My football playing freshman high school son is looking to get all buff and strong in the off-season. I could use little work too. We can allocate about 2/3 of a 1 car garage to outfit. What equipment would you fine folks recommend for him with saftey being top of mind? Give me your practical recomendations and then also if money was no issue. Thanks yall!!

Squat/power rack, adjustable bench, bumper plates.

Money no object, I'd buy one of the power racks that has a smith machine, multiple pulley stations, lat pull down, dip station, etc. Then I'd get an adjustable bench, adjustable dumbbells, leg press/hacksquat machine.

harge57 said:

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Squat/power rack, adjustable bench, bumper plates.

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This is where you start. Assume you meant to include a barebell… or it's just implied with what you suggested. Add adjustable dumbbells too.

This is the way.

Shop for the scratch and dent/boneyard stuff from Titan/Rep/Rogue for bars and plates to get you started to cut costs.

To give you an idea of cost, I've probably spent around $5k on my setup and I have a nice Rogue rack, a barbell, and about 470 pounds of plates. Plus some other random equipment that cost in the $100 or less range each.

Not sure what position your son plays, but in addition to the typical barbell, rack, and plates, I'd get some plyometric boxes. If he's playing interior positions, it might not hurt to just get some heavy stuff to move around, whether that is farmer carry handles/bars, sandbags, etc.

harge57 said:

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Squat/power rack, adjustable bench, bumper plates.

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I also agree this will be a great start. I'd put horse stall mats (Tractor Supply) down first.

Almost all of my stuff is from Titan and I've been really happy with it for the price point. I personally wouldn't spend too much time looking for used stuff. There typically isn't much of a discount off of retail for this kind of stuff.

Hey! Im setting up a home gym in my basement and asked the same question. There were some good responses.

https://texags.com/forums/48/topics/3426787

Money no object, I would get a Rogue squat rack with deadlift platform. You can get the collegiate which is a little smaller, thats what I have. Get the competition bumper plates, a good pull up cross bar, 3-4 kettlebells, adjustable bench, cross rope, rogue bands, wraps, safety arms, chalk holder and chalk. And a fun barbell.

Like said above. Bumper plates, squat rack, bench, and stall mats. Can add dumbbells down the road.

Fringe Sport for bumper plates. Based in Austin. Free shipping. Contact Lauren Pettineo and she will likely discount them. Can also get a full gym setup from them.

Rouge and Texas power bars make great bars.

Racks Rogue, Rep, titan.

Adjustable bench from Rep

I would add a trap bar. He'll probably see one in the HS gym come Summer/Fall.

For barbells, my American Barbell (California model) is superior to our one from Rogue. Tighter tolerances and a very quiet bar, if that matters to you. Knurling is a little more aggressive than Rogue's but not terrible.

I second horse stall mats, adjustable dumbbells, and a Rogue power rack. We have Monster Light R-3. If you like to lift inside the cage, get something bigger. You can easily lift inside the R-3, but it's a little tight. Or, add the safety arms to spot when lifting on the outside of the cage. You will want to bolt it down, but that's not a big deal. Buy the hardware from a big box store, Rogue's is unnecessarily expensive IMO.

The dip bar from Rogue ("matador", I think) is nice and worth the cost.

Basically what most people above said...

• Power rack
• Barbell
• Bumper plates
• Stall mats
• Adjustable bench

You can do a LOT with just that. And someone mentioned a trap bar. I love the trap bar. I hardly ever deadlift with a straight bar anymore.

After you have the basics above I'd add in some or all of the following as budget and space allows...

• Dumbbells / adjustable dumbbells
• Kettlebells
• Sandbag or two
• Lat pulldown machine or some sort of pulley machine
• Assault bike or rowing machine
• Jump rope

Rogue equipment is great. Fringe equipment is great. Rep Fitness makes some good stuff that's easier on the budget.

Bolt Fitness great option for a slightly lower price point. I have a ton of their stuff.

JeremiahJohnson said:

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Fringe Sport for bumper plates. Based in Austin. Free shipping. Contact Lauren Pettineo and she will likely discount them. Can also get a full gym setup from them.

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Been on the lookout for some bumper plates. Hadn't looked at Fringe but the Savage Bumper Plates look nice. Is there some connection or secret code I need to mention to this Lauren person?

Ask her for a quote. Say you found her in the garage gym Facebook group. Here's her email. Tell her what you want on their page.
lauren.pettineo@fringesport.com

Thanks!

Ended up grabbing a couple pairs of the savage bumper 45s for a decent deal. Thanks again for the suggestion!

Definitely agree on the adjustable bench. I regret going with the rogue flat bench.

I went with all the basics above and added in the rowing machine and plyo box for my garage.

Can't recommend them enough! Only ever had great experiences with them! If you can pick up the weights in Houston they are worth buying new rather shopping for used weights. Their bumber plates are great!

I have a Titan T3 and it's more than enough and got it for around 500, it's worth every cent.

I have two barbells but only use my Texas Power Bar cause I love the knurling. Plus it's a Texas made so you gotta stick with the best!

Added 2 rubber coated hex 35's to my gym over Xmas. Very common dual dumbbell for the workouts I do. I need a single 50 also, will add one soon enough. Tired of the "build a bell". They're fine for strength building but any fast reps or weird CrossFit stuff and they don't work so well. Probably get a set of Olympic 15 plates, too, to add to my collection. Good for building a fast 75# bar.

I got a pair of 15# bumpers recently and really glad I added them. I use them almost every workout.

10andBOUNCE said:

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Ended up grabbing a couple pairs of the savage bumper 45s for a decent deal. Thanks again for the suggestion!

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Awesome. Glad to help. I really like their Bumper plates. They are very well made

Here is my setup. Everything folds up nicely against the wall (including a new bench that folds up and stays on the wall). I would have killed for this back in High School

Where did you get that plate storage on the wall?

CC09LawAg said:

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Where did you get that plate storage on the wall?

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https://prxperformance.com/products/weight-plate-wall-storage

Damn that's awesome! Someday (never) I will clear everything out and start over with freshly painted walls and better thought out organization.

I'm not sure if I've posted this before or not, but I remember seeing your setup a couple years ago, and modeled mine just like it:

sanitariex said:

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I'm not sure if I've posted this before or not, but I remember seeing your setup a couple years ago, and modeled mine just like it:

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Looks great!

Can he play linebacker?

But seriously, what position does he play? I'd think that would impact what kind of work he's looking at doing. Assuming he's 14/15, it's hard to go wrong with mixing in body weight exercises. Pushups, pull-ups, box jumps, plyometrics, etc.

Sled work is something I wish I'd known about.

I think it was mentioned before but a sandbag is a great piece of equipment for home workouts. I'd get one in the 40-60 pound range for a teenager.

Brute force sells them and puts out workout routines that are great! Perfect for football conditioning.

AggieChemE09 said:

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Here is my setup. Everything folds up nicely against the wall (including a new bench that folds up and stays on the wall). I would have killed for this back in High School

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How much was this exact same setup if you don't mind me asking?