Garage/Home Gyms

[cage99]

This thread is for anyone that has or is looking into putting together a home gym. I got tired of the public gym rat race & people in the early 2000’s. Bought your generic all inclusive functional trainer rack for like $400 and 350lb plate set to start. At the time I had a shack basically that this set in. Less than ideal in the summer time. Terrible actually! Well Katrina blew through the city and wiped that shack setup away.

I drug the machine outside and had it set up out in the backyard. Just open air in the rain, the heat/humidity, and cold. Eventually after a while I rebuilt a nice 20x20 building that would be my new gym. Except this would be air conditioned!!!!! Anyways that’s a lil backstory into my home gym start up.

Fast forward 20 years and I’ve bought many pieces of equipment, tossed some, sold some, etc. Today I’ve pretty much got things situated and I’m able to do any workout a commercial gym offers. Throughout this time period I’ve stumbled upon many websites along the way.

So I wanted to share a list of these websites for anyone interested that heads down this road. Now there’s plenty of big brand name site that aren’t on this list. So if there’s places y’all have utilized and want to share then by all means post em up!

I’ll attach a link for a quickie tour and pics.

Cage

 

[cage99]

Listings of the various equipment sites of come across.

Mutant Metals
The Henny Attachment
Ab Mat
Gym Pin
Dialed Motion
Time Under Tension (TUT)
Bridge Built
Buffalo Bully Fab
Trap Ez Hooks
Pepin Adjustable Dumbbells
TruLap adjustable dumbbells
Oak Club Manufacturing
Fringe sport
The XPT
Gungnir of Norway
Samson Equipment
Rocket Pack Supply
Plate Snacks
Spud
BandLifts
Bells of Steel
Fit Bar Strong
Elite FTS
Vendetta strength
Mark Bell Slingshot
Rep Fitness
Steadfast Lifting
Titan
Rogue
Crandell Fitness
Gymreapers
Cerberus
Ironmaster
Sorinex
Kabuki Strength
JDGym Equipped
Bench Blockz
Darko Lifting
Solid Bar Fitness
Black Widow Training
Weight It Out
Wide Body Bench
PRx
Freak Athlete
SpotGrips
Rugged fitness
Micro Gainz
Giant Lifting

Cage

 

[cage99]

I took an old barbell of mine that I got back in ~06’ and dedicated it to T-Bar Rows and Belt Squats. Just welded 2 four inch stainless steel rings onto the bar. Then attached it to the ceiling via an anchor mount. The handles on the barbell are removable so they’re not in the way doing belt squats.

Cage

 

[cage99]

The Spot Grips are pricey, but worth their weight in gold if you workout solo. I’ve only used em with dumbbells though. I think they’d be awkward with a barbell. Here’s a quick shot of how I got em mounted to the ceiling. They’re easily removable with a large carabiner whenever the garage door needs to open up.

Cage

 

[TrippplePPP]

Awesome gym. I have a home gym and appreciate other people's set ups. Mine is not fancy but its awesome getting equipment and building your own. When Covid hit I wasn't phased as I had everything I needed.

 

[strongsafety41]

Agreed, very nice set up Cage and cool backstory. I have a home gym as well, and like TPPP I can appreciate the work that goes into selecting and assembling each piece. You have a nice flow to your gym, good work man.

 

[danieltx]

Such a cool gym dude. Love the beast you drew!

 

[Mufasa123]

Home gym here and started in 2015. Needed more time with kids as work/travel alone limited it. Plus we'd lost my wife/their mother and then my dad/their grandfather in an 18 month span so with two little ones I wanted to be around as much as possible (plus set an example and give them an intro so self improvement etc).

Best decision I ever made. Never looked back. Eventually moved to a bigger house with dedicated room as opposed to ancient basement. Most of my stuff is Rogue, Legend, Prime/STRIVE, Ivanko, and a number of custom pieces a friend built. I'm out of room and haven't added anything besides a functional trainer in years. Was fun to build out over time (kind of sad that's past now) but now I just focus on using it as best I can.

