifting.com\/the-gray-matter-lab\/\" rel=\"category tag\">The Gray Matter Lab<\/a>"},"taxonomies":{"post_tag":"<a href='https:\/\/graymatterlifting.com\/tag\/gray-matter-lab\/' rel='post_tag'>Gray Matter Lab<\/a>"},"readTime":{"min":5,"sec":43},"status":"publish","excerpt":"The Gray Matter Lab - Planning ... the first step in my move from commercial gym to garage gym athlete. Space, goals, and budget."}]
Joe Gray
My name is Joe Gray - aka Gray Matter Lifting - and I've been lifting at home since 2013. In that time I've built a badass gym, deadlifted over 600lbs, helped grow r/Homegym to over 1 Million subscribers, created the Garage Gym Competition and written a ton of posts here on this site. I love the Garage Gym Community... If you do too, I hope you stick around.
