Home gym?

[hsvcraig]

Do you guys think you can get away with these home gyms over going to the gym. Looking at a pretty good one for 2k but will I regret it then go back to the gym.... Any thoughts???

[noon]

I lift at home with piles of steel plates a complete set of dumbellsup to 100 lbs
two benches an incline and a decline a leg machine and a good squat rack
I also have a pully system
it can be done

[Times Roman]

the one size does all pieces of equipment are only good for mild gains and maintenance only.

a good home gym costs thousands, involves much equipment, and many steel plates all over the place.

if you are thinking of putting one together, craigslist is your friend.

did you blokes realize that steel plates run a dollar a pound?

shit, i've got 7 or 800 lbs of steel plate alone.

[Fred40]

I've always lifted at home. Higher cost up front.....but HUGE savings over time.

Mine is pretty basic. Small Power Rack, Bench that inclines and has a cable pulley system. Free weights, two full sized Olympic bars, Olympic curl bar and a set of 100lb adjustable dumbbells. The bench also includes dip handles and the rack has a chin-up bar. I could use a nice leg machine.

[Shadowmaker]

i havent been to the gym for some 4 years now...
i have 2 dumbbells with adjustable weights, a barbell with a diameter equal to dumbbells, so i can use the same weight, a pile of plates, a bench and 50 year old home made squat rack with adjustable height, so i can use it for presses too... also i have a really old stationary bike, with no electronics at all - just ar strap that wraps around the wheel adjusting the resistance that way

also, some 2 years ago i made a thingy out of wood into which i can put the bars of the dumbbells and it works like the thing you do chest dips on.

and all that is standing almost next to my bed in my bedroom.
for all that i payed smth like 900$ including all the small things like ab-wheel and stuff like that... the gym costs 720$ a year...
by training at home for 4 year i have saved like 2k not to mention that i dont have to go anywhere when its freezing cold outside, and i can train whenever i want...
also, the quality of my workout improved alot since you dont have any huge guys and chicks to impress with your big weights+shi**y form.

i can play a metronome on my PC when i workout, and count precise 4 seconds negative, 3 seconds positive - which means that 2 of my slow motion Mentzer style reps are the same amount of stress on the muscle that some guys in the gym do in 1 set - ofc, my weights are really small, but until i mention that in public, no one would ever know.

i could never go back to the gym... just the tought of the gym makes me feel bad

stuff is in my bedroom, so over the time - all my girlfriends start to work out too, so ive always had a gf with a nice body.


p.s - i would love to buy some of those "home-gym" things because of the leg extensions&curls, some pec-dec and pulldown stuff.. but it all costs too much for me.

[abstetic]

i havent been to the gym for some 4 years now...
i have 2 dumbbells with adjustable weights, a barbell with a diameter equal to dumbbells, so i can use the same weight, a pile of plates, a bench and 50 year old home made squat rack with adjustable height, so i can use it for presses too... also i have a really old stationary bike, with no electronics at all - just ar strap that wraps around the wheel adjusting the resistance that way

also, some 2 years ago i made a thingy out of wood into which i can put the bars of the dumbbells and it works like the thing you do chest dips on.

and all that is standing almost next to my bed in my bedroom.
for all that i payed smth like 900$ including all the small things like ab-wheel and stuff like that... the gym costs 720$ a year...
by training at home for 4 year i have saved like 2k not to mention that i dont have to go anywhere when its freezing cold outside, and i can train whenever i want...
also, the quality of my workout improved alot since you dont have any huge guys and chicks to impress with your big weights+shi**y form.

i can play a metronome on my PC when i workout, and count precise 4 seconds negative, 3 seconds positive - which means that 2 of my slow motion Mentzer style reps are the same amount of stress on the muscle that some guys in the gym do in 1 set - ofc, my weights are really small, but until i mention that in public, no one would ever know.

i could never go back to the gym... just the tought of the gym makes me feel bad

stuff is in my bedroom, so over the time - all my girlfriends start to work out too, so ive always had a gf with a nice body.

p.s - i would love to buy some of those "home-gym" things because of the leg extensions&curls, some pec-dec and pulldown stuff.. but it all costs too much for me.

Wow what are ur stats? Seams like you can't do much with ur set up

[Gaspari1255]

Haz (one of the bigger members on here) has never had a gym membership. He's trained in his dad's basement for 10 years or so - it's all about making do with what you have..

[Shadowmaker]

Wow what are ur stats? Seams like you can't do much with ur set up

6'2 and 230-ish right now, around 7-9% bf - hard to tell cause because i have tried tons of caliper measurement formulas - starting with 3 point as far as 9 point measurements - all show like 3-5% for me, lol

as far as "cant do much with ur set up" - u trollin, right? except for last 2 decades, bodybuilders never had much more than free weights...
as long as you're not around 240lbs you can actually progress by doin 3-5 basic lifts for years...

anyway - its not the exercises that makes you grow... Mr.Olympia guys - sure, the drugs they are on, the tons of food they eat and the god-mode genetics they have - they really can see benefits from some lil things like grip changes or the angle of the movement...
for us - normal guys, none of that really matters - you just stress the muscle, eat your food, get your sleep and you grow like your genetics allow you to...
having tons of machines and doins tons of sets changes nothing..
i used to train the classic volume style and i had my progress... now i changed to my slow-motion workouts, doin just 1 set per exercise, 2-3 exercises per muscle group, 1 muscle group a day - my workouts take like 10-12min and my progress is just the same when i did 45min of workouts doin like 9-12 sets per muscle group.

for average joe, most of the stuff ppl think that matters really dont matter...

