Last updated on November 22nd, 2021 at 10:29 amToo much gear and not enough space. It’s the age-old dilemma faced by most home gym owners. For some gear, it doesn’t matter how you store it. For your barbell, that’s not the case. Improper bar storage can damage your prized barbell, so it’s important to follow a few basic guidelines. Proper barbell storage guidelines: Store your bar horizontally if possible Store your bar up high, not …
How to buy the best weight bench for your home gym
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 explaining what to look for. In reality, every one of those sites was simply a giant list of affiliate links …
The Comprehensive Guide to Buying Weight Plates For Your Home Gym
View Post9 Must Have Essentials Found in the Best Home Gyms
Last updated on May 21st, 2022 at 06:00 pmA 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 after limited casual shopping, you’ll find more home gym equipment than you could ever possibly use. It’s a big part …
How to Fit a Gym You’ll Love in a Small Apartment
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 For many years, I lived in an apartment. No garage. No extra space. No squat rack, barbell, or bumper plates. …
The Complete Guide to Selecting Your Ideal Squat Rack
View PostHow to Buy the Perfect Barbell For Your Home Gym
Last updated on November 13th, 2021 at 06:44 pmEven 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 of the most important purchases you’ll make when it comes to weight training. A barbell is what connects you to …
How Much Does it Cost to Build a Home Gym You’ll Love?
Last updated on April 8th, 2022 at 04:04 pmThe first thing most people consider when building a home gym is where in their home it might be able to fit. A millisecond later those same people are usually wondering what their new gym is going to cost. It’s probably a safe assumption that budget is one of, if not the primary concern of most people putting together a home training area. The average home gym …
Easy Ways to Keep Deadlifts From Damaging Your Floor
View PostGetting the Smell Out of Your Rubber Gym Floor
Last updated on September 27th, 2021 at 05:06 pmWhen people ask about the best flooring for their home gym, the answer is almost always rubber. Rubber flooring has a ton of benefits and is the ideal floor for your home fitness area. That said, it’s important that you use the right kind rubber. If you don’t, you can run into a few different problems, not the least of which is odor. And we aren’t talking …
What is Barbell Whip?
Last updated on December 14th, 2021 at 07:03 pmI 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 and knurl marks did I want? Which of the seemingly endless coatings should I buy? And then they threw in …
Spotter Pins or Saftey Straps – Which is Better?
View PostShould You Bolt Your Squat Rack to the Floor?
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 moved. This wasn’t the only time I was having problems either. I looked at my buddy (this was his garage …
Fractional Plates, A Worthwhile Addition to Your Home Gym
Last updated on July 7th, 2021 at 01:38 pmOne 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 gym owner or manager wants in their gym. For me there’s no …
How Many Weight Plates Should You Buy For Your Home Gym?
View PostHow Much Room Do You Need For a Squat Rack?
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 as the centerpiece of my garage workout space. Only one minor detail stood in my way. How much room would …
Is It Safe to Build a Home Gym on the Second Floor?
Last updated on May 21st, 2022 at 05:45 pmSometimes my imagination gets the best of me. As I was using my treadmill the other day (it’s in an upstairs bedroom), I envisioned my 205 lb. frame riding the 350 lb. treadmill as it crashed through my floor into the garage below. I’m fairly sure that won’t happen, but that’s just how my mind works sometimes. That got me to wondering how much weight my second-story …
How to Hang a Heavy Bag in Your Home Gym
View PostHow to Get Top Dollar For Your Used Fitness Equipment
Last updated on March 10th, 2021 at 03:12 pmI have owned not one, but two Bowflex home gyms in my training lifetime. A bunch of years back, I owned two of the exact same model within about a year of each other. It’s too long of a story to explain here, but the short version is I apparently don’t learn from experience very well. When It came time to sell the first one, it took …
How Much Space Do You Need For Your New Treadmill?
Last updated on February 28th, 2021 at 07:36 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 want to go outside. And I can’t blame her! Whether it’s for cold or snow or rain or simply that …
Gymnastic Rings or TRX, Which is Right For You?
View PostThe Best Ways to Light Your Home Gym, A Complete Guide
Last updated on July 7th, 2021 at 02:29 pmEvery time I was in my garage working out, something always felt a little off. I couldn’t put my finger on it, but something just didn’t seem right. Then spring came and for the first time in several months I opened the garage door before I started training. The fresh air and warm temps were amazing, but the kicker was the sunlight! Training in a bright and …
How to Get Rid of a Bad Smell in Your Home Gym
Last updated on July 7th, 2021 at 02:24 pmDo you know what unwashed monkey butt smells like? I do. Well, at least I think I do. I would imagine it smells exactly like the odor that was emanating from my garage gym one hot June afternoon. I really wanted to work out, but I just couldn’t handle the smell that had seemed to crop up from nowhere! I didn’t know where it was coming from, …