I’m thinking about cancelling my gym membership and setting up a home gym and was looking for ideas. So far on the kit list I was thinking of:

Bench – something like the power tech Olympic one
Bar and weights
Dumbbells
Ez bar
Chin up bar
Mat

Is there anything else I should consider? That lot comes to about £7-£800 if bough new (I’m sure I could find it 2nd hand).

Pros and cons of the home gym?

(Let’s take a leap of faith and assume I’m motivated and will use it ;))

If you bought one of those squat racks, they incorporate a lot of what you’re after in one.

Just to pull the first link out of Google, maybe cheaper/better out there:

http://www.powerhouse-fitness.co.uk/deluxe-strength-package.php

Conversely, I am about to go the other way, Found with stuff at home, I was a bit lackadaisical about it, but if I am in the gym, then I am more likely to actually do it.

I’ve got parallettes, a weights vest, a decent chin up bar and this:

Really hankering for some parallel bars, but am a bit short on space for them.

Rings would also be nice, if a bit advanced ATM

Slight hijack. What’s that book like, Rob. Might be worth picking up a copy.

My old gym setup. Didn’t feel I missed much.

@Jamie

I think it’s very good; there are tons of online resources (of course), but it’s a pretty comprehensive guide, the descriptions & pics are very useful and it makes a very good starting point. I’m out to up my strength to weight and it’s doing the trick nicely – some of the exercises are **** hard work, but very rewarding.

I’ll get one too. I would get rings now, rob. They are awesome for so many things, not just iron cross’. Dips/progressions, press and pull ups. There is loads to do. Check out goldmedalbodies site for some resources.
As for kit, go to strength shop if you can afford it. If nothing else, spend some money on a good bar. Calisthenics are ace, but I need squats, deads and cleans.
I also don’t bother with dumbells (just my personal taste). I have a few kettlebells, versatile and effective.

I think it’s very good; there are tons of online resources (of course),

Yup. But nice to have everything in one place. Plus could take it to the gym.

Time to use up some Amazon vouchers. Cheers.

yeah, some sort of squat rack or cage would be ideal. mebbes one with a dips station built in?

This is my set up

[url=https://flic.kr/p/ook5m5]Toaster Racks for Olympic Discs[/url] by brf, on Flickr

Since added some Kettlebells and will build a pair of Jerk boxes next….

footflaps

very jelious….

Can 2nd Strength Shop as being one of the cheapest places online for weights (just bought a Taishan OL bar from them), although http://www.exertrain.com have a sale on now are are selling Kettlebells cheaper than anyone else. I got my Squat stands from Jordan Fitness.

just bought a Taishan OL bar from them

😯
No need to go quite that far OP!

Some great setups here, thanks for sharing.

I was thinking of going for the power tec bench n weights from fitness superstore but am now thinking of getting the cf475 setup from powerhouse (thx Jamie) along with the above book (thx rob – I’ve got an Amazon voucher to use).

the main reason for wanting to do this is the time it could save and having the kit being so accessible. I’m motivated so that’s not an issue as I go regularly. Also, over the past few years I’ve spent over £1k going to the gym so in a few years would see the outlay returned so long as the kit lasts.

Anymore suggestions on kit? I’d like to keep it <<£1k so at present, it’s the cf475 cage bench and weights along with an ez bar and a set of Dumbbells (to add to the ones I have so there’s less faffing changing the plates).
Anymore good books?

Ta

Cages take up a lot of space and you don’t really need them unless benching on your own at your max. With Squats you can just dump the bar if you’re about to fail and let it hit the floor. Squat stands are all you need and if you get two stand alone ones they can be put away if you need the space.

My set up was about £600 IIRC. £170 for squat stands, £350 for OL bumper plate set and £70 for a basic OL bar.

Have a look here: https://www.strengthshop.co.uk/packages.html

If you have the height/location, then some rings are always worth it.

