PICS and DISCUSSION of YOUR HOME GYM V2.0

[VTLifts]

Here she be:

Basement gym with ~90" ceilings with the occasional low-lying pipe. Plywood walls with corrugated metal bottom. Ceilings spray-painted charcoal. Horse stall mat floor.

Purchased everything off craigslist or ********. Only items new are a few of the stall mats and the landmine attachment.

Rogue SML-1 with HR-2 half rack conversion but prior owner increased cross-member size to 24" so it serves as a mini power rack. I'm short so I can squat inside and then I bench/press/row outside. The 7' height makes pull-ups tricky, so I do them on my cable machine for now.

CAP "Beast" barbell. Dislike the occasional metal splinter from the sleeves, so hoping to upgrade at some point.

Cybex adjustable bench (older 5437 model. Seat is fixed at slight incline which is moderately annoying).

Spinlock dumbbells + range of fixed dumbbells from 2lbs to 25lbs. I wrapped the spinlock handles with A&R hockey tape to beef up the grip.

Body Solid BFFT10 Functional trainer. After putting vaseline all over cables and pulleys it works very smoothly.

Old powerblocks lat pulldown / low row tower. Load with standard size plates

Floor landmine + beater bar.

CAP standard size plates including 1.25lbs micros (about to buy washers for even smaller increments)

CAP olympic plates (all weighed and surprisingly accurate)

10 and 15lb Again Faster bumper plates (warm-up sets for rows and DLs). I like them, but they stink / off gas a lot.

Old nautilus hip extension F2AHE model

Sole E25 Elliptical

12", 15", 18" nested step-up boxes made by my dad



Wish list / future upgrades:
Rogue Ohio Power Bar
Matador dip attachment
BWTG pivot + neutral grip viking press
Spin bike

[Duplicitous]

Here she be:

Basement gym with ~90" ceilings with the occasional low-lying pipe. Plywood walls with corrugated metal bottom. Ceilings spray-painted charcoal. Horse stall mat floor.

Purchased everything off craigslist or ********. Only items new are a few of the stall mats and the landmine attachment.

Rogue SML-1 with HR-2 half rack conversion but prior owner increased cross-member size to 24" so it serves as a mini power rack. I'm short so I can squat inside and then I bench/press/row outside. The 7' height makes pull-ups tricky, so I do them on my cable machine for now.

CAP "Beast" barbell. Dislike the occasional metal splinter from the sleeves, so hoping to upgrade at some point.

Cybex adjustable bench (older 5437 model. Seat is fixed at slight incline which is moderately annoying).

Spinlock dumbbells + range of fixed dumbbells from 2lbs to 25lbs. I wrapped the spinlock handles with A&R hockey tape to beef up the grip.

Body Solid BFFT10 Functional trainer. After putting vaseline all over cables and pulleys it works very smoothly.

Old powerblocks lat pulldown / low row tower. Load with standard size plates

Floor landmine + beater bar.

CAP standard size plates including 1.25lbs micros (about to buy washers for even smaller increments)

CAP olympic plates (all weighed and surprisingly accurate)

10 and 15lb Again Faster bumper plates (warm-up sets for rows and DLs). I like them, but they stink / off gas a lot.

Old nautilus hip extension F2AHE model

Sole E25 Elliptical

12", 15", 18" nested step-up boxes made by my dad



Wish list / future upgrades:
Rogue Ohio Power Bar
Matador dip attachment
BWTG pivot + neutral grip viking press
Spin bike

Looks great.

[VTLifts]

Looks great.

Thanks. The design was all the wife as I would've just thrown mats down in the concrete basement and called it a day. Though it cost more than the equipment, I love working out down there.

