Anyone make a home gym? (how much, price, worth, best)

[athena53]

I'd also recommend a TRX- a V-shaped band that you anchor in the middle by fastening it to a wall or pipe or hanging the metal plate on the middle over a door and locking the door. Your own body weight provides the resistance for various exercises and there are plenty of workouts on YouTube. Bonus: you can throw it in a suitcase and use it anywhere.

[Ralph_Kirk]

Fortunately I had my home gym set up before the 'rona. Weight prices these days are absurd--about twice what they were before, which is too much to pay for cast iron.

I would recommend going to resistance bands right now. At some point, iron weights should come down in price. Hopefully, as gyms open people who bought weights because their gyms closed will start selling and you'll see them popping up at re-sell stores like "Play It Again" and Facebook Marketplace.

Right now, though: Resistance bands.

[Scooby Snacks]

I have a home gym that I set up before the virus also. It's a mix of several things. I bought a used treadmill for $250 years ago. It still works great. I bought an exercise bike that I used to recover from an injury but I gave that away. I have an adjustable weight bench that I got for $20 and it's quite versatile. I bought dumbbells from Academy in 3-10 pound sizes. I also got an adjustable dumbbell set from Walmart, not the expensive kind but the kind that you screw and unscrew the plates on. I just purchased a barbell from Walmart. It was only $30 and is a cheap substitute for multiple dumbbells. I have exercise bands but those were used following surgery and I generally find those boring. I also have a really nice 6' Akon spring trampoline to change up my workouts. I have a thick exercise mat along with gloves, shoes, and the clothes. I probably spent around $600 for a really nice setup. I'm happy with it and don't want to add anything else. There is a limit to what you can do with just bodyweight exercises, although you can do a lot without weights. Eventually you need to use some form of resistance, though. I agree with whoever said those adjustable dumbbells suck. They jam and are terribly expensive. You can get better deals on gym equipment on Facebook Marketplace sometimes, so check on there.

[N.Cal]

Yes, weights are hard to find, or if you can find them, very expensive. Buy a set of bands in various tensions and lengths. You can do pretty much any exercise with bands. Tons of information on the Google.


I had some stuff prior to Covid. My dream would be to have my own lap pool. I have a 3rd floor bonus space that's 44' x 16' with 20' ceiling. Perfect for a home gym.



Treadmill
Smart bicycle trainer
45# barbell
2 sizes kettlebells
#5 and #10 dumbells (would like more options)
TRX
Wide variety of bands
Bosu
Large exercise ball
Heavy bag
Yoga mat, blocks, blanket, bolster
Large TV with Apple TV + fitness apps

[kab0906]

Yes.

We have the smallest bedroom set up. Adjustable weights and a bench. Mats and yoga balls and those adjustable step things. There's also a punching bag on a stand. Plus we have our bicycles and miles of running trails in the neighborhood .

I'm still overweight because I like cheeseburgers too much. Lol

[Katana49]

Adjustable dumbbells are good if you're a guy and using them for 60% or more of their weight. We have some that are adjustable from Bowflex, that go from 5 lb to 52.5 lbs. They work well for me, but I'm 5'10 and my hands/body are big enough physically that using them feels natural. My 5'3 wife on the other hand hates them. She dials them down to 10-15 lbs, but she's still holding this big bar in her hands and each one is almost the width of her body, they're just too physically big for her even though the weight can be reduced to what she needs.


Ideally, I think manufacturers should make a set of adjustable bar bells, one that will do 5-25 lbs, and another for 25-50, that way the bar width wouldn't need to be so wide to accommodate all the different weights.

[Mr. Zero]

We have an elliptical, Bowflex select-tech dumbbells, a multi-position bench and a Total Gym. I've been a fan of the Total Gym since college. If it's good enough for Chuck Norris, it's good enough for me.

[CNYC]

Water bottles and broom sticks are your best friend. Add steps, push ups and chin ups and you don't need a gym.

[CaptainNJ]

Originally Posted by CNYC

Water bottles and broom sticks are your best friend. Add steps, push ups and chin ups and you don't need a gym.

what do you do with water bottles and broom sticks?

someones needs is also going to be different based on their goals. most people just arent do much of anything. so no need to get a whole universal machine or spend $1,000+ on dumbbells. do some push ups, some sit ups and walk a few miles a day.

i like to do a variety of exercises 4-5 days a week with heavy weights. i could probably get somewhere with dips, pull ups, push ups, etc. but its not going to make me happy and will be hard to properly hit certain muscles.

[Mikala43]

Originally Posted by athena53

I'd also recommend a TRX- a V-shaped band that you anchor in the middle by fastening it to a wall or pipe or hanging the metal plate on the middle over a door and locking the door. Your own body weight provides the resistance for various exercises and there are plenty of workouts on YouTube. Bonus: you can throw it in a suitcase and use it anywhere.

We have TRX and love them. I also use resistance bands. We bought both because they are portable and we can travel with them.

DH installed dip and pull up bars out in his man cave.

My current favorite exercise is cardio via VR. The best, most effective exercise? No. But one that is so much fun I can't wait to do it? Yes. The best exercise is the one you do!