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Garage Gym Recs - How to Get Started?

2,683 Views | 21 Replies | Last: 3 yr ago by Capitol Ag
AgAttack
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AG
Hi Team,

I'd love some help and advice building out a garage Gym. I'm starting from scratch. So many choices it's a little overwhelming.

I did Stronglifts 5x5 a few years ago and enjoyed it. I have not done much lifting since but would love to get back into it. I also have 3 sons that will be teens soon and would love to have something that can grow with them.

I assume step 1 is starting with a rack. I'd love to start with a system I can build onto and around. The folding racks look awesome for space saving, but are they flimsy? Will I wish I got a full rack?

Reading through a few other threads on this board, I caught onto Rogue and PRX as popular systems. Would love any reviews or experience on these or others.

Also, any flooring recs?

Finally, my wife has asked for free weights to do the Peloton workouts (non bike). Not familiar with these as much but curious if that all goes together with the above.

Appreciate any help! Thanks!

AgAttack
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AG
Also, would love ideas on where to find equipment too! I guess with everyone staying home from the gym now (like me), lots of sites and stores are sold out. Open to used equipment, just wanted to build cohesively if that makes sense. I'm in McKinney area if relevant. Thanks!
MizooAg94
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AG
Go full rack and Olympic weights. Get an aluminum 15bar for wife and kids. Get the 44 or 45 for you...get a nice one. If you want the Olympic lift option get rubber bumper plates so they can be dropped. We use standard iron plates and they work just fine. Get a good simple bench. You can get cheap horse stall mats at the local farm store.

Watch Craigslist and Facebook marketplace. Be very patient as there are a lot of people trying to make a killing on this stuff but a few just trying to clean out the garage. Don't be in a hurry and build slowly over time...like with tools, buy the one you need. Good luck!
aggiespartan
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AG
You can set up alerts on Rogue to be notified when things are back in stock. We got a Titan full power rack and plates from rogue. Bar is from Texas Power Bars. Our bench is an adjustable one from Titan. Still haven't found dumbbells but we already had a set of 15s. Picked up a couple of kettlebells from Rogue as well. With the way things are right now, you just have to start building and keep going until you get everything you want. The next thing I will probably get is a pulley system that I can attach to my rack.
Pahdz
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I can't recommend Powerblock adjustable dumbbells enough. I just wish we had gone with the heavier ones, mine only go up to 70
Pepper Brooks
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AG
Highly recommend the Bowflex 1090 dumbbells and the 2080 barbell. I don't personally have space for a garage rack but love the newer bowflex products. They've been life savers during the gym shutdowns.
“There is no red.
There is no blue.
There is the state.
And there is you.”

“As government expands, Liberty contracts” - R. Reagan
StEdsCOOG
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I have two power racks, rubber plates, bars, and other pieces of equipment from Get Rx'd in Houston. Bought heavy duty mats from Tractor Supply Co. in Katy ($50 pc. I think). My brother gave me his Bowflex dumbbells but I feel like they are just too long so I'm looking at getting a complete set. I'm in the process of finishing up the build on my new 26x26 garage and am looking forward to laying out my gym when complete.
Muy
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AG
Get a TRX band system, a battle rope, jump rope, kettle bells and some slam balls, none of which take up too much space.
2004FIGHTINTXAG
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I have the Rogue Monster Lite. It's good for squating, bench and pull-ups. You can also add a wall ball target, land mine, and pulley system to it over time if you want. You can also buy accessories to rack your weights on it.

For flooring, I recommend horse stall mats.
CoolaidWade
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AG
If you go to garagegymreviews.com they consistently say "Buy Once, Cry Once"

I can tell you without a doubt that is true because so far I have had to rebuy my power rack, Olympic bar, and a foam pylo box since I bought the light one instead of the heavy one.

Buy stuff that will last or you will end up paying more in the long run. Especially your rack and bar. So many cheap ones on Amazon that are price gouged.

MEENag
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AG
Posted this in a previous thread:
If you are looking for weight equipment (bars, bumpers/plates, racks etc), then you need to get familiar with the Reddit r/homegym "In Stock" thread. In addition to alerts via the thread when items come in stock, there are some really good auto alerts via Discord that the FAQ in that thread will help you set up. Various Rogue bumpers and bars come in stock almost daily but you have to act fast. I ended up with a Raw Boneyard Ohio Bar (used indoors and I oil somewhat regularly) and Rogue Fleck bumpers after a few weeks of trying. Some of the people in that thread get hooked on buying stuff because of the high they get when it comes in stock. I have to admit it was kinda fun, but I stuck to my needs.
AgAttack
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AG
WOW! That Reddit board is awesome. I've been scanning websites for days and even visited a few local shops and was getting frustrated looking for any type of plates. I hopped on that Reddit and saw there were some Rogue bumpers back in stock and was able to snag a few.

I was going to ask if worth waiting for a "set" to become available since I'm starting from scratch, but I was able to get a pair of 45s, 25s, and two pairs of 10s individually so went a head and pulled the trigger.

Really appreciate the help on this thread.

I ended up going with the PRX rack that folds against the wall. I went back and for on the fold up vs the full rack. I'm just excited to have something coming (supposed to arrive next week) and now will have some plates in the not too distant future too.