 

[Mufasa123]

This thread is for anyone that has or is looking into putting together a home gym. I got tired of the public gym rat race & people in the early 2000’s. Bought your generic all inclusive functional trainer rack for like $400 and 350lb plate set to start. At the time I had a shack basically that this set in. Less than ideal in the summer time. Terrible actually! Well Katrina blew through the city and wiped that shack setup away.

I drug the machine outside and had it set up out in the backyard. Just open air in the rain, the heat/humidity, and cold. Eventually after a while I rebuilt a nice 20x20 building that would be my new gym. Except this would be air conditioned!!!!! Anyways that’s a lil backstory into my home gym start up.

Fast forward 20 years and I’ve bought many pieces of equipment, tossed some, sold some, etc. Today I’ve pretty much got things situated and I’m able to do any workout a commercial gym offers. Throughout this time period I’ve stumbled upon many websites along the way.

So I wanted to share a list of these websites for anyone interested that heads down this road. Now there’s plenty of big brand name site that aren’t on this list. So if there’s places y’all have utilized and want to share then by all means post em up!

I’ll attach a link for a quickie tour and pics.

Cage

This is a great gym Cage. Lots of cool pieces and some nice bars in there too from the looks of it. Mine is pretty sterile on the walls though I have a few vintage Ironmind pieces up. Mostly OL oriented which sadly I haven't put my comp bumpers to use in a long time.

Only thing I really miss is a great lifting crew but I'm past that period in life largely. I still try to host friends and small groups when I can but haven't done any group stuff since covid.

 

[mytreefiddy]

Love it.... trained for years and years with my own stuff.... it was my sanctuary... But times have changed and nowadays I train at my local LA Fitness (5min away) with my gf in the mornings at 5am..... all my equipment is at work (30min away) ....just doesnt fit in my schedule to train at work anymore.... thus all of my stuff is for sale....
There is a thread on here listing the items.... Im looking for a home to buy but even with a 2 car garage I couldnt fit all of this stuff... It kinda pains me to let it go but.... just gotta do it

Legend Fitness #912 Pin Loaded Leg Curl (150lb weight stack)- https://www.legendfitness.com/product/leg-curl/- $1200
Legend Fitness #911 Pin Loaded Leg Extension (200lb weight stack)- https://www.legendfitness.com/product/leg-extension/ - $1200
Legend Fitness #3224 Leg Press/Hack Squat Combo- https://www.legendfitness.com/product/leg-press-hack-squat-pl/ - $2200
Legend Fitness #3152 Standing Plate Loaded Calf Raise- https://www.legendfitness.com/product/standing-calf/ -$700
Legend Fitness #960 Cable Crossover Plus (150 & 200lb weight stack on each side)- https://www.legendfitness.com/product/cable-crossover-plus/ - $5000
Yukon Fitness Smith Machine- $1000

 

[Prowrestler]

Nice set up Cage. I started piecing mine together from play it again sports and was fortunate when a local high school upgraded their weight room, said I could take some items. I’ve also got stuff from elitefts and titan

 

[cage99]

This is a great gym Cage. Lots of cool pieces and some nice bars in there too from the looks of it. Mine is pretty sterile on the walls though I have a few vintage Ironmind pieces up. Mostly OL oriented which sadly I haven't put my comp bumpers to use in a long time.

Only thing I really miss is a great lifting crew but I'm past that period in life largely. I still try to host friends and small groups when I can but haven't done any group stuff since covid.

The bars I’ve ended up settling on are from Texas Power Bars. I have the bench bar, the DL bar, and the power bar. The knurling is extremely aggressive with I love!!!!! My hands are throughly calloused up so typical knurling still feels slippery.

I’ve got the Operator and Ohio bars from Rogue, but find the knurling to fine. So they got replaced by the Texas Bars.

Also gotta give some love to my Kabuki Transformer Bar! Hands down my go to for any squat!

