How To Build A Home Gym

Disclaimer – This post contains affiliate links to a brand/product that I support and use. 

Did your busy schedule catch up to you? Are you at a point where your travel time to and from the gym need to be taken into consideration? Don’t feel guilty, it happens. Since you are not a quitter, maybe this is the start to building your personal home gym. But where do you even start? What if I don’t have a garage? Isn’t it expensive? Let me tell you about my little home/garage gym that I call “K Ln” (In high school someone the street sign to Karen Ln and gave it too me and for some reason I kept it after all these years. When I purchased my house, knowing I was going to build a home gym, I hung the street sign in the garage and thus K Ln was born).

My house warming gift to myself was a pull up bar from Stud Bar. I can remember making my dad hang it for me the day I closed on the house and was given the keys. Shortly after that I built some parallettes to go with the one yoga mat I had. At one point I had a friend who needed some cash so he sold me his gym equipment which upgraded K Ln to a bar, bumper plates, medicine balls, a sled and a few other things. A few years later I started added kettlebells and dumbbells. I had a friend give me his old squat rack. A gym wanted to upgrade their airdynes so I bought one of their old ones. A friend was moving cross country, so I bought her rower. And the list goes on and on. I tell you this to show you that K Lane was a gradual build and that your home gym can be the same. Here are some things I would recommend based on your budget as well as workouts to go with them (told you, no excuses).

$0 Budget – Don’t think you are getting out of exercising that easy…remember, you are not a quitter.

  • Travel Workouts PDF. These are all bodyweight little WODs that you can do at home. They are just body weight movements and don’t use equipment. I even created movement videos for these workouts just incase you forget what burpees are.
  • Slider Workouts. Just a few wash cloths or towels under your feet will allow you to do these workouts.

$25 Budget – Bands  

  • Mini Bands ($4)
  • Bands/Tubes ($15)
  • Band Workout ($0) – I have a workout using just bands. It too is a PDF that you can print. This post will give you a variety of band movements/exercises to do. I have created a library for band movements incase you forget what a movement is.
  • Total So Far – $19

$75 Budget – I would purchase a kettlebell or a set of medium size dumbbells + Speed Rope

  • Everything in the $25 Budget Level
  • Fringe Sport has kettlebells and dumbbells. $45 can get you a 26# kettlebell or a pair of #12 dumbbells. 
  • Speed Ropes ($10) – you can get a fancy one or just stick with the basic one.
  • Bootcamp Programming ($0) – Volume 1 of Living Amped’s 4 Week Bootcamp Programming Series is free for download. The only equipment you need is a kettlebell or a dumbbell. There are very detailed instructions to go with this 4 week program.
  • Dumbbell Workout ($0) – This is a workout using just dumbbells. It is in a PDF that you can print if you want. It also tells you HOW to use the PDF to your advantage. I have dumbbell movement videos for the movements in the PDF plus some.
  • Jump Rope WorkoutS ($0) – has a few workouts that you can do with your jump rope. Even single unders can make for great conditioning workout. PLUS it is great to have when you travel.
  • Total So Far – $19 + $55 = $74

$100 Budget – Upgrade your KB + DB

  • Everything in the $25 Budget Level
  • Everything in the $75 but I would concentrate on a good weight in kettlebell or set of dumbbells that is going to last you for a little bit because the next steps are going to be big purchase/budget items.

$200 Budget – Add a Medicine Ball 

  • Everything in the $25 Budget Level
  • Everything in the $75 (with the upgrade)
  • #14 Dynamax Medicine Ball ($95) – #14 is a good middle of the road weight. Not too heavy and not too light. You can do a lot with it for sure. Fringe Sport does have a cheaper brand version but when it comes to med balls, dynamax brand is my favorite (you can read about my review HERE). You can also order from Fringe.

The next purchases I would make would be –

  • Plo Box ($155 – $185) depending on how comfortable you are jumping AND where you can store these things because boxes do not collapse. Fringe has soft ones starting at $199.
  • Bar + Bumper Plates (pkgs start at $488) – This is a basic set but you can get discounts if you want to add on a squat rack or more weight, etc. I would recommend a package though. Fringe even has a Partner Bar + Bumper Package starting at $602.

If you don’t want the hassle of growing your home/garage gym piece by piece, I would defiantly look into package deals. You can get a lot of equipment at great rates the more you purchase at a time. Just remember your space and what you have available. I’m a big fan of squat racks but don’t think you should have one in your bedroom.

I’m obviously a fan of Fringe Sports because of their prices and they are local, but they ship for free. But don’t be afraid to check out sporting resale shops, