Who trains at home?

[Nelson]

I`m planning on setting up a home gym later this year when I return to Australia.
If anyone trains at home, I`m interested in what equipment you use.

 

[Matthew D]

I don't train at home but if I had the room here is the first couple of things I would get me. A good solid bench that could elevated so I could use it for incline and flat bench. A good chinning bar, and a good solid weight set with at least 750 lbs of weight. Now that is a start.

 

[pudgy]

i use a widebench with a incline/decline and a preacher curl. an easycurl , about 400lbs olympic weight at home. i also use a jump rope and stairmaster. i do legs at a friends golds gym, and back also sometimes.

 

[Bean]

get a power cage, a good bench that can do inclines/flats/declines... maybe a preacher curl setup... plenty of weights...

obvious 7' olympic bar, EZ-curl bar, and adjustable olympic dumbells (walmart has a $30 kit that includes the ez-bar and the dumbell bars)

i'd make sure there is a dip station on the power cage too; along with maybe a setup for wide-grip pullups... and a lat-tower too...

calf raises can be done just by using a black of wood or cement about 2 or 3" off of the floor...

a hamstring curl setup would be nice too...

shouldn't have to spend much on all of this; as most power cages come with most of this stuff... i think the preacher curl setup would be the only extra real expense...

 

[jweave23]

I use a BodySolid smith press with all the options, got it from here: http://www.fitnessfactory.com/ Also I hear Parabody is good quality. Of course if I could do it over again I don't think I'd get the smith, a power rack would be better, but I wasn't thinking years ago when I bought it.

For floormats I use ones that I bought at TSC (Tractor Supply Company), I'm sure you could go to another similar store and find some. They aren't like the weak, overpriced 1/2 inch rubber fitness mats you always see, these things were made for horses and cattle to trample on, so you can drop any weight you want on it, no problem (but they are so heavy you won't even believe it), about 1" thick.

As for dumbells, I just go to the local sporting goods stores, they usually have to order anything above 100's though.

 

[Nelson]

Thanks for the input

I like the look of the Power Rack.
When I finish my current job I get a nice payout, so I`ll be using most of that to get myself a nice rack.
I`m sick of waiting for guys at the gym to finish their sets whilst chatting and stinking up the gym with rank farts.

jweave - Do you think this one is adequate?
http://www.fitnessfactory.com/FitnessFactory31/catalog.cfm?dest=itempg&itemid=287&secid=3&linkon=section&linkid=3

 

[labrad]

get a power cage, a good bench that can do inclines/flats/declines... maybe a preacher curl setup... plenty of weights...

obvious 7' olympic bar, EZ-curl bar, and adjustable olympic dumbells (walmart has a $30 kit that includes the ez-bar and the dumbell bars)

i'd make sure there is a dip station on the power cage too; along with maybe a setup for wide-grip pullups... and a lat-tower too...

calf raises can be done just by using a black of wood or cement about 2 or 3" off of the floor...

a hamstring curl setup would be nice too...

shouldn't have to spend much on all of this; as most power cages come with most of this stuff... i think the preacher curl setup would be the only extra real expense...

My brother has a set up similar to this in his basement. Works very well.

 

[wyatt]

I also ordered most of my equipment from fitness factory.

I got the rack, bench, lat machine, 550bls of olympic weight,

2 7' bars, a 5' bar, curl bar, and dumbells 5-75.

100 lb hanging bag.

placed those 2' rubber mats all over the garage, and they hold up well to the stress and no clanging noise when playing with the plates.

Only thing is my garage gets hot as heck during the summer in south florida. Its like doing a workout and a sauna at teh same time. Glad I'm not overdosing on ephedra.

 

[sage]

I also ordered most of my equipment from fitness factory.

I got the rack, bench, lat machine, 550bls of olympic weight,

2 7' bars, a 5' bar, curl bar, and dumbells 5-75.

100 lb hanging bag.

placed those 2' rubber mats all over the garage, and they hold up well to the stress and no clanging noise when playing with the plates.

