Hi guys
I’m making myself a garage gym.
So far I have ordered a barbell (bastard bar), a pair of Olympic Dumbbells with plates, some bumper plates, and an Ez bar.
I am next looking at ordering a power rack and an adjustable bench.
Does anyone have any recommendations for racks and benches for at home?
And is there anything else I will need to get for the home gym that I haven’t already covered?
I am going to get some solid rubber matting down.
I do powerlifting but do some hypertrophy work to so like to train with some cable equipment etc, any suggestions for that at home? I have seen power racks with top and bottom pulleys too, anyone know if they are good?
Thanks
I think pull up bar (if not included in the power rack) will be good addition, also bands will be great for band pull aparts between sets
What is the total weight of the plates did you order?
Garage gyms are awesome. I just finished putting mine back together after moving, but here are some old photos from it’s glory days.
Since then, I’ve added a prowler II and an Ironmind Apollon’s axle, along with some more bumpers and some odds and ends.
You’re in the UK right? Only company I know over there is strengthshop, but from what I’ve heard they make good gear.
Once you get a rack and bench, you’ll find out that there is always “1 last thing” you want. Home gyms become sprawling monstrosities, haha. For powerlifting future considerations, I’d think about a reverse hyper and safety squat bar next, followed by a prowler.
For cable work, along with racks that come with pulleys, Spud Inc sells the cables individually that you can just hook up anywhere. You might be able to come up with something similar at home.
Some great comments . I like the spud cable product.
I add specialty bars for exercise diversity. Power rack, bars, plates, bands, a bench, a box for box squats, some music, chalk and have fun
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Wow it looks some much nicer if you don’t have buy shit from thrift stores and garage sales…lmao! Mine has been described as a cross between MadMax and Hellraiser!
Very nice set up!
they do make really good gear.
Thankfully the rack does have a multi grip pull up bar, I have a couple of mini bands already so am covered in those too!
I’ll only have about 180-200kg worth of plates including the bar so will need some more plates for things like deads.
Thanks for your comments 
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Jesus that’s a cool jutted out looking home gym! Nice work.
I think there is one more called fitness superstore or something like that but I think it’s a real ‘home’ gym equipment cheap brand really. I’m planning on using strength shop for pretty much everything
Reverse hyper is a great shout actually man!
Do you get all your stuff new or second hand?
Iv never heard of the spud inc pulley stuff in gonna check them out.
Get my MRI results tomorrow in my knee by the way!
Edit: do you ever use the Swiss/football bar for bench? If so how does it feel on your shoulders? I would love to try one!
These are the most important items
Good luck with the MRI.
In all honesty I’m pretty disappointed with the swiss bar. These days, it just sits on top of my power rack so I can do NG chins. Since the collars don’t rotate like they would on a barbell, unracking it is a real pain and ends up not being terribly gentle on the shoulders. It works better for floor press and overhead press, but there were other things I woudla spent the money on.
For a great NG upper body builder, dips are king.
Use the swis bar to do incline presses, here is the trick though: pick the bar up from the floor and clean it to your chest, then sit down on the bench and incline press as usual, when your done stand up and set it down on the floor. Best damn assistance exercise I accidentally invented lol.
Cleaning a Swiss bar sounds like a concussion waiting to happen haha With the ridiculous amount those things cost, I’d just go with the log.
I would go down to your local hardware store and buy a couple of 1500lbs/14’ motor bike tie downs. I use them for suspension work and for protection for the bar ahead of the pins (which will most likely smash the bar if I need to escape). You should be able to get these for $20…
I also like my trap bar for a home gym. Mainly for shrugging (hate barbells for this action and DB are simply not an option unless you habe more money than sense). Farmer handles also are cool for this and both are a good variant for the deadlift.
I love your set up man. This is what I’m trying to do in my basement but I’m not there yet. Nice job.
Well, it is a half assed clean lol. It will get you strong give it a try.
@ChickenLittle I still got some DIY and bargain basement stuff going on, but not nearly as creative as some. I came into a HUGE score of Ironmind and Rogue stuff on a craigslist ad that really helped make things pretty.
@jake7876 It’s a labor of love. Been building it piece by piece since 2008. Appreciate it.
@Aero51 Appreciate the idea. I rarely ever incline press, since it doesn’t seem to do much for me, but I’ll look into it in the future.
I would also add that plate and bar storage makes a difference.
You can DIY something together out of wood cheaply (instructions are a google away). It is a world ahead of it leaving everything laying around.
That’s a great point actually I hadn’t even thought of that, thanks for the input
I just ordered an Apollon’s axle, the fat grip loadable dumbbells, the hip belt squat, and a dip belt. If I may ask, how long has your stuff from Ironmind held up? That company’s products cost and arm and a leg so I hope it was money well spent.
He he. Yeah that is how mine is becoming. Space is a premium but I’m still always looking. Even though I definitely don’t need anything, I just ordered a Rogue Echo Fan Bike. I guess it’ll have to go in the living room.
I can’t say how long it has held up because it hasn’t broken yet, haha. I anticipate gifting it to my grandchildren
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