My current garage gym set up:

[footballpunter]

How much did it cost?

[fishpat86]

You could fit my house let alone my garage in that garage.

serious garage envy here

[heater999]

badass gym buddy im in michigan too and just got my first craigslist deal this weekend

[JohnDavis111]

Wow great gym man. Im inspired. I have been thinking of dedicating one "car" of my garage to equipment.

[Chrome Face]

probably the most insane home gym i've ever seen in my life.

[Hukuh]

Wow so jelly, amazing set up.

[matrix563]

ndmike99's gym!

[MMAer]

Beautiful setup. I had to check and see if you're a neighbor by chance. No, damnit. Nice to see the punching bag in there too. Nice way to take a break & loosen up.

[ProtienandIron]

I'm drooling over that power rack right now.

[forthays]

Sweet freaking gym. Do want!

[ndmike99]

Ok guys, could use some input. I have rearranged and sold some of my excess equipment that was not getting used all that much. I now have a section of my gym that I can do one of three things with:

1. Add a commercial smith machine (maybe Cybex or Life Fitness / Hammer Strength)

2, Have a dedicated spot for a platform or for olympic lifts (currently doing these near the dumbbells)

3. Add a section for cardio (currently my cardio equipment is in my house but one of the guys I lift with has expressed interest in having a cardio section)

Any opinions on these three?

New photos and hopefully video will follow in a few weeks.

[Northernmoris]

What about a nice size platform with one or two key pieces of cardio.

[twodog]

Ok guys, could use some input. I have rearranged and sold some of my excess equipment that was not getting used all that much. I now have a section of my gym that I can do one of three things with:

1. Add a commercial smith machine (maybe Cybex or Life Fitness / Hammer Strength)

2, Have a dedicated spot for a platform or for olympic lifts (currently doing these near the dumbbells)

3. Add a section for cardio (currently my cardio equipment is in my house but one of the guys I lift with has expressed interest in having a cardio section)

Any opinions on these three?

New photos and hopefully video will follow in a few weeks.

Hey Mike,

I personally would do it in this order:
First- oly platform
Second- Cardio area
Third- smith machine

But my reasons are personal and not necessarily logical to others. I love the oly lifts, and having a place for DL's and built my area around a platform. The second idea is the cardio area, I'm sure that the wife could use the extra room in the house anyway ). Lastly is a smith machine, mainly because I've never enjoyed using them and it would eventually become a catchall area for me.

Your gym, your world, keep yourself happy. I'm sure anything you do will be cool enough. Good luck.

[KBKB]

I now have a section of my gym that I can do one of three things with:

1. Add a commercial smith machine (maybe Cybex or Life Fitness / Hammer Strength)

2, Have a dedicated spot for a platform or for olympic lifts (currently doing these near the dumbbells)

3. Add a section for cardio (currently my cardio equipment is in my house but one of the guys I lift with has expressed interest in having a cardio section)

Any opinions on these three?

If it were my gym, I'd pick either #2 or #3. But as the others have said, it's your gym...

[ndmike99]

If it were my gym, I'd pick either #2 or #3. But as the others have said, it's your gym...

Thanks for the input everyone. I think I will probably try to do the combination of 2 and 3.

[gp92089]

Mike go with the olympic platform, what size would you make it 8x8 or 6x8?

[matrix563]

you could make a smith like thing with your power rack with something like sherm's thing or diy etc. i probably would just use a power rack if i had my shed built with a concrete floor instead of the crawl space. thats the main reason i dont' have a power rack setup yet .

[ffrink]

Ok guys, could use some input. I have rearranged and sold some of my excess equipment that was not getting used all that much. I now have a section of my gym that I can do one of three things with:

1. Add a commercial smith machine (maybe Cybex or Life Fitness / Hammer Strength)

2, Have a dedicated spot for a platform or for olympic lifts (currently doing these near the dumbbells)

3. Add a section for cardio (currently my cardio equipment is in my house but one of the guys I lift with has expressed interest in having a cardio section)

Any opinions on these three?

New photos and hopefully video will follow in a few weeks.

I'd go for a cardio area. Get all the equipment in one house!!!

[JeepCreeper]

Is that a normal size garage in Michigan? Mine is about the same width, but no where near as long as yours. I'm very jelly.