[MaineBarnLift]

Starting with the basement and shed. I live in Maine and have an attached barn garage gym. The cardio stuff lived out there just the first winter. 17 degrees was way too cold to do any cardio. In the shed I have a bunch of equipment I can only really use during the summer (farmer carries, husafell stone, log bar, sled w/attachments). I leave a mace out there but in the winter, it goes above the barn. I built a couple of platforms across my yard to use as point A/B. I've added 100, 150, 200 sandbags to out there on black friday as well as spud swing straps but won't get to try those out until the spring. Anyhow, basement has interactive bike, water rower, vertical climber, boxflex (pretty much an elliptical but way more intense), stretching thing, GHD and regular elliptical. Bike is cool- displays google maps and adjusts the incline based on what you're "biking."

[MaineBarnLift]

Barn itself is ~32' x 38'. I don't trust the floor with heavy items and primarily have function things up there. 1 light and 1 heavy battle rope, peg board, speed bag, a squat jump thing self designed (wear a vest that is attached to points on the floor with bands and as you jump you face resistance on the way up), vertical jump challenger, pull up bar on bungee cords, rings, pylo boxes (the titans to 60" are new and haven't really been tried too much), 2 climbing ropes (1 regular about 20' up and the other for each arm to grasp), ski-erg, cable machine with independent arms and some other minor things. Oh and ping-pong table and optishot golf simulator. But those aren't gym related. Haha.

Happy with the use of space up there. During the winter it's pretty chilly so it gets sporadic use. In the summer, it's fine up there.

[MaineBarnLift]

And the gym area itself. Again, 32' x 38' attached barn. The downstairs has 2 rooms. Side room which is used for normal garage stuff/storage is about 12' wide. I think the back area with mats down is 24' x 20'. I still can fit my car and plan to keep it that way. I've expanded to the side of the car. Way too much equipment here to detail. I did the exact opposite of what everyone says to do and am very happy with how it came out. I've gotten cheaper equipment and have continued adding to it. I haven't upgraded much besides a seated calf raise and went from squat stands to an actual rack. I've added a lot of higher quality attachments but for the most part, the equipment I got (generally Titan, Body Solid, Powerline and xMark) has been perfectly fine.

I just wanted as much varied equipment accessories as I could get because I knew I was going to stick with it. I had a multi-station years ago that I used regularly so switching to regular equipment was a good move and was going to be used. If someone wasn't sure they were going to keep using their garage gym, totally agree to get higher quality gym equipment and that way it holds it's value more if you end up selling it.

Oh yeah, not much of a used market up here so haven't been able to add much second hand. Which again, contributes to getting the lower end stuff. It might not be as good or smooth as other equipment, but serves it's purpose. Only big upgrade I really see for the future will be to high quality weight plates. But that will be a huge splurge without a used market to find anything. Priced out Rogue around black friday and, even with the discounts they were running and getting the blemished plates, it was $2200 or so.

[MaineBarnLift]

And some more pictures. Oh, and inside the house I have stuff like an inversion table, normatec, theragun, wobble board and stuff that's useful if I'm just plopped down and want to watch TV but do something useful.

Ask if you have questions on anything

[MaineBarnLift]

Lastly, best purchase(s) I made was the climate control out there. For warmth I have a 240v heater, a 120v heater, a 30k BTU wall propane heater, and a 125k BTU salamander heater. I'll turn the salamander on to get the heat up really quickly and then can use the other things to keep it 50-65 even when it's 0 outside. I have a dehumidifier to help with keep the equipment from rusting. In the summer I have a portable AC unit where I built a port out the side of the barn. I also have a bunch of fans and then have a net to cover the garage door (to keep insects out) so I can get some nice air flow at night and not be thinking about swatting bugs mid deadlift.

[grumpytude]

got a basic power line cable crossover for Xmas. Have to say I'm really enjoying it. should have got one years ago. The more weight you put on it- the smoother it gets I think.
Even though I have mid-lat row machine, I made some foot platforms so I can do seated low rows on it too. Works great. Just have to paint them up.

