Bottom Line Up Front: I have had a garage gym for more than ten years. I have spent nearly $10,000 on equipment. This is the third post in a series that explains how I would create an ideal garage (home) gym taking into consideration all my lessons learned over the years.
Review of Phases One and Two
If you haven’t read the first article, please do so as it will give context to the rest of this article and will set the stage so I don’t have to repeat myself. I’ll wait…
Sorry, there is a second article you should read too. Again, waiting…
And we’re back. Now, none of the baseline assumptions have changed from phase one’s article. And also I assume you actually have all the items from phases one and two now to build on. So far, you have the following which cost you around $900 (with inflation since I wrote the first post, it’s definitely more expensive based on when you read this) in your very own garage gym:
- three kettlebells of different weight
- a pull-up bar
- set of resistance bands
- plyo box
- sandbag
- floor mats
THE NEXT THREE PURCHASES: Things to Lift Heavy and Get Big & Strong
** All prices are without shipping or tax as of date of publication
The ninth purchase is a barbell from Rogue ($300-400)
Barbells are a must to get big and strong. Some people may have actually put the barbell as the first item in the whole series. It’s what people think of when they think of lifting weights and gyms in general. You can get a barbell from a lot of places and they will function basically the same, but you get what you pay for. If you are doing Olympic lifting or serious high level powerlifting, your barbell is far more important than what most of us are up to. I personally have had the same Rogue bar since 2012. I have used it multiple times a week now for over a decade. I am looking for excuses to get a new one, but mine is still going strong! I have never done any maintenance on it whatsoever. Despite it sitting in a garage semi-outdoors, it has no signs of rust or environmental effects. It is scratched to hell but that just makes it look bad ass.
I have the Operator Bar, which is a cooler modified Ohio Bar, their baseline barbell. Technically they said the Ohio Bar is for powerlifting whereas the Operator has been modified to be more versatile. They also have the Echo Bar which is also more multi-purpose for things from squatting and deadlifting to snatches or cleans. The Ohio Bar per the description is for squat, bench press, and deadlifting. If you haven’t ever used a variety of barbells you may wonder how these could possibly be different, but it has to do with the diameter, flexion, rotation, bushings/bearings, and knurling. For example, when snatching, you want a lot of whip, good rotation, and no center knurling (so it doesn’t scrape your body on the way up). With squatting, you want stability, rigidity, and center knurling (so it grips your back). For this reason, I’d recommend the Echo Bar for our multi-purpose garage gym. You can choose the Operator if you want to spend an additional $100 to look way cooler. I would get the Operator in olive drab (RANGER!) personally.
The tenth purchase is a set of plates from Rogue ($500-$600)
You saw this one coming. You can’t very well use a barbell (maximally at least) without plates. Theoretically plates are plates, true. You can get these from a lot of places, but, again, going to recommend Rogue. Also going to recommend bumpers versus steel plates. Bumpers take up more space but are safer and more versatile. Like my beloved Operator 1.0 barbell, my Rogue bumpers have been used and abused since 2012, left in the garage with no maintenance done. I think I hosed them off a few times after I took them to a field.
There is definitely a strategy here for which ones to get. I have six 45-pounders, two 25-pounders, and two ten-pounders. I would personally never get 35s or 15s. Stick with 45 -and 25-pound bumpers then augment with 5 or 10lb steel plates for much less money (this turns 10s into 15s and 25s into 35s). I almost always used bands now so I don’t even use plates a lot of times on barbell movements. I never use my 10lb bumpers any more, always steel ones. The 10lb bumpers are pretty flimsy too so you can’t really load up a barbell and do much with them as they are too tall and thin to hold.
I have the 1.0 version of what are today the US-MIL Spec Bumpers. The HG 2.0 series are what I see at most gyms these days. They are very nice too. And they also have a line of cheaper HG called the HG Echo that are the same price as the Mil Spec ones. They have other bumpers like nicer ones for competition that we obviously don’t care about. The HG 2.0 are slightly more expensive than the other two. Notable difference is the Mil Spec are thinner and a more tacky grip. I’d get the Mil Spec again personally.
Based on how strong you are/how strong you want to get, we need to decide how much total weight and which plates to get. I’ll plan this out for myself as if I were ordering today. I would want to be able to load a barbell to at least 300 pounds. With bands, I can get the effect of over 500 pounds. But without bands, still want to be able to deadlift and squat at 300 pounds. Ten years ago I would have said 500 pounds. I was much more interested in squatting and deadlifting 400+ often. So I’d order four 45-pound plates, two 25-pound bumper plates. If you order them this way, as of today, it comes to $431 for 230 pounds, which with the 45lb barbell comes out to 275 pounds fully-loaded. I’d then add two cheap ten-pound cast iron plates you can get at Walmart or a sporting goods store, something like this. Rogue has some that are actually pretty well priced, so if you want to make it easier on yourself, order these York Legacy Iron Plates from Rogue for $48. Total cost (as of today…) is $489 for 250 pounds of plates, which gets you to a 295-pound fully loaded barbell. I’d probably grab some 2.5s to get to a clean 300 because it would bother me so much.