My tiny shed gym is great 7’6″ × 5’6″ took lots of research to find a rack and bench to fit and able to work

I ‘never said die’ and picked up one of these for free! You can add weights to the back and work on all muscle groups. My own weight is enough of a challenge 8) (Am aiming for the mid-blue onesie by early March)

[video]http://youtu.be/ngATuspPgRE[/video]

I have always used the garage as a gym space…kids and a wife that works shifts mean that I struggle to maintain any routine in a gym I have to travel to.

Last year we converted the garage at the bottom of our garden properly. We knocked the wall out and added a thre door slider, this is great when it gets hot in there.

The rack is the one Jamie linked to (edit, no it’s not…mine is the ‘premium strength package…about £800 for rack, bench and some weights), Powerhouse are very good…although footflaps has much better weights 😉

For cardio, we have a Apple TV & DVD player – can stream Insanity, P90x, Combat etc. Also got a Virgin HD box in there for watching football. We use an iPad to stream Sufferfest if we’re using the turbo. Also some bluetooth speakers for Spotify…and the fridge is usually full of water.

Put a heavy bag on a scaffold pole across the width of the garage – this can be dragged out to the middle, and if I move the bench I can get all the way round it. My father in law made me the weight holder on the wall, it looks loads tidier since getting them off the floor.

Following a thread on here, I added rings…

My wife, my lad and me all regularly use it, so for us it was worth doing. FOr years though, a bench and some weights did the trick.

.although footflaps has much better weights

They’re Apollo bumper plates, which are OK, but are starting to split from being dropped from overhead etc, so not the best quality. At some point I’ll replace them with some Werksan plates, but they’re about £2k a set!

tis true, cages can take up a lot of space, not sure how much of it you have. ive got one of these racks from powerhouse fitness, which has the safety spotters for working alone. has a dip station and the width can be adjusted (either narrow for dips, or wide for barbell). i have this adjustable bench with leg extensions that i use with that stand, so can do flat or incline bench press. also use the rack for front squats and for starting position on romanian deadlifts.

decent selection of bars, dumbells and large and small plates ive accumulated gives me the option of making small increases in weight when needed.

other equipment ive found useful is this powerbar for pull-ups and chins, along with a ‘dipping belt’ for adding weight to your bodyweight.

i also constructed a little pulley type thing hanging from rafters in ceiling which i use for tricep pulldowns, as overhead tricep work gives me tendonitis.

ive thought about rings from time to time but never totally sussed whether its better to use rings and have to work harder to stabilise yourself with lighter weight, or use higher weights to isolate the muscle. interested in opinions on that.

good luck with your setup. i still prefer going to a ‘proper gym’ with all the machines tho, even after ive bought all that gear 😀

Last year we converted the garage at the bottom of our garden properly. We knocked the wall out and added a thre door slider, this is great when it gets hot in there.

…and plus people can see the gun show from the street 😀

good luck with your setup. i still prefer going to a ‘proper gym’ with all the machines tho, even after ive bought all that gear

If I had the room, I would go for a cage, but haven’t. So it’s interesting to see you still prefer going the regular gym.

I think I am just going to pick up some parallettes, which seem to be amusingly expensive, to go along with the book mentioned above. This, along with my pullup bar, should be ok for quick home stuff, then gym provides the rest.

I’ve just done the opposite. I’m getting rid of my garages bench/bars/weights to go back to the gym. I like the idea of being able to mix things up a bit more. That kind of money would pay your gym membership for a few years. I would have a bit of a think unless of course getting to the gym isn’t very convenient. It’s alot easier to just nip to the garage and train, not having to wait for what you need to use but as your original post shows it can be a massive outlay.

. i still prefer going to a ‘proper gym’ with all the machines tho

Free weights are the only way! You get a full body workout whatever you do and train your core every time you lift any weight…

I see an Olympic Lifting Coach 3x a week, but mainly as I need feedback on technique which is very hard to do on you own unless you video everything and then play back after each lift….

here is mark wahlberg’s. im not jealous or anything…..