[gym62richard]

got a basic power line cable crossover for Xmas. Have to say I'm really enjoying it. should have got one years ago. The more weight you put on it- the smoother it gets I think.
Even though I have mid-lat row machine, I made some foot platforms so I can do seated low rows on it too. Works great. Just have to paint them up.

Congratulations, back in the day I had the Powerline CC, I agree you need to load up the weight horns, it really helped to stabilise the unit.

At the time I didn't have enough room for a full width crossover, I think I cut about 2' off the crossbar, drilled out new holes and reattached it, it still worked well.

[Deep-Voiced-One]

got a basic power line cable crossover for Xmas. Have to say I'm really enjoying it. should have got one years ago. The more weight you put on it- the smoother it gets I think.
Even though I have mid-lat row machine, I made some foot platforms so I can do seated low rows on it too. Works great. Just have to paint them up.

Those are some awesome posters and the cable crossover ain't too shabby as well!

I've always kicked around the idea of having a cheap cable crossover like that one, but the space it would take up would never work for me unless I stuck it in the outside in the backyard in New England weather lol.

[grumpytude]

Those are some awesome posters and the cable crossover ain't too shabby as well!

I've always kicked around the idea of having a cheap cable crossover like that one, but the space it would take up would never work for me unless I stuck it in the outside in the backyard in New England weather lol.

thanks, gotta have Supes and Rocky!
well I sold a few pieces to free up some room and move things around, it does take up some space, Probably why I never had one all the years. Ideally I would like a bunch of Hammer stuff, but not enough room.

[BulkMore]

got a basic power line cable crossover for Xmas. Have to say I'm really enjoying it. should have got one years ago. The more weight you put on it- the smoother it gets I think.
Even though I have mid-lat row machine, I made some foot platforms so I can do seated low rows on it too. Works great. Just have to paint them up.

I like the foot plates you made for rows...good idea.

[grumpytude]

I like the foot plates you made for rows...good idea.

thanks, trying to get as much use out of the unit as possible. great for rope tricep extension too.

[Asjogren]

got a basic power line cable crossover for Xmas. Have to say I'm really enjoying it. should have got one years ago. The more weight you put on it- the smoother it gets I think.
Even though I have mid-lat row machine, I made some foot platforms so I can do seated low rows on it too. Works great. Just have to paint them up.

Nice work. Great Idea ! I bet it works perfect

[MaineBarnLift]

Those are some awesome posters and the cable crossover ain't too shabby as well!

I've always kicked around the idea of having a cheap cable crossover like that one, but the space it would take up would never work for me unless I stuck it in the outside in the backyard in New England weather lol.

I'm also up in NE and found that if you put stuff that can be moved easily underneath, the only space is where the two bases sit. I just wheel the preacher curl out of the way and put the silencer pads side by side instead of stacked. Boom, full access

thanks, trying to get as much use out of the unit as possible. great for rope tricep extension too.

Love the foot block design. I don't have enough posts yet to post links, but consider looking up "Powerline Cablecross pull up." Fitness factory has a $90 one with 2 position handle and adjustable width.

[Deep-Voiced-One]

I'm also up in NE and found that if you put stuff that can be moved easily underneath, the only space is where the two bases sit. I just wheel the preacher curl out of the way and put the silencer pads side by side instead of stacked. Boom, full access




Love the foot block design. I don't have enough posts yet to post links, but consider looking up "Powerline Cablecross pull up." Fitness factory has a $90 one with 2 position handle and adjustable width.

MaineBarnLift, My main concern is space due to the length of fitting the actual piece and height (I got a short basement, but the garage where my main equipment/power rack is has an 8' ceiling, but is a cramped space), however the main attic ceiling might be high enough after checking the dimensions on the Powerline and I could probably make enough space along the stretch of the attic hallway to make it work...that as well as the weight being dispersed on the attic floor should be safe enough for crossovers and such.

I just might look into this as a potential next purchase, thanks for the info and picture for some ideas.