For comparison, you could get a 260-pound set from Rogue that has a pair of 10, 25, 35, and 45LB Mil Spec bumpers for $667. The same set in the HG 2.0 is $625 and it’s $583 in the HG Echo plates. We are saving money in all cases by buying just bumpers in 45s and 25s and then cast iron for the rest. You may want to try out a set for whatever reason, but I’ve given you my recommendation.
PRO TIP: If you can find cheap cast iron plates at a sporting goods store, Walmart, or second-hand from someone in your area, you could get just one set of 45s and 25s in bumpers and then augment with the cast iron. Most people don’t need the bumpers which you can drop for more than 200 pounds, so if you want to load up for heavy deads or squats, cast iron are fine. You can use your bumpers for 95-185lb Olympic lifts still in this set-up.
The eleventh purchase is a squat stand and accessories from Rogue ($750-$1000)
Now we need something to hold the barbell off the ground. You may be thinking a power rack, but I am going to go another way on you and recommend a squat stand instead. Why? They are unbelievably stable, can be set up or taken down easily, and have a smaller footprint. I will quickly note there are some wall-mounted solutions to save even more space that you may want to consider. I personally chose not to because I knew I’d be relocating my gym at least a few more times. You can see how the squat stand looks and how much space it takes in the photo above.
I initially got squat stands because I wanted to be able to collapse it and still park my car in the garage yet still be able to squat and overhead press heavy barbells. This Rogue stand is what I had for many years. Then I started using bands and needed more stability, so these just wouldn’t do. Gave them to a co-worker for their garage gym and got myself an SML-2 90″ Monster Light, which has the same footprint except the two stands are attached and also it has the Monster Light steel uprights, which are thicker and stronger. Rogue basically has three levels of steel – S-series, Monster Light, and Monster, which escalate in terms of thickness and strength. A lot of people would do fine with S-series, but I opted for Monster Light. Monster series is far more than I would ever need, something for the heaviest of lifters. It looks pretty cool though. Note that all Rogue accessories for the racks and stands are based on which steel you have, so make sure you order the right ones.
So…I got the SML-2 90″, which you may notice has a pull-up bar attached to it and we already bought a pull-up bar in phase one. I had one mounted on the ceiling still and then had this one on my squat stand in my last house, but when I moved, I didn’t put the stand-alone pull-up bar up opting for the one on the SML-2. It is 100% stable. Obviously space efficient too. So if you have a pull-up bar already, you could opt for the SML-1 Squat Stand. I would probably still get the pull-up bar version SML-2 as the marginal cost is not that much but offers even more options for you. It isn’t like the vertical space matters. Another note is that if you are tall (above 6 feet) consider the SML-3 108″. It’s just a taller SML-2 so when you go to do pull-ups, your feet have clearance for full range of motion. I am 5’9″ and the 90″ SML-2 is perfect. At a dead hang, I can barely touch my toes to the ground if I reach. If I were 4 inches taller, I think it would be close. Above 6’2″ definitely need the higher bar. You may have short ceilings too and then 108″ is too high.
Now we’ll assume we are getting an SML-2 for $500. We need a few more items at a minimum and then I have some further considerations.
You definitely need something to hold the barbell on the rack such as these J-Cups.
I added the Squat Stand Base Storage. This not only has a place to store my plates, but it stabilizes the squat stand so it is like it’s bolted down. Zero swaying on pull-ups at all. You could just stack plates on the ground like I used to do and forego this entirely too.
I also added a Single Bar Holder to keep my barbell off the ground and out of the way. Huge space saver.
Again, if you want to see how the set-up looks in an actual garage gym, check out the photo above.
I don’t think anything else is needed honestly. With these three accessories and the SML-2 rack, we are at $740 before tax and shipping.
I do have the Leg Roller and a Landmine that I use periodically (definitely not necessary). You can see just how many cool accessories there are for the Monster Light series here. Again, make sure you order the accessories for the S, Monster Light or Monster series.
A thing to consider based on your goals is the Safety Spotter Arms if you want maximum safety. I maybe would have gotten these when I was lifting a lot heavier, but I don’t take myself to failure on bench presses or squats anymore, so I don’t have them.
If you want more stability you could consider the floor mounting plates to securely mount the squat stand to the ground.
Finally, a really interesting upgrade to this that I considered for a long time but didn’t end up going with is the HR-2 half rack conversion kit, which turns your squat stand into a rack basically with a ton more safety to drop the bar and store plates. You keep the smaller squat stand footprint but gain a lot of higher level rack function with this. Take a look and see if you may be interested.
Summarize where we are and the next steps
This ends phase three. What we have now basically everything we need to get to a high level of physical fitness. With phase three’s additions, we can now really get big and strong. This came at a cost. Whereas the first two phases of equipment cost less than $1000 for everything, phase three’s Rogue cart comes out to a subtotal of $1,569 plus $289.84 in shipping and $194.15 in tax (to my house in Virginia) for a grand total of $1,952.99. Remember this is a lifetime purchase and these items can change your life, giving you a premium home gym setup. For $3,000 total, I think this is a bargain!
I am going to round out this series with some nice-to-have items that aren’t essential but may offer some additional benefits in the next post.
If you have any questions or need help with some of the intricacies of the Rogue equipment or anything related to putting together your garage gym, post a comment below or contact me. Happy to help!
Any thoughts on the next purchases for a garage/home gym set-up? Do you have any other recommendations? Post feedback to comments.