We only review gear we’ve purchased ourselves and have used for at least six months.
Sound extreme? We don’t think so.
We want you to have the best possible information before spending our money.
If you train with weights or play a sport, you have imbalances. Those imbalances can cause pain, injury, and a lack of performance. MAPS Symmetry is the best way I know of to train out those imbalances and improve your performance.
If you are looking for an overly aggressive knurl pattern on your bar, one that can shred your hands in one set flat, this is the bar for you. For 95% of the people out there, though, this isn’t a suitable barbell. Which group are you in?
If you are looking for the perfect barbell for your garage gym, look no further than the Rep Fitness stainless steel power bar V2. It’s the bar I use every day and the one I recommend more often than any other bar!
If you can handle high-volume strength training and your goals are more focused on looks than raw strength or mobility, MAPS Aesthetic is an ideal program for you. And make no mistake, you’ll definitely build strength too!
I tried and tested ten electric space heaters in my garage gym. See which ones performed the best and which might be a waste of your money!
MAPS Performance is a unique program that not only addresses areas commonly missed by other strength training programs (lateral movement, rotational strength, and athleticism to name a few). It’s also highly effective at enhancing the results you get from other programs you may run after it.
There are a lot of books out there that would benefit you as a garage or basement gym owner. There are also a lot of books that are mediocre at best and misleading at worst. I know because I’ve read a couple hundred of them. And out of all of those, there are shockingly few … Read more
If you train regularly or play a sport, having an effective mobility program in your health and fitness toolkit is essential. The same is true if you are feeling those creeping aches and pains that come with age. As someone who is 50 years old, participates in several sports, and trains six days a week, … Read more
It’s one thing to build a great home gym. It’s another thing entirely to use it effectively to get the results that you want. That’s where great programming comes in. And make no mistake, programming matters! Especially if you want to crush your goals like never before in the coming year. So if you are wondering what … Read more
Properly designed and effective programming is the key to getting results from your home or garage gym. The problem is that the internet is littered with crappy programs sold mostly by fitness models. Their six-pack abs and toned bodies sway thousands of people into spending millions of dollars. The problem is that 95% of all … Read more
There are a seemingly endless number of options in the fitness space when it comes to mobility and movement programming. Everything from free YouTube channels to costly in-person guidance is available. One of the more visible options these days is the 10-week online postural dysfunction course by Functional Patterns. Backed by a good number of … Read more
Until a few years ago, I think I spent more time being injured, recovering from injury, and worrying about injuring myself again than I have training. That history of injury led me to consult countless books, doctors, physical therapists, and online courses over the years. While there is a lot of useless garbage out there … Read more
I’ve been using the MAPS Prime program from the guys over at Mind Pump for a little over three years now. Even when I’m not running a MAPS-based program, Prime is integrated into my practice. MAPS Prime is a program that helps you self-assess movement and mobility issues that should be addressed when training. It … Read more
As a 50-year-old with a history of injuries, I have to do everything I can to not only deal with the injuries I’ve had in the past but to make sure I don’t injure myself going forward. Several years ago, I’d simply had enough. I found myself absolutely fed up with the state of my … Read more
Few brands in the home gym industry are more polarizing than Titan Fitness. There are so many strongly held opinions about the company that most Titan equipment reviews spend more time talking about the company than the product being reviewed. If you want to know whether or not Titan is a good brand as a … Read more
*Update, Aug 2023… Rep has replaced the AB-5200 with the AB-5200v2. The new version is upgraded nicely from v1, but v1 (reviewed below) is still an amazing bench and what’s still in my garage. With the changeover, you may be able to find a 5200 v1 on eBay for a great price. You can click … Read more
*Update, Aug 2023… Rep has replaced the AB-3000 with the AB-3000v2. The new version is upgraded nicely from v1, but v1 (reviewed below) is still an amazing bench. With the changeover, you may be able to find an AB3000 v1 on eBay for a great price. You can click here to check! The big four … Read more
I’ve owned two Bowflex home gyms in my life. Their late-night infomercials featuring super-fit models training for “20 minutes a day, three days a week” hooked me. Twice! While I don’t still own either of those machines, I do look back on them and wish I’d used them more often. Both times, they became very … Read more
When you build a home gym, one of the first decisions you have to make is what to do with the floor. Not only do you need a reliable surface to train on, but you also need to prevent damage to the floor below. Most home gym owners use one of two options: Horse stall … Read more
If 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 is. Some people hate them. Others love them. … Read more
One 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 my programming. I’m not stuck with whatever the … Read more
When 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 with just wooden rings… You could basically work … Read more
***2024 update… If you need a bench that folds flat, this is a great choice. If that’s not the case, make sure to check out my recommended benches page here. A lot has changed since I bought this bench almost 10 years ago! There are few other pieces of equipment you’ll buy for your home … Read more