This is Rich Froning’s garage gym, all you really need:

This is Rich Froning’s garage gym, all you really need:

erm…

some days nothing beats training in my @roguefitness home gym w/ my best training partner Gilligan #CrossFit

https://twitter.com/richfroning/status/272117401334726656

some days nothing beats training in my @roguefitness home gym w/ my best training partner Gilligan #CrossFit

Same thing though (might be different years / houses), but you don’t need a lot of machines, just free weights, squat rack and some bars / rings.

Same thing though (might be different years / houses), but you don’t need a lot of machines, just free weights, squat rack and some bars / rings.

Yep, but I did think that the first looked a little spartan for someone with a rogue sponsorship!

The biggest thing you need is space.

Which is a pain in the arse if you haven’t got it.

I’m impressed that people motivate themselves to use home gyms. I trained in gyms for years before getting into cycling, bought some home weights in the past but never used them much; to get big I had to use a gym. Once I decided to give up the gym for cycling I did get a basic set up for 2 months gym fees – from Decathlon who are pretty good for weights I think – and do manage to use sometimes in the winter when bored.

Which is a pain in the arse if you haven’t got it.

What you need is a workshop. I can recommend a Brickie (highly rated by STW) if you’re interested?

i think the home gym vs ‘town gym’ may depend on convenience. for me the town gym is a couple of minutes away. and yes, i always thought free weights is best, and still do for some things. squats, bench, deadlifts etc, all best with weights. what i do notice tho is on ‘legs day’, i can hardly walk after the session in town gym, yet i dont get as good a workout at home. could be the bench attachments arent as good as the constant tension on leg machines.
and a fly machine is constant tension whereas laying on a bench with dumbells doesnt hit me as hard, as once youre nearly at the top theres no tension any more.
all a bit subjective i spose depending on exercises and convenience, but at a proper gym i can mix free weights and machines to give me a far better ‘burn’ than just the weights only at home gym.

What you need is a workshop. I can recommend a Brickie (highly rated by STW) if you’re interested?

That brickie better be you.

As it’s Footflaps, or nothing, if I am ever to have something erected.

It’s not just about having “a” gym close by. It’s about having “the” gym close by. I have zero interest in meathead gyms, chain gyms, cheapo packed out places etc. I train in fighter gyms but it can be a pain when they are on S&C training.

As it’s Footflaps, or nothing, if I am ever to have something erected.

As long as the erection is huge and bright pink, I’m you’re man!

[url=https://flic.kr/p/dBw9TT]Liz in a size XL paper suit….[/url] by brf, on Flickr

I train in fighter gyms .

Ok, easy…we don’t want no trouble…everyone’s cool….just out for a quiet drink, yeah…..aaeghhhhhh my eye!!!>!!?!?

On a side note, it appears I now have a crossfitttt gym over the way now. Might be worth a nosey, despite it being a cult 8)

On a side note, it appears I now have a crossfitttt gym over the way now. Might be worth a nosey, despite it being a cult

I’ve been to the one in Cambridge and it’s dingy as hell. Crossfit seems to attract vampires….

On a side note, it appears I now have a crossfitttt gym over the way now. Might be worth a nosey, despite it being a cult

I’ve been a good few times. It was actually OK, I really quite enjoyed it although I refused point blank to do any of the stupid stuff (and a little bit of it was really stupid). The impression I get is if you have a good instructor, it’ll be a good “box”. There are some woefully underqualified affiliates out there though, certainly in terms of instructing oly lifts.

I am just going to pick up some parallettes, which seem to be amusingly expensive

Did wonder about getting some welded up, but decided waste pipe would suit fine and be cheap – turns out blanking caps are hard to come by in the UK, for some reason and gave up and just bought some off ebay – ones made of waste pipe.

Clearly someone has realised suckers like me will pay for them instead of putting in the effort to make my own 🙂 A bit more money would have got me some nicer looking metal ones, but I don’t need nice looking, I need strong enough and being light for portability doesn’t hurt.

I also have an abs roller, nice and cheap and pure evil