If you fail to plan…
You are planning to fail.
Learn from my mistakes and take a few minutes to plan before building or buying.
I wish I’d done that.
So you want to build a home gym for $500. You start shopping and soon realize that in the world of home fitness equipment, $500 doesn’t go all that far. You are faced with a choice. Do you get only a couple of quality items? Or do you try to buy a “full gym” with … Read more
Everyone 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 relied on commercial gyms for their fitness are … Read more
Pull-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 out exactly how high to mount it. There … Read more
Weight 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 many? What sizes? New or used? I answer … Read more
Too 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: … Read more
While 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. … Read more
The 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 usually wonder 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 … Read more
The 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 I was using a set of sharp-edged iron … Read more
When 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 … Read more
The 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 … Read more
12/13/22 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 are going to need. Once you finish this … Read more
I 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. … Read more
Sometimes 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 … Read more
The 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 housing crisis had claimed yet another victim. I … Read more
I 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 … Read more
Every 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 … Read more
One of the biggest benefits of having a home gym is that it’s right there in your home. One of the biggest drawbacks is that, well, it’s right there in your home. It’s easy for you to get to, but it’s also easy for your family (if you have one) to be a distraction from … Read more
One of the most commonly asked questions by folks putting together a home gym is, “How much will it cost?”. You don’t have to spend a ton of money to have a highly useful and enjoyable home gym. In some cases you don’t have to spend any money at all. Yet somehow when we start … Read more
Tired of shivering through your workouts in your cold garage gym? These 7 highly useful tips will warm you up in no time!
How is leg day like installing a new floor in your home gym? It’s critical to your foundation and it’s something a lot of people would rather skip! Of course, you would never skip leg day, would you? It’s fun, exciting, and not at all painful, right?! I think that’s why so many people don’t … Read more
If you’ve ever wondered “what are kettlebells?” and would they be a good addition to your home gym, this is the article to read!