[stocky121]

i had two years off from the gym for reasons i wont go into in this thread. been training again for about 3-4 months now in my garage and really starting to enjoy it again

[Times Roman]

I've always lifted at home. Higher cost up front.....but HUGE savings over time.

Mine is pretty basic. Small Power Rack, Bench that inclines and has a cable pulley system. Free weights, two full sized Olympic bars, Olympic curl bar and a set of 100lb adjustable dumbbells. The bench also includes dip handles and the rack has a chin-up bar. I could use a nice leg machine.

that's how i was justifying it to a certain degree. but let's tthink about this for a moment.

say a decent home gym costs $5k. Smith machine, so you can squat and bench with no spotter. and all the rest. now compare that to a gym price of $30/mo. which is $360/yr. say $1k over 3 years, or $5k over 15 years.

thoughts...

going to the gym doesn't require an initial investment, so less out of pocket cash up front.

additionally, when you do move, and everybody eventually moves, what a pain in the ass to move all that equipment.

I've been a home gym guy all my life. But I think I'm done with that. Not enough variety at home.

just my .02

[austinite]

Anytime I purchase equipment, it ends up being a shirt hanger. Going to the gym is more motivating for me than working out at home. Maybe that would be different if money was no object and I had a state of the art gym.

[Vibrantred94gt]

I have a complete home gym, love the convenience, love the fact I watch or listen to whatever I want.

If you're going to do it shop Craigslist and buy freeweights. A rack, leg press, leg extension/curl machine, adjustable dumbbells, and cable machine is all you need. Well, you need some cardio equipment as well.

I did my entire gym for around 200 bucks by flipping stuff on Craig's. Took about a year and I started with a nautilus half rack setup. Now I have a full rack, leg press/squat machine, cable crossover with weight stack, bench, dumbbells, leg cur/extension, treadmill, tanning bed, all in an oversized fully finished heated garage with 3/4 rubber flooring.

[gearbox]

I have a complete home gym, love the convenience, love the fact I watch or listen to whatever I want.

If you're going to do it shop Craigslist and buy freeweights. A rack, leg press, leg extension/curl machine, adjustable dumbbells, and cable machine is all you need. Well, you need some cardio equipment as well.

I did my entire gym for around 200 bucks by flipping stuff on Craig's. Took about a year and I started with a nautilus half rack setup. Now I have a full rack, leg press/squat machine, cable crossover with weight stack, bench, dumbbells, leg cur/extension, treadmill, tanning bed, all in an oversized fully finished heated garage with 3/4 rubber flooring.

This sounds like a great set up. I wish I had room for a hm gym tbh.
But as Aus said going to gym and seeing hearing ppl lift weights is motivating

[Vibrantred94gt]

Im opposite, I skipped the gym more when I ahead to drive there. I work from home though, so I'm not out and about in the first place.

[MickeyKnox]

i had two years off from the gym for reasons i wont go into in this thread. been training again for about 3-4 months now in my garage and really starting to enjoy it again

Is that when you were doing time in that filthy jail in Calcutta?

Anytime I purchase equipment, it ends up being a shirt hanger. Going to the gym is more motivating for me than working out at home. Maybe that would be different if money was no object and I had a state of the art gym.

Agreed.

But i do have a bench, BB, DB's, and variety of plates for maintenance days, or times i cannot finish a workout at the gym.

[kelkel]

I've trained in my basement for 8 years straight now. It can get old but I work from home now and the convenience is paramount. Have a Bodysolid smith with a high & low pulley, heavy stack which you can also hang more weight on. A verticle leg press cause it takes up less room and less weight is needed ( who wants 20 friggen 45's laying around just for the 45 degree sled, IMO) as well as a cam operated ext/curl machine and preacher bench. One of the best pieces of equipment I have is the basic olympic bar shoved in the corner for T Bar rows. Nothing beats that old school exercise. Crank the Ipod up and hit it, all the while being stared at strangely by the cat.

Anyway, you can get by with a few basics but I have been considering joining a local gym just to have an option now and then. It would be nice to see some sights and hear other people banging metal around. Kinda miss that...

kel

[Natureboy71]

About 10 years ago I spent the big bucks on a home gym with all the stuff. Squat racks, dumbell racks, leg press, calf raise, treadmill, eliptical, stair machine, bike. You name it and I have it. Probaby 8K into it. Sure that is an expensive option and not everyone can do that but I would never go back. My own music, TV, no distracting people, no waiting for machines, complete concentration on what I am doing.

When I was younger I think for me the gym was too much of social scene and I didn't train as hard due to it. I am bigger now and in better shape by far with my own gym.

In response to the OP the "all in one" machine is ok to have in the middle of your floor but you will need to add other equipment around it to get the most out of your workouts and to prevent it from getting boring.

[Bouch]

I love working out at home. I bought an Olympic bench that has a leg machine and preacher curl machine attachments, 450lbs of Olympic weights and bar, dumbbells 5-50lbs, and a power tower. My goal was to loose weight and cut. I dropped from 205lbs 22%bf down to 186 14% in 12 weeks. I attached my photo. I prefer the convenience of a home gym. I have been off and on for most of my life since I was 14. But I have never been as dedicated as when I spent some money to get the equipment at home. I prefer free weights over an all in one machine but if space is an issue, you'll be able to get descent gains with it. I got most of my stuff on Craigslist for dirt cheap compared to full price.

[kelkel]

Big difference Bouch. Great work!

[Bouch]

Thanks kelkel