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One of our must haves when we were looking at houses was finding a home with a space where we could create a home gym, and now, about four months after we moved in, it’s finally finished, and I’m excited to share it with you today.
The room is on the ground floor, and the previous homeowners told us they used it as a playroom when their children were little. The door you see in the back is where we are building a full bathroom so you can shower before/after your workout/sauna sesh. When you turn that corner you see to the left, there’s a staircase that leads to the first floor.
Flooring for Home Gym
The flooring for our home gym is concrete with a mat pad and then on top of it sits half turf and half horse stall matting. After going back and forth about what turf to order, we decided on Rubber Flooring Inc. It seemed to be the highest quality without breaking the bank.
For the rubber matting, I initially wanted to go with holy grail Rogue brand, but it was so expensive, and after doing my research, I felt like we would get almost the same quality with horse stall matting and save a good amount of money. I ordered the horse stall matting from Tractor Supply Co.
Cardio Equipment for Home Gym
The home gym space isn’t huge, so I wanted to be really intentional with the equipment that I chose. I have a very strong love/hate relationship with air dyne bikes, and was able to snag a Rogue Echo bike when they finally came back in stock after the shopping frenzy that went down during quarantine. In a perfect world, I would’ve also loved to get an air runner, but there just isn’t enough room…. sooo I got a trampoline! It’s a super inexpensive, super small piece of equipment that works perfectly for cardio! The adult trampoline I go is just under $65 and supports up to 250lbs. I just think it’s really important to switch up the type of cardio you do, so I’m glad to have this option.
Squat Rack for Home Gym
When it came time to look for a squat rack, we needed one that was versatile in terms of size, because the ceilings aren’t super high, but we also wanted it to be able to hold a substantial amount of weight and be able to not only squat but also bench press with it. We ended up going with a weider squat rack, and have zero complaints.
For barbells and plates, I have:
Standard Oly bar (it’s 45lbs with a wider grip than the female bar), and a female bar (it is 35lbs and has a narrower grip for smaller hands) - Mine are from ProSourceFit (you can use code YBC10 for a discount) but they’re currently sold out. However, you can set a notification on their site to be emailed when they’re back in stock). You can also check here for a men’s barbell, and here for a women’s barbell, where they’re currently in stock.
10 and 15 pound plates from ProSource Fit (You can use code YBC10 for 10% off, but check back frequently, because they’re sold out right now). You can also try here - where they’re currently in stock.
25, 35 and 45 pound plates from Rogue, but you can try here, where they’re currently in stock.
Barbell Clips - I like those because you can also use them to train your forearms.
For the bench, I have a Parabody brand that I got off of Facebook marketplace (honestly, that’s such a budget-friendly place to get high quality equipment. I can’t find it online but here’s a good one - when buying a bench with limited home gym space, I think it’s nice to ensure it can hold a good amount of weight (don’t forget to add the bodyweight of the person who will be using it), and be sturdy. You don’t want it too high off the ground if you’re short, and you want it to be able to adjust so you can do a variety of movements with it. This bench is a great option.
Dumbbells and Kettlebells for Home Gym
For dumbbells and kettlebells, I have:
Hand weights: 4lbs, 5lbs, 8lbs, 10lbs, 15lbs, 20lbs, 35lbs - Many of them are in stock so be quick and use code YBC10 for a discount!
Kettlebells: 25lbs and 35lbs. Here’s a 20lb Kettlebell that would arrive before Christmas, and here’s a kettlebell set in stock for 5, 10 and 15lbs in stock.
This compact dumbbell weight rack is so good and super affordable.
Slam and Med Balls for Home Gym
I have a few slam and med balls in my home gym including:
10 and 20lb slam balls
8 and 10lb med balls in stock here
Other Equipment for Home Gym
Mine is from Rogue, but here’s a pull up bar with a ceiling mount that is in stock, and here’s a door mount pull up bar also in stock. And if you’re working on your pull ups, you may want to get some long loop resistance bands to assist - here’s a long loop resistance band set on sale!
On the pull up bar, we hung Rogue rings which are excellent for dips, ring rows, etc. Here is a set of rings for your pull up bar that are in stock. Dan bought fat gripz for the pull up bar that are annoying as hell for me to use but he says they’re great for training your forearms.
Sliders are so good on turf!
Bosu Sport Trainer - I love this thing, you can do so much with it.
Battle ropes and wall mount - another great way to get cardio in.
Crossover Symmetry and mounts - This is an AWESOME system to have! Excellent for back and chest work.
Gym Sled - another good way to get cardio in.
Recovery Equipment for Home Gym
I have a number of acupressure mats including this one which you can use for meditation or on the bottoms of the feet.
This massage gun is great and pretty affordable. I also have this Hyperice massage ball, and this handheld half ball which is excellent for pecs. This is excellent for the erectors, and this is the foam roller I have.
Sauna - We have a Helo brand two person sauna. Here’s a two person sauna at a great price point!
Home Gym Accessories
White board and markers for writing up workouts.
Workout timer with remote for tabata and other timed workouts.
Mirrors - (Dan’s dad is a general contractor so mine were from a job he did where someone didn’t want them in their house, and another one I got was from Facebook marketplace) and to mount them, you’ll need mirror glue.
Insigna TV - it’s small, and we got a Roku, so you can connect to Netflix, Hulu, or live tv.
You’ll see a couple accent walls and stained shelves - Dan made those! So lucky he knows how to do that stuff!
I’m so happy with how it all turned out, and feel so thankful every time I get to go in and workout. I honestly couldn’t have imagined a better space for us - it’s exactly what we’d wanted!