Cage

 

[cage99]

Love it.... trained for years and years with my own stuff.... it was my sanctuary... But times have changed and nowadays I train at my local LA Fitness (5min away) with my gf in the mornings at 5am..... all my equipment is at work (30min away) ....just doesnt fit in my schedule to train at work anymore.... thus all of my stuff is for sale....
There is a thread on here listing the items.... Im looking for a home to buy but even with a 2 car garage I couldnt fit all of this stuff... It kinda pains me to let it go but.... just gotta do it

Legend Fitness #912 Pin Loaded Leg Curl (150lb weight stack)- https://www.legendfitness.com/product/leg-curl/- $1200
Legend Fitness #911 Pin Loaded Leg Extension (200lb weight stack)- https://www.legendfitness.com/product/leg-extension/ - $1200
Legend Fitness #3224 Leg Press/Hack Squat Combo- https://www.legendfitness.com/product/leg-press-hack-squat-pl/ - $2200
Legend Fitness #3152 Standing Plate Loaded Calf Raise- https://www.legendfitness.com/product/standing-calf/ -$700
Legend Fitness #960 Cable Crossover Plus (150 & 200lb weight stack on each side)- https://www.legendfitness.com/product/cable-crossover-plus/ - $5000
Yukon Fitness Smith Machine- $1000

One day I’d love to move to the country and have a 30x40 building. Then I can add more pieces for variety sake. If only I had that option now I’d take all your equipment!

Cage

 

[RandomMachine]

A while back in another thread about machines I mentioned to you that I had ordered some stuff from Alibaba. At the time they hadn't delivered yet.

So far, I've assembled the 3 nautilus Xpload knock off pieces. Vertical chest, lat pulldown, and compound row.

Good:
Extremely smooth
Heavy duty
Way cheaper than the Xpload versions would have been.

Bad:
Assembly instructions were terrible. I was doing some trial and error at some points.
Powdercoat finish seems to scratch easily.

Overall I think they were good buys. I had the pin loaded Nitro versions of each. Same function overall, but smoother movement.

If you look on Instagram and see JP or Kuba using the "gym shop" versions of these machines. What I have is identical to that, so I assume multiple factories in China are producing those same machines.

Still have some other pieces in crates that aren't Xpload.

Dezhou Shizhuo International Co., LTD is who I used this time.

Even though the prices listed are very low, you still have to pay shipping/customs clearance.

 

[cage99]

Also, for anyone that’s a DIY’r 90% of this equipment can be replicated for a fraction of the retail cost. The other 10% you really need to be a good welder and have all the bells and whistles that come with it!

I’ve made several pieces to save money on simply overpriced shit! That’s just my practical side take over and being stubborn.

I picked up an Eastwood 250i which is a multiprocess welder. So it’ll cover tig, mig, and electrode. Then I grabbed an Everlast 210STL. Also picked up a plasma cutter an Everlast 62i w/ CNC port.

Plus I’m learning a new skill which has come in handy for other occasions. Maybe one day I’ll look to get certified and tested.

Cage

 

[cage99]

A while back in another thread about machines I mentioned to you that I had ordered some stuff from Alibaba. At the time they hadn't delivered yet.

So far, I've assembled the 3 nautilus Xpload knock off pieces. Vertical chest, lat pulldown, and compound row.

Good:
Extremely smooth
Heavy duty
Way cheaper than the Xpload versions would have been.

Bad:
Assembly instructions were terrible. I was doing some trial and error at some points.
Powdercoat finish seems to scratch easily.

Overall I think they were good buys. I had the pin loaded Nitro versions of each. Same function overall, but smoother movement.

If you look on Instagram and see JP or Kuba using the "gym shop" versions of these machines. What I have is identical to that, so I assume multiple factories in China are producing those same machines.

Still have some other pieces in crates that aren't Xpload.

Dezhou Shizhuo International Co., LTD is who I used this time.

Even though the prices listed are very low, you still have to pay shipping/customs clearance.

Oh I remember… LOL.. You caused me to go down a rabbit hole for abt a month easily! I’m an Alibaba newbie so I was scouring weight equipment any chance I got. lol. I’m glad it worked out for you!!!! Post up pics of the setup.