Quick question for a newbie...I've never owned or used bumper plates before (just the cast iron ones at commercial gyms). What should I get for smaller weight increments? I'd love to get a pair of 5 lbs and maybe 2.5 lbs. Is there a special type you need to use with bumpers or just get basic iron or steel plates? I assume they'll never touch the ground, just don't want to inadvertently damage anything.

Thanks!
Sports-Ag
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AG
Keep us posted on your PRX rack. I'm looking to possibly getting one in my garage in the future.
10andBOUNCE
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AG
Curious how you like the PRX as well!

For incremental weights I would just get the smaller steel plates. I don't see any issue mixing steel and bumper but maybe I'm wrong.
AgAttack
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AG
Will do! Estimated delivery is tomorrow but tracker shows it hasn't left PRX yet
Brenner
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AG
The smallest bumpers I have are 10# and I just use regular steel 5# & 2.5# plates, never had a problem
Ukraine Gas Expert
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AG
Bumpers from vulcan or again fitness are fantastic, and priced well. You can set up alerts. I also have a rogue lite, if you get one message me and I can share the build experience.

Using select tech weights to save room, and bought a collapsible bench on amazon to save space.

Doing all this in a two car garage, with a vehicle parked full time in the garage.
Capitol Ag
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AG
The piece that you want to make sure you don't skimp on is the barbell. The Ohio Power Bar, Capps Welding Texas Power Bar for strength training are priced well. Kabuki is the best probably, but at $700, it's pricey. The OPB and TBP are about $300 depending on which finish you get. Rogue has stock come and go all the time so sign up for updates. With Capps Welding, they have had lead time issues and expect about a 8=12 week lead time. Rogue won't let you order unless it's in stock. I just got a bare steel OPB from Rogue last Wednesday and it arrived yesterday. faster then the brush and 3in1 oil.

Rogue has some great olympic bars as well if that is your thing. Eleiko is the higher end top of the line bar.

Make sure you get some micro plates too, like the 2.5lbs and 1lbs or lighter. This will be essential with presses after 10 and 5 lbs jumps are no longer doable for the lifter. Get bumpers for olympic lifts but if you are focusing on strength, metal plates will save you money and are fine. But look for machined or calibrated metal plates as they are more likely to weigh close to or exactly what the plate is labeled. Metal plates can vary up to 15 lbs heavier or lighter than what it is supposed to lift.
AgAttack
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AG
Got the PRX setup! A few pics to share below.

I'm super excited about it. It feels high quality and is very sturdy when deployed. We'll see how it holds up after some real usage in the coming weeks and months.

Install took a little longer than I expected, but that was mostly due to my studs not being exactly even. I would have just added a header board and called it a day, but I was very tight on clearance when folding the rack up with my garage door rails. Was eventually able to get it secure.

Another bummer was the wall mount bracket was missing from the folding bench. I've heard PRX has good support. I've put in a ticket with them, we'll see if that gets resolved smoothly.

A big thanks to MEENAg and his reddit--I was able to jump on Rogue Bumpers you see pictured in the background.


CoolaidWade
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AG
Solid!
javajaws
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AG
If anybody is looking for bumper plates, Vulcan strength has both rubber and urethane plates in stock.
CoolaidWade
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AG
javajaws said:

If anybody is looking for bumper plates, Vulcan strength has both rubber and urethane plates in stock.
Titans economy bumpers are half the price. I got a full set by waiting for each pair to become available and then buying them on a month long back order. They go on sale every few weeks. You have to check everyday.

Cons: rubber smell for weeks, and plates are totally black including the marking.

A long process but now own four 10s, four 25s, two 35s, four 45s.

Not sure if other plates are better but Titan is cheapest I found.

Another thing I noticed is I also got a wonder bar from Fringe Sports and my bench press and squats have all instantly suffered.

Before I had a Olympic weight set of irons from Dicks Sporting goods that included a cheap barbell. Now I wonder what the actual weight of that barbell and plates are. Switching to a decent barbell and Titan bumper plates and now everything seems heavier?
Capitol Ag
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AG
CoolaidWade said:

javajaws said:

If anybody is looking for bumper plates, Vulcan strength has both rubber and urethane plates in stock.

Another thing I noticed is I also got a wonder bar from Fringe Sports and my bench press and squats have all instantly suffered.

Before I had a Olympic weight set of irons from Dicks Sporting goods that included a cheap barbell. Now I wonder what the actual weight of that barbell and plates are. Switching to a decent barbell and Titan bumper plates and now everything seems heavier?
Very possible actually. Especially with what the retail places get in stock. But even Rogue and Titan can have variance in what their plates are supposed to weight and Rogue states as much on their website. Plus a retail bought barbell can be cheap and could also be lighter than what they stated. I weigh my plates, even from Rogue and Titan. They have been pretty spot on though I get a set of 45lbs plates at Scheels and one was almost 4 lbs heavier. The only reason I know was every time I squated with those plates, one side felt heavier. So I weighed them both and sure enough, the "heavier" side was actually heavier. It's not that big of a deal but at first I didn't know if the bar was off or what the problem was...
So even a small variation and add up. That's why micro loading works so well to make people stronger. If you increase the weight on the bar every session by a small amount, you'll get stronger each time enough to induce a recovery response by the next session. When I started doing linear progression for my big lifts, I could see the differences in a very short time.
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