I know Austin has a home gym with the basics (R-3 racks, flat bench, deadlift platform, tons of plates, etc.). Guess I’m asking for an order of priorities based on your basic and advanced templates.
In short, I have an awesome home gym. Currently, I have:
Rogue R-3 rack (pins/pipe)
Ohio Power bar 29mm (bare steel)
Castro bar 28.5mm (bare steel)
Rogue Flat Utility bench
DIY deadlift platform
800 lbs iron plates (2% accuracy plates that are matched up in dead even pairs)
300 lbs bumper plates
Huge plate trees
Titan full deadlift jack
Concept 2 Rower
Rogue Echo Air Bike (on order…don’t have it yet)
IronMaster Lat pulldown / low row machine (bought used for $250 because I’m fat and can’t do pull ups yet)
Rogue Post Landmine with single handle, parallel handle and straight t-bar handle
Rogue Curl bar (forgive me)
Kettlebells --18 lb, 26 lb, 35 lb, 44 lb, 53 lb (I know, I know…I really haven’t touched them other than stretching my shoulders)
A few bands that don’t get used
First, I KNOW that I am not NEEDING anything else for BASIC training, but at what point in the future (if at all) do I begin to look for things beyond the basics? Things like an adjustable bench, safety squat bar, a squat box, other specialty bars, dip station (matador) with belt, multi grip pull-up bar, and dumbbells (if at all)?
Secondly, I know that most of these things beyond a rack, a bench and some weights are a luxury. I’m just in a position right now that I can afford to spend a few thousand dollars here and there (over the course of a few years) in the name of health and strength.
So…what does your current home gym look like, and what will your future gym look like?
Of the above, I own everything except an adjustable bench and chains, which I’ll probably get eventually. I also own a 15 kg women’s bar and an 5 kg aluminum training bar with some 10 and 25 lb bumpers for coaching purposes. I don’t feel like I “need” anything else, to be honest.
If I had unlimited money to throw at a gym, I’d get a couple ER Combo Racks, a set of calibrated Eleiko competition plates, a couple Eleiko power bars, and a belt squat machine. Maybe some weightlifting equipment too, just for fun.
I’m sure others will have more exciting answers than me.
Kind of underselling your gym by calling it awesome, lol. That is badass. If I had a few grand I would transition from 2% plates to calibrated ones from Rogue. Kg or freedom units, whichever you prefer.
Austin, your list makes a lot of sense. I see a few specialty bars in my future as well as the other items already mentioned. Will definitely take my time as I don’t have any needs given my current training level.
Bear_Bryan, thanks man! It’s been some work to get to this point for sure. Dude, I have had calibrated plates on my mind for a year but they are a total luxury given I already have good, matched plates. Still can’t stop thinking about them though! LOL!
For some reason, I still want a fixed set of dumbbells. They take up a lot of room and will cost $2500, but I am going to be lifting for several more decades. I think they’d be good for GPP. Just trying to have a little bit of everything.
Regardless, I am out of cash for gear until I can sell off more personal items to fund it. I am trying to raise about $3k for the next Black Friday sale.
Jordan had a good answer about this on his IG live today. One nuance: opt for the 30 inch deep R-3 bolt together rack (the standard weld rack is only 24 inch deep).
Yeah, my R-3 is the welded 24" depth. I like it fine, but I do wonder what it would be like to use a safety squat bar + squat box. Might have to do that outside of the rack. It might be tight, but I have no idea. I used to have a 43" rack, and I actually kind of like the smaller R-3. Not really a big deal, honestly. Not sure I even have a preference. I sold a 100" Rogue RML-690 (technically an RML-6100) to downsize because the six post rack just took up so much space. It’s all trade offs. I would go back to a six post if I could kick my wife’s car out of the garage permanently. Ha!
Another difference was that I could press inside the 100" rack. The 90" R-3 is way too short for me, so I press outside. I prefer that; however, I recently started thinking about pin presses. Guess I either can’t do them, or will have to do them seated.
Why opt for the 30” rack? I tried but couldn’t find Jordan talking about this. I’m looking at the R3 welded as it’s a bit higher and I’d be able to press inside. My current rack is 22” so,the R3 would be a bit more depth