Cage

 

[Ruhlfreak55]

Love it.... trained for years and years with my own stuff.... it was my sanctuary... But times have changed and nowadays I train at my local LA Fitness (5min away) with my gf in the mornings at 5am..... all my equipment is at work (30min away) ....just doesnt fit in my schedule to train at work anymore.... thus all of my stuff is for sale....
There is a thread on here listing the items.... Im looking for a home to buy but even with a 2 car garage I couldnt fit all of this stuff... It kinda pains me to let it go but.... just gotta do it

Legend Fitness #912 Pin Loaded Leg Curl (150lb weight stack)- https://www.legendfitness.com/product/leg-curl/- $1200
Legend Fitness #911 Pin Loaded Leg Extension (200lb weight stack)- https://www.legendfitness.com/product/leg-extension/ - $1200
Legend Fitness #3224 Leg Press/Hack Squat Combo- https://www.legendfitness.com/product/leg-press-hack-squat-pl/ - $2200
Legend Fitness #3152 Standing Plate Loaded Calf Raise- https://www.legendfitness.com/product/standing-calf/ -$700
Legend Fitness #960 Cable Crossover Plus (150 & 200lb weight stack on each side)- https://www.legendfitness.com/product/cable-crossover-plus/ - $5000
Yukon Fitness Smith Machine- $1000

Ouch. Did you buy that Legend jungle gym new??? I bet that was absurd. We find used stuff pretty much exclusively but I really want a pendulum squat and the squat pro thing from rogers and don't see finding those used ever.

 

[strongsafety41]

The bars I’ve ended up settling on are from Texas Power Bars. I have the bench bar, the DL bar, and the power bar. The knurling is extremely aggressive with I love!!!!! My hands are throughly calloused up so typical knurling still feels slippery.

I’ve got the Operator and Ohio bars from Rogue, but find the knurling to fine. So they got replaced by the Texas Bars.

Also gotta give some love to my Kabuki Transformer Bar! Hands down my go to for any squat!

Cage

I looked at the Kabuki transformer Bar myself. Made the mistake of going with the Rogue SSB. Eventually graduated to save my back status and got a Rogue Rhino.

I haven’t touched a barbell on bench in years. I have the Rogue Ohio bar but fell in love with the Kabuki Cadillac Bar and Elite American Cam. Bar. Had … guess I still have a partial torn pec from years back so I made the switch back then from straight bar to neutral and fat bells/ dumbbells.

My stuff is mostly Rogue and all the pin loaded equipment is Hoist (exception I have a Freemotiom Genesis). I like the Hoist stuff with the exception of the Chest/shoulder press. Just doesn’t work with my body structure. Cardio stuff Bowflex, Stairmaster, Xebex, Peleton.

 

[cage99]

If you lift alone and are wanting to safely go to failure with pressing movements then check out the XPT Trainer.

XPT Self-Spotting Bar – XPT Trainer

thexpt.com

It’s on my list of to buys for sure. I just want a few other things upgraded prior to getting this. Great concept!

Cage

 

[cage99]

I looked at the Kabuki transformer Bar myself. Made the mistake of going with the Rogue SSB. Eventually graduated to save my back status and got a Rogue Rhino.

I haven’t touched a barbell on bench in years. I have the Rogue Ohio bar but fell in love with the Kabuki Cadillac Bar and Elite American Cam. Bar. Had … guess I still have a partial torn pec from years back so I made the switch back then from straight bar to neutral and fat bells/ dumbbells.

My stuff is mostly Rogue and all the pin loaded equipment is Hoist (exception I have a Freemotiom Genesis). I like the Hoist stuff with the exception of the Chest/shoulder press. Just doesn’t work with my body structure. Cardio stuff Bowflex, Stairmaster, Xebex, Peleton.

The curved/cambered bars really do alleviate shoulder pains! I got a knock off one of the Kadillac Barbell. I‘m still able to use a straight barbell, but if my shoulders are bothering me it’s nice to have an alternative.

Cage