My Home Gym
I love to workout out. I loved going to the gym every day, just for my me time. But then the pandemic hit, and all the gyms were closed. I stopped going to the gym completely. I started running, but that still was not enough for me. I really missed strength training. Though gyms began to open back up, I still was uncomfortable with workout out at the gym. I started doing some workouts at home with resistance bands, but that still was not enough. So when I had the opportunity, I created my home gym. I am so happy with what I have. It makes it so much better to work out and film my workouts at the home gym, so here are all of the equipment that I purchased for my home gym.
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Squat Rack and Bench
This squat rack is so simple. I love that it has the pull up bar at the top. I love that it has the safety bars so that I can squat or bench heavier safely when I don’t have a spotter.
I bought the lat pull down attachment. Which is a two pulley system for tons of cable machine workouts. It comes with an attachment for the leg hold that attaches to the safety bars.
This squat rack has options to purchase the lat pull-down attachment together, but many people said they were missing pieces when I was reading comments. I had to budget a little and bought my gym equipment in multiple orders a little bit at a time. So I ordered the lat pull-down attachment separately. I had no issues when I ordered it that way.
The lat pull-down attachment has one-inch plate holders. Since I bought 2-inch plates, I had to buy an adaptor so that my plates fit. My only complaint about this adaptor is that it doesn’t attach as well as I’d like. It just slides onto the one-inch plate holders and tightens with a small screw and alan wrench. Slowly as we put plates on and off, it slowly starts to slide off. Since it’s a permanent solution, I’ll probably get some silicon to adhere it so that it no longer slides on and off.
Another thing I wish the squat rack had was some kind of cross support for the front of the rack. Since it is heavy and well supported in the back, it tends to come in the front so the whole rack isn’t very square. This isn’t a very big deal. It just doesn’t allow the leg hold bar to slide along the safety bars very well. We may end up creating cross support that goes at the bottom of the rack to fix this issue.
The bench is Pasyou, which is fine for a foldable bench. It gets the job done. It’s a little wobbly. Since it is my roommate’s bench, I will probably buy a new one at some point, so I have my own when I move. The one I am looking at buying is the Flybird. It is a little more adjustable than the one I have. I may even buy a more stable flat bench in addition to having the adjustable bench. Having a flat bench for bench press and hip thrusts makes sense for the stability that is needed for those exercises. I also really want a back extension bench as well. But I haven’t researched which one I am looking at buying just yet.
Weights and Weight Rack
I wanted vertical plate storage and dumbbell storage all in one. This rack also has space for vertical storage for two barbells. I love this rack, the only thing I want to add is a bit of clear silicon on the metal where the dumbbells touch rack since re-racking the weights is beginning to damage metal.
The barbell on the right is a standard Olympic-sized 2-inch barbell that weighs 40lbs and comes with clips. I looked very specifically to make sure I got a standard 40lb bar. I know they make smaller bars designed for women, but I only had space for one regular barbell, and that’s all I have been using for the entirety of my fitness journey.
Easy curl bar on the left is a 15lb bar. I love using this bar for shoulder press, skull crushers, and bent-over rows. My boyfriend loves using it for bicep curls as well.
I really wanted bumper plates so that they are all the same width. I wanted the colored ones for each different weight, but those were out of stock and more expensive when I bought my plates. So I just got the plain black ones with the colored text instead. I have a set of 45lbs, 35lbs, 25lbs, 15lbs, and 10lbs. My 10lbs weights are a different random brand because those were out of stock from Everyday Essentials. I want to get more 10lb and 15lb weight plates at some point to add or decrease a little bit of weight as needed. But for now, what I have works great.
All of my dumbbells are hex style. I have 10lb, 15lb, 25lb, 35lb, and 45lb dumbbells. I want to get some 20lb dumbbells because 15 pounds is beginning to get too easy, but 25lbs is a little more of a struggle for some exercises than I’d like to have. I love the style of these style of dumbbells. They are perfect.
Wall Storage
I wanted something that I can store my yoga mats, foam roller, barbell pad, yoga block and resistance bands. This one is perfect wall storage.
Flooring
I got 36 24” by 24” floor tiles. These floor tiles come with edge pieces for each tile so that you can make the floor layout in any order that you choose. So far it has held up really well.
Miscellaneous
Above are all the miscellaneous gym equipment that I have in my home gym. I use the handles and ankle straps that come with the resistance tubes for my cable machine. I don’t use the resistance tubes as much now that I have the cable attachment for my squat rack. Since our lease is only one year at my current place, we plan on moving again. So when that occurs, I want to add in large wall-mounted mirrors and some more weights, as I discussed earlier. Also, I want to get something for cardio, a Bosu ball, and more floor tiles depending on how big my new space will be.
I love my home gym so much. It makes it so easy to work out whenever I want. I do not have to go anywhere to work out and I don’t have to worry about having to other people while I film my workouts. The best part: my dog can be with me while I work out! I do not have to leave her at home and she does really well with staying out of the way so she does not get hurt.
“Do something today that your future self will thank you for.”
If you are here and reading this, that means you have an interest in your health and fitness. That is so good; I am so excited for you! Taking care of your body is literally the best thing you can do for yourself in the present and the long term.
I find that quote so inspiring. Hard work will pay off in the future, but you also have to live in the moment, and I feel like taking care of yourself is doing both. You are doing good for yourself now as well as for your future self.
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