That thread is too old to revive, and I’ve just moved into a spot with a pretty large unfinished basement so my home gym is making a comeback. I’ve got a squat rack, adjustable bench, 800 lbs of weight, a few different bars and adjustable Olympic dumbbells. Interested to see the evolution of everyone else’s home gym!
Also, I’m planning on getting some rubber mats for the floor, but under the rubber mats I’d like to use some plywood, do you guys think 1/4" is thick enough?
Lastly, in reviewing the old thread, I ran across a lot of posts from malonetd, anyone know what happened to that guy? I always liked him.
Are you using the plywood to reduce damage to your garage floor? I ask 'cause I’m honestly not sure it’s necessary. Also, go to a tractor supply store and buy horse stall mats. They’re literally the exact same thing as the fitness mats but they’re about 10 bucks cheaper per mat.
[quote]WhiteFlash wrote:
Are you using the plywood to reduce damage to your garage floor? I ask 'cause I’m honestly not sure it’s necessary. Also, go to a tractor supply store and buy horse stall mats. They’re literally the exact same thing as the fitness mats but they’re about 10 bucks cheaper per mat.[/quote]
Yeah, the plan was 1/4" plywood under the horse stall mats. I’m leasing my current place and it’ll be in the basement so I’d like to make sure there is no damage to the floor that I’ll have to pay for later.
[quote]T3hPwnisher wrote:
I can’t help with the plywood question, but I thought I’d give this thread some fodder by posting my own pictures
[/quote]
Very cool setup, man. How long did it take you to acquire all that cool stuff? I’m still keeping my eye on craigslist for good finds, looking to expand on what I already have over the course of the next couple years.
[quote]jdrannin1 wrote:
I have a hom gym as well and I couldn’t imagine training any other way. I just bought an olympic safety squat bar and thinking about buying a fat bar.
T3hpwnisher, how do you like the reverse hyperextension? I’ve been really thinking about getting one but they;re so expensive.[/quote]
I love the reverse hyper. It’s a worthwhile investment. If you’re on the fence about it, spend $200 on ebay getting a Corevolution. It’s essentially a home fitness model of a reverse hyper Louie Simmons came out with trying to get into the market (you can see it in the corner next to all of my bars in one shot). It will give you a great introduction into what makes the machine so awesome, but it’s very limited in how much weight it can handle. Once I outgrew it, I got the Rogue model.
The reverse hyper is the only way I know to get a lower back pump without actually loading your spine, haha. Amazing movement.
[quote]T3hPwnisher wrote:
I can’t help with the plywood question, but I thought I’d give this thread some fodder by posting my own pictures
[/quote]
Very cool setup, man. How long did it take you to acquire all that cool stuff? I’m still keeping my eye on craigslist for good finds, looking to expand on what I already have over the course of the next couple years. [/quote]
Been building the thing for 6 years, just a piece at a time. It all started off with an adjustable olympic bench (that I have since given away) and a 300lb set. My very first workout was an ME lower with good mornings out of the bench uprights turned around backwards (since I didn’t have enough weight to do an ME squat), squats, RDLs and weighted sit ups, haha.
Play it Again Sports is a great location to get stuff too if you have one around. Otherwise, yeah, always keep your eyes peeled. I’m not afraid to buy cheap/from shady places as well. I figure, since I’m the only one using it and don’t weigh 300lbs, I probably won’t wear it out as fast. I’ve only been burned once so far on a swiss bar, but thankfully I got my money back and was able to buy another one.
I’ve pieced things together. Got the rack off Craigslist. Bench from school I work at. It is lacking some padding but does the job. Still only have barbells. Have a prowler, tire sled, bands. Long way to go.
[quote]T3hPwnisher wrote:
I can’t help with the plywood question, but I thought I’d give this thread some fodder by posting my own pictures
[/quote]
This looks amazing…I jealous.
Thanks man. I’ve amazingly only ever had 1 other person train with me (not counting the Mrs) for 1 workout. I imagine it’s because I used to be in North Dakota, and the gym would get down to -30, haha.
[quote]jdrannin1 wrote:
I have a hom gym as well and I couldn’t imagine training any other way. I just bought an olympic safety squat bar and thinking about buying a fat bar.
T3hpwnisher, how do you like the reverse hyperextension? I’ve been really thinking about getting one but they;re so expensive.[/quote]
I love the reverse hyper. It’s a worthwhile investment. If you’re on the fence about it, spend $200 on ebay getting a Corevolution. It’s essentially a home fitness model of a reverse hyper Louie Simmons came out with trying to get into the market (you can see it in the corner next to all of my bars in one shot). It will give you a great introduction into what makes the machine so awesome, but it’s very limited in how much weight it can handle. Once I outgrew it, I got the Rogue model.
The reverse hyper is the only way I know to get a lower back pump without actually loading your spine, haha. Amazing movement.[/quote]
Thanks man. I’ve been toying with whether to get that or a regular hyperextension bench…
I love my home gym. Many thanks to those here at T-Nation for sharing what works for you in your own setups.
I have an 8’ x 8’ lifting platform, 2 1/4 inch thick. It is adjusted to my garage floor slope.
I use the Rogue R-3 rack and Rogue mens bar. Plates are assorted craigslist finds along with the used incline bench. I also built plate storage racks that sit on the floor (not pictured).
[photo]39300[/photo]
In addition, the entire family has been able to get in on the action:
