Learn all about the best equipment for your home gym.
Last updated on April 8th, 2022 at 03:59 pmEveryone should have the ability to work out at home. That simple idea is why I built GymCrafter. With recent events (This article is being written in mid-March, 2020, right at the beginning of a shelter in place order where I live in Illinois), people who previously … Read more
Last updated on June 22nd, 2023 at 10:29 amPull-ups are a fundamental and functional movement pattern. They should also be a part of any well-programmed training regimen. For those of us with home gyms, that means that we need to find a place to put our pull-up bar. It also means we need to figure … Read more
Last updated on May 21st, 2022 at 06:29 pmIf you’ve done any research at all into buying gear for your home gym, you’ve almost certainly come across Titan Fitness. You’ve also probably come across a variety of strongly held opinions about them. Very few other companies in the fitness industry are as polarizing as Titan … Read more
Last updated on May 3rd, 2023 at 09:39 amWeight plates are something we should only have to buy once. If we buy right the first time, they typically won’t wear out. That means there are a few decisions we need to make when buying weight for our home gyms. Steel, coated, or bumper plates? How … Read more
Last updated on March 16th, 2021 at 01:39 pmWhen I was building my garage gym, I searched on Google for “what makes a great weight bench for a home gym”. The only results that came back were site after site listing their “best benches of 20xx”. There was no good advice. There was no one … Read more
Last updated on May 1st, 2023 at 08:51 amIn my article on the must-have essentials found in all great home gyms, I made the case that resistance training is king. I feel that of all the types of training one could do at home, old school weight lifting is still the most effective. That’s not … Read more
Last updated on July 22nd, 2023 at 10:33 amA lot of the articles on this site address the issues of space and budget constraints. Building a great home gym when you are short on space and/or money can be challenging at best. But what if you have both space and the budget? What then? Even … Read more
Last updated on May 21st, 2022 at 05:55 pmWhile my current home gym is located in my garage, that wasn’t always the case. I’m very fortunate to have a two-car garage and only one car. That has allowed me the room to build a home gym I could only fantasize about previously. Apartment Gym Challenges … Read more
Last updated on April 18th, 2023 at 11:52 amI vividly remember the day my power rack arrived. Fedex freight tracking showed it arriving in the early afternoon on a Wednesday. I called in late to work and waited anxiously for it to arrive I was so excited. At about 2pm, the truck dropped a 400+ … Read more
Last updated on July 3rd, 2023 at 10:05 amEven if you limit your search to Amazon and a few quality barbell manufacturers, there are easily over 100 different barbells to choose from. When putting together a home gym, it can be hard to figure out which one is right for you. Especially considering it’s one … Read more
Last updated on June 13th, 2023 at 12:03 pmThe weight dropped with a thud that shook the whole house. I hadn’t expected to lose my grip, but the bar (which was loaded to just over 300 lbs.) slipped without warning. After I inspected myself for injury, I checked the weights for damage (at that time … Read more
Last updated on July 3rd, 2023 at 10:05 amI thought buying a barbell was going to be easy. It’s a metal rod that holds weight, how hard could it be? Apparently a lot harder than I thought. Did I want a 28mm or 28.5mm shaft? Did I want bearings or bushings? What kind of knurling … Read more
Last updated on March 29th, 2023 at 09:49 amI’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. I don’t want to die trapped under a barbell. You might laugh, but my fear is real. Lifting at home alone without a spotter can be dangerous. There are quite a few ways to mitigate the danger, but … Read more
Last updated on May 21st, 2022 at 05:46 pmThe sound of the power rack’s metal feet scraping across the floor was almost unbearable. Real nails on a chalk board type sounds. I had attached a heavy band to one of the uprights and was trying to do banded rows. Every time I pulled, the rack … Read more
Last updated on May 3rd, 2023 at 09:40 amOne of the great things about having a home gym is that it gives me the ability to train with equipment I wouldn’t normally find at a commercial gym. It’s allowed me to be thoughtful about the gear I buy and to buy things that genuinely compliment … Read more
Last updated on December 13th, 2022 at 03:15 pm12/13/22 Update. Since writing the below article, I’ve reconsidered my views on what size plates to buy. I still stand by the method presented below. The change comes with what plates you should buy as part of your set once you determine just how much weight you … Read more
Last updated on May 21st, 2022 at 05:45 pmI get pretty pumped every time I add a piece of gear to my home gym. But no addition has ever excited me more than the addition of a power rack. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve stood in my garage imagining a full-size rack … Read more
Last updated on January 3rd, 2023 at 07:24 pmThe knock at my door was unexpected. It was my neighbor. “Hey, we’re moving, and we have to be out fast. If there’s anything over in my garage, you see that you might want, let me know. We’d rather not have to move most of it.” The … Read more
Last updated on January 2nd, 2023 at 05:57 pmI love walking outside. But here near Chicago, there comes a time of year when no matter how hearty you think you are, walking outside just isn’t gonna happen. When the wind chill is 30 below, and the actual temp is -2° F, even the dog doesn’t … Read more
Last updated on May 15th, 2023 at 11:59 amWhen Jocko Willink, Seal team commander and all around badass, was asked to list the equipment people should buy for their home gym, he said, “If there’s one thing that you could have, if there was one piece of equipment, it would probably be smart to go … Read more
Last updated on August 28th, 2023 at 04:37 pmI almost had a heart attack the first time I priced out a new set of dumbbells. And then another when I looked at prices on weight plates. In fact, I have been consistently amazed at how much quality gym equipment costs. But there is hope for … Read more
Last updated on August 28th, 2023 at 04:39 pmThere are few other pieces of equipment you’ll buy for your home gym that are as important or as used as a solid and reliable weight bench. When putting together my gym, a bench was one of the very first purchases. I went to my local Play … Read more
Last updated on November 13th, 2021 at 07:01 pmIn this article I’ll be covering the the EZ bar. It’s a funny looking thing that you’ll find in most commercial gyms. A lot of people think it’s just for curls. But it’s so much more than that. I integrated one into my training years ago and … Read more
Last updated on August 15th, 2023 at 10:17 amIt’s easy to get carried away when equipping your home gym. A quiet hour alone with your credit card on the internet can often result in quite a few purchases you don’t actually need. For me this is especially true when it comes to training gear! A … Read more
Last updated on February 28th, 2021 at 06:33 pmHere, I’ll be covering the Olympic straight bar (also sometimes known as a power lifting barbell). This traditional straight barbell is usually the very first bar people add to their gym. It’s the king of the weight training barbells. You’ll most likely use it more than any … Read more