Only thing is my garage gets hot as heck during the summer in south florida. Its like doing a workout and a sauna at teh same time. Glad I'm not overdosing on ephedra.

looks like a good collection man. how much all that run you up? never been a homegym/working out at home guy myself. but hey, looks like you a good set going. Sage

 

[ex_banana-eater]

had a bench with squat rack on one end, it inclined, leg press and ham curl on the other end. Plus a machine for pulldowns, pec excercises, etc. Then i had dumbells as well. Oh and a pull up bar that attaches to doorways.

 

[wyatt]

looks like a good collection man. how much all that run you up? never been a homegym/working out at home guy myself. but hey, looks like you a good set going. Sage

If I remember right, three years ago it was 2100 for everything. So, here 3 years later, I think I just hit the break even point when compared to joining a gym. 2100/36 = $58.33 per month.

but when I was starting I swear if I didn't have the setup like this at home I probably would have never worked out. At least at home I have been pretty consistent for the last 2 years, and off and on for the first year. Now, it feels normal to lift, and not normal when I miss more than 4 days.

One thing for home gym people to consider, is the difficulty if you don't have a training partner. Yes, it is very convenient to have one at home, but I find myself working out solo and getting those last few reps to failure can be tough. Where in a gym you can always beg a spot and add a forced rep or two. This is one reason why the rack is the most indespensible piece of equipment I have due to the safety it provides when flying solo.

 

[SCORPIO]

I've always worked out at home.....have never set foot in a gym. For many years I used an Exertec rack and bench from Academy till I retired it and got a 1/2 cage. I got a Nautilus 1/2 cage w/high and low pulleys....flat/inc/decl bench....preacher curl atachment....leg developer....oly ez-curl bar....7' oly bar (45lb) and 250 lbs of weight for about $400. at Costco wholesale......It is very well made....strong peice of equipment.....and also a good deal, which I couldn't pass up....wish I had a pic, but couldn't find one. Anyway I get great workouts at home.....hardly ever miss one.Got to be able to push yourself, while being safe of course....when working out on your own.

 

[Lotsofsquats]

I started out in a gym but switched to home about 6 months ago for convenience sake ( I live way out in the boondocks). I started picking up stuff as I could afford it, now I have a pretty decent lil gym in the barn. I started with a power rack, i/f/d bench ,a seated calve machine (both from New York Barbell), and basic wieght set , lat pull down/row machine (Yukon I think), added variousbar, dumbells and DB rack. Finally just splurged and got a leg press machine (Yukon Brand). For the floor I use horse stall mats (half the price of gym mats, the same size, and just as tough). I found a lot of stuff in bargain post magazines and such so the end price wasn't too bad. I find I'm making better gains now as I don't have to rush and don't have to wait on equipment. If you want any feed back about this stuff's quality, let me know and I'll give ya my 2 cents on it.

 

[Dr of Golf]

When we built our home we had the builder put a gym in.

I've got one flat/incline/decline bench. A bench press bench with incline/decline.

A preacher curl bench.

A cable weight machine with lat pulldown, seated bench press, butterflies, rowing, leg press, leg lift, ect ...

Also have dumbbell rack with two of every dumbbell from 5 lbs. up to 80 lbs.

Motorized treadmill and stationary bike.

Also have an easy curl bar, straight bar, and 300 lbs of weight plates along with a wall of mirrors to look at my pretty self.

 

[Nelson]

Dr of Golf
Your setup sounds sweet.
Not really feasible for me, but nice nonetheless.
The mirrors are a good idea.

LotsofSquats
Good idea for the mats.
I`ll have to look into that.

Do any of you miss going to a gym?

 

[Lotsofsquats]

Nah, don't miss the gym at all. At first I felt like I was missing something but the gains are still coming and when I'm really wasted after a hard workout, its only 50ft to the house instead of a 35 minute drive.

 

[wyatt]

I miss the gym on occasion. Mostly being inspired by watching others go all out, or being able to grab a spot or get a few forced reps in.

With that said, I love working out at home though. Same reasons as Lotsofsquats....convenience and consistency.

DOC, your awesome man. When I grow up I want what you have.

 

[labrad]

I don't know if I could ever give up going to the gym. But if it works for you then....

 

[Dr of Golf]

Do any of you miss going to a gym?

Every now and then I like going over to World's Gym and paying the one day fee. Like Wyatt said, to get inspired and motivated by seeing others working hard.

But overall, the convenience of working out at home is truly a blessing. And, the wife likes it, too.