I want a home gym.
Motivation
My friend Justin Watts has one, so I want one.
I also like lifting (for mental health), but fitting the gym into my daily routine & carrying clothes all day is inconvenient.
Progress
(most recent first)
March 2021
- Fun:
B+ - Learning:
A - Finances:
B
Quarantine
I didn’t build the gym with Covid / quarantine in mind, but wow, I got lucky. When I feel sad or claustrophobic, I’m sitting right next to heavy weights, so I lift them, and then I feel better.
Friends
I grew closer to 2 friends during quarantine, because their gyms closed & they came here to work out.
Mini-split AC
It’s hot in Austin, so I paid to get an AC unit installed. This makes it not just a better gym, but a pretty great office.
I now WFH full-time, so I can spend 8+ hours per day in this room getting stronger, smarter, and richer.
Accessories
I bought more stuff:
- jump-ropes
- bands
- wrist straps
- squat belt
- chalk
- more weight plates (I can deadlift lots)
Oh, and I mounted my rings on the rafters:
December 2019
- Fun:
A - Learning:
B+ - Finances:
B
This 3rd iteration of my home gym is AWESOME!!!
New Garage
- We moved
- The new house has an actual garage
- I put in good rubber floors (horse-mats from Tractor Supply Co)
- I built wooden stall-bars for stretches
Smaller Desk
- I got a smaller standing desk
- I have SO MUCH ROOM for activities
Pros
- So much more room
- Stall-bars are helpful for stretches (I started gymnasticsbodies.com)
- The house-walls are well insulated & basically soundproof
- The squat cage is much more stable now that I’ve mounted it to the concrete (as opposed to plywood)
Cons
- No HVAC in the garage, I’ll need to figure that out when it gets hot
October 2019
- Fun:
C - Learning:
B - Finances:
B
I don’t love this 2nd iteration of my office-gym. We’re having a baby, so the old room became a nursery. But the equipment didn’t just disappear…
I now have an office / gym / bedroom (and a cool wife who hasn’t murdered me yet).
I have some regrets… but it’s still kind-of awesome!
March 2019
- Fun:
B - Learning:
B+ - Finances:
D
Problem
- We have a (small) rental house with no garage
- I want to squat, bench, and do pull-ups at home
Solution
- Change the floor in my office
- Buy a bunch of weights
- Cram it all in there
Pros
- It’s a great conversational piece
- I work out more often
- The equipment is fantastic & meets all my needs
- It’s fun to have friends over to work out
Cons
- The floor material was cheap & has warped so that it bubbles
- Sometimes, the whole point of going to the gym was to leave the house (not anymore!)
Equipment
$3.5k – compared to a $60 / month gym, it will pay for itself in 5 years. Compared to a $150 / month crossfit gym, it’s only 2 years. Did I do crossfit before? No, but the numbers make it sound better.
I bought the following equipment:
- Rogue R-3 Power Rack – It’s great, big enough!
- Rogue Adjustable Bench – I should have bought a cheaper bench
- Rogue Wood Rings – These were great!
- Rogue Matador for dips, would NOT recommend, squat cage wobbles violently during use
- PowerBlock-70 Dumbbells – These are great!
- Spud Inc Pulley – This is super useful, don’t get the second-pulley-extender though, I never use it.
- Weighted Dip Belt – I use it for weighted pull-ups, it’s great!
Opinions
I really like having this stuff at home. It’s so much fun.
The floor was more difficult than I imagined. We kept the carpet (un-cut), and only had to pull up 1 piece of tac-board at the threshold:
The final floor looked great:
But now it’s warped (due to heat & use), so the pieces don’t fit together anymore (they overlap significantly, no pic). I should have got nicer floors.
It also looks great next to my desk, and the American-flag-pallet really ties the room together:
Plus, I can use my standing-desk, monitor, and web-cam as a mirror to watch my form:
^^ what a guy!