[ndmike99]

Mike go with the olympic platform, what size would you make it 8x8 or 6x8?

I am not sure about that. I already have 3/4 inch rubber over concrete and plenty of bumpers plates. Would I still need an actual platform?

[matrix563]

I am not sure about that. I already have 3/4 inch rubber over concrete and plenty of bumpers plates. Would I still need an actual platform?

maybe he just meant a dedicated space for doing deadlifts and the like ?

for some reason i think kbkb would know lol

[ndmike99]

Update to the gym for those that are following along:

I have been in my house for a year now and the gym about 10 months. Through out this time I have spent a lot of time moving equipment, rearranging items, and even flipping several pieces. I have tried to find the pieces that I was most fond of for my gym. If you look at the walk through matrix was kind enough to post you will notice a lot of high end equipment. Well shortly after that video I decided to shake things up a bit. I realized the gym was too crowded and I did not like the feel of it. Here is what the gym looks like now (I still need to finish up a few things and planned to do another video once it was totally complete, but who knows when that will be.

[ndmike99]

As you can see from the photos there is a lot more space and I barely miss any of the equipment. In case you are curious this is what has changed:

No longer in the gym:

Hammer Strength Super Incline Chest
Hammer Strength Decline Chest
Hammer Strength Incline Chest
Hammer Strength Dip
Hammer Strength High Row (I actually miss this piece a little)
Hammer Strength V Squat (I have the pendulum one so did not feel the need for two)
Cybex Shoulder
Life Fitness Ab (never planned to keep this piece)

I changed the following:

Body Solid Cable Crossover replaced with Nautilus Cable Crossover
Pendulum Gripper replaced with Hammer Strength Gripper (to gain some space)
Strive Bicep Curl replaced with Hammer Strength Bicep Curl (to gain some space)

Additions:

Cybex Smith
Magnum Standing Calf
Tire
Olympic Lift area
Ivanko Revolvers
More bumper plates
Deep dish Yorks

Still left to do:

I will probably switch out the Hammer Strength Leg Extension with a Hammer Hip and Back

[animalfan]

That looks a lot better, Mike. You had great stuff in it before, but it was too crowded. Oh, and that tire is awesome, too.

[ndmike99]

That looks a lot better, Mike. You had great stuff in it before, but it was too crowded. Oh, and that tire is awesome, too.

Thanks, I can even push the prowler inside. Even though it is only for about 30 feet with enough weight and the constant back and forth it still kicks my butt. I bought some battle ropes, some farmers handles from Black Widow (these are awesome by the way) and I am currently thinking about adding these to the gym:

http://store.sorinex.com/Poor_Man_s_...m_p/pmgh-1.htm

I will probably build a poor man's ghr though (unless I find one used) and I am not sure why but this thing really intrigues me:

http://www.hipeq.com/56-oxii.html

[twodog]

Looks great Mike, nice and streamlined ! I also noticed that the mimni fridge is also missing, lol. The Ropeflex looks real cool, but I'd have the put a workout on it before getting one. I also noticed that you loaded a bunch of your new plates between the pull boxes, how's that gonna work for you, or is it just temporary ?

[benchlover]

i got a boner, lol. Nice gym man!!!

[twodog]

Hey Mike, One more thing, what is that wooden table doing in the middle of the gym ?

[ndmike99]

Looks great Mike, nice and streamlined ! I also noticed that the mimni fridge is also missing, lol. The Ropeflex looks real cool, but I'd have the put a workout on it before getting one. I also noticed that you loaded a bunch of your new plates between the pull boxes, how's that gonna work for you, or is it just temporary ?

The fridge is still in the garage for now, it is right next to the door when you walk in, but difficult to see in the photos/

I store the plates between the pull boxes as we do not really use the pulling boxes much. If we do use them we just grab the height we want and set them out into the middle more. I actually have some technique trays for my power rack, but I need to have them modified slightly before we use them.

Hey Mike, One more thing, what is that wooden table doing in the middle of the gym ?

It is an adjustable plyo box. I actually have two of them and need to clean them up this summer. I am going to add some rubber flooring I have left over from the gym to the tops also. I have a lot of little projects I want to get done to finalize things.

[OnceAKai]

jealous