[grumpytude]

I'm also up in NE and found that if you put stuff that can be moved easily underneath, the only space is where the two bases sit. I just wheel the preacher curl out of the way and put the silencer pads side by side instead of stacked. Boom, full access
Love the foot block design. I don't have enough posts yet to post links, but consider looking up "Powerline Cablecross pull up." Fitness factory has a $90 one with 2 position handle and adjustable width.

I did see the pullup attachment for this- not sure I trust it-not sure what the weight limit is on it. besides I have one on my Legend power rack.

[cwcmac]

I did see the pullup attachment for this- not sure I trust it-not sure what the weight limit is on it. besides I have one on my Legend power rack.

Awesome set up. Just a note on what I did with my rack (since I have legend as well and it isn't an erector set): I turned the pull up bars upside down so it gave me another 6 inches or so of head clearance (although you'll need to bend your knees.

Just an option

[Duplicitous]

Awesome set up. Just a note on what I did with my rack (since I have legend as well and it isn't an erector set): I turned the pull up bars upside down so it gave me another 6 inches or so of head clearance (although you'll need to bend your knees.

Just an option

I did something similar w/ my Rogue rack. I mounted the pullup bar a few holes down from the top as I have ~93" ceilings. I almost always had to bend my knees for pullups at my commercial gym anyway as the less busy of the 2 pullup bars was a tad low.

[Pillager]

This fall I had a new Garage built. Roughly 1200 sgft. Ceiling height is about 10'9". The gym area is roughly 500 sqft with about another 100 sqft in cardio and bag areas. I'm moving from a basement gym of about 300 sqft. As seen here.

https://forum.bodybuilding.com/showt...post1483570811

The gym is used by me and my son. I am a former boxer and power lifter. He is a three sport athlete football, wrestling and track(200M and throwing).

Barbells
Pendlay Needle Bearing
Texas Power Bar
Rogue 20 KG Bar
Jesup 32 MM Power Bar
Rogue 15 KG Bar
Titan SSB V2
Titan Hex Bar
York Split Collar Power Bar on the Rack

[Pillager]

More Pictures

[Pillager]

Even more

[Pillager]

Missed the picture of the Tytax M-1.

[Asjogren]

Missed the picture of the Tytax M-1.

Nice set up! Looks great

[EricAtl]

More Pictures

Nice set up. Embed of first pic in second post, 0756. Reps given.

[Duplicitous]

I've got a very similar setup with my bars - 6 bar rack with the trap bar off on its own below and a bumper behind it to keep it from smacking the wall.

[Pillager]

The first set of pictures are from October/November. I have made some changes since then. I won an auction lot from a university which included two reflex half rack/platforms and FID benches. Along with a Samson free standing GHD. i also switched out the Body Solid with a Tytax. Along with other minor upgrades.

[Pillager]

I've got a very similar setup with my bars - 6 bar rack with the trap bar off on its own below and a bumper behind it to keep it from smacking the wall.

I happened to have strips of cut horse mats from the old gym. They work perfectly.

[gym62richard]

This fall I had a new Garage built. Roughly 1200 sgft. Ceiling height is about 10'9". The gym area is roughly 500 sqft with about another 100 sqft in cardio and bag areas. I'm moving from a basement gym of about 300 sqft. As seen here.

https://forum.bodybuilding.com/showt...post1483570811

The gym is used by me and my son. I am a former boxer and power lifter. He is a three sport athlete football, wrestling and track(200M and throwing).

Barbells
Pendlay Needle Bearing
Texas Power Bar
Rogue 20 KG Bar
Jesup 32 MM Power Bar
Rogue 15 KG Bar
Titan SSB V2
Titan Hex Bar
York Split Collar Power Bar on the Rack

You have a really nice set up there, plenty of space and the ceiling height is impressive.

Equipment wise you have some very good pieces, don't be surprised if your gym begins to encroach into other areas, all that space would be too tempting for me.