What would you put in a home gym?
 

As most of you have seen, I'm in the midst of building a house. I have already set aside the area in the basement for the home gym. Now, I have to figure how to set it up.

I have some outside workout gear now, i.e. rope climb, big tires, small tires, sledgehammer, railroad tie. Also have a 5k trail around the farm. What I need is a way to grab a good workout indoors during inclement weather. (yes, I'm getting soft).

I'm thinking of setting up an open area, a tv/DVD player for the workout dvd's, some room for some sandbag stuff. Was considering an olympic bar. Not real sure about machines (I despise treadmills). Was also thinking about a dumbbell rack, some medicine balls, etc.

Anybody that has anything, chime in. I'm all ears, and thanks.

I would love to have one of these. But i moved to Nashville and no longer have a basement for a gym room. :mad:


http://www.fitnesszone.com/product/B...0cxGgKSIfD_BwE

I too despise treadmills, that being said I have one that I use religiously. The wife bought it awhile back and it cost in the area of a grand. I thought it was a pretty nice one till I got on a really nice one at the local cardiac rehab that is more in the 5K range, a real Cadillac. Should you get one in spite of how you feel about them I would suggest that you get best one that you can afford. I also have an Airdyne, both pieces boring but effective if used.

I've seen quite a few places with these fitness/battle ropes, as well as resistance band training.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r-ScVKSbqhU

Wanted to add this for an idea ....

I worked on an episode of Gym Rescue on Spike.

Frank and Randy took this gym and turned it around. At the 36:40 mark you can see the "new" gym with the ropes and resistance band stations.

That floor that Frank describes is INCREDIBLE. It felt so great just walking on and working out on. Takes the pressure off of your knees and back.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IIPQPah_0ug


*This was a fun episode to work on. Frank is really a character. :D

Power Tower
 

I love this piece of equipment. It's cheap, simple and probably the most effective body weight training one can do. It has stations for pull/chin ups, dips and bent vertical knee raises that really engage the core. I paid less than $200 and it assembles easily. Takes up about 10 square feet of floor space. It's light, too. 300 pound limit.

Sir,

What is your mindset? What are you and the wife wanting to improve? Overall health? Increase size with lean muscle mass? Strength and Conditioning?

Your Cardo..what are you wanting to do? Run a Mathron next Spring? Triathlon? Inprove for the Ski season? Keep in Shape for Cross Country during the Spring and Summer? Keep the Heart Rate down?

What you are wanting to do and how much you're wanting to spend drive this. I know you know this, but to say what I would throw in drives what I would suggest.

Do you want a rubber floor? Padded area?

Also what are the measurements of your basement area?

Kettlebells. I used the Skogg System for a while to get the basics down. A battle rope is next on the list.

Keep it simple. Lots of body weight exercises preclude the once-used equipment from becoming a place to hang your dirty clothing...

Definitely used stuff! I read once that exercise equipment is the least used, ergo the best deal in used equipment. People mean well spend good money, then it becomes a great place to hang clothes.

I have no recommendations on what to buy, but when you decide, look for used and save a bundle.:lifter (just because he's lifting)

I'm not sure what your overall goals are, however if strength training is a part of your agenda and you are willing to spend, rogue fitness makes high quality equipment.

with a simple power rack;

http://www.roguefitness.com/rogue-r-3-power-rack

along with one of their plate and bar kits (get the rubber coated, same diameter plates);

http://www.roguefitness.com/bravo-bar-bumper-set

You can work out any muscle group you want.

You would also need a bench;

http://www.roguefitness.com/rogue-flat-utility-bench

Stay away from cable driven racks such as the smith mentioned before. They do not allow for your joints natural movement while lifting the weight. They also encourage poor form and take away from training the stabilizer muscles while performing dynamic lifts.

Just my $.02

He's an old fart who sits behind a desk now. He just wants to stay in shape. :D






Just kidding, he's probably training for an Ironman. :lifter

I am definitely going to have a padded area, probably the entire gym area. Gym area is about 15 feet by 20 feet with a 9 foot ceiling.

I don't run for time anymore, and now run exclusively on trails. I like to be able to knock out a 10-miler on a trail without any notice.

I am also hitting the cardio fairly hard, but in more ways than just running. I have been doing a bunch of tabata workouts, using the sandbag, big tire, sledgehammer, log, etc. Also doing some of the dvd workouts for cardio (Insanity, p90x3, etc).

As far as strength, I am tending more toward functional stuff. I.e., I don't care about benching 2x my body weight, but I do want to be able to climb a rope at any time. I am starting to see the genius of sandbag stuff, and will probably order a 2nd, larger sandbag in the near future.

I have also started paying more attention to flexibility. Back when I was fighting, I could do the splits. Now, not so much. So, I've been hitting the p90x3 dynamic stretching and yoga stuff.

Additionally, I am doing more core stuff. Besides the stuff above, I have been doing some p90x3 Pilates, which is pretty good.

Finally, I live too far from town, and work unpredictable hours, to ever make it to a gym. So, I need to be able to accomplish all of the above here on the farm.

If running and rucking is your thing, then I highly recommend this iFit enabled treadmill. We bought one last Christmas and have absolutely loved it.

My wife competes in triathlons and I've hiked and ran trails my entire life. If you've never used iFit, then you're missing out. Imagine pulling up an app that allows you to literally trace your route on your smart phone, tablet or pc and then transfer that route to your treadmill. It allows customizations to your resistance, elevation, etc to help you train for a specific route, which rocks whenever you're training for a 5k, half or full marathon.

Aside from that, we train in Krav Maga, BJJ and Kali/silat. So, our gym is atypical - kick shields, heavy bags, tombstone pads, ropes, rubber knives and guns, kettle bells, etc. BTW, your house looks awesome! You've done a great job and should be proud! Oh...and back to iFit...if you do have a smart phone, then download the free app and give it a whirl. Maybe you'll discover some added benefits to how it logs your activities and integrates into your overall cardio and fitness plans.

Best of luck!

Collected over time, but here's what I ended up with in my garage gym.
Pull up bar (homemade from scrap stainless) , mounted to the ceiling
Concept 2 rower, rogue fitness tends to have good prices
Rings, hung from pull up bar for ring rows and dips
Kettlebells, 35 40 53 70 lb
Dumbell pairs, 25 30 40 45
Barbell, also from rogue fitness
Bumper plates, started with 1 pair each 10 15 25 35 45, have added more for heavy deadlift work.
Plyo box 24", home made
Sand bags.

I tend to add items as I see that I will use them, but set the space up with room for the box and rower.

Racks are nice but can be a temptation for putting yourself in danger with no spotter.
Also horse stall mats make decent flooring, but have a smell when new that may be hard to vent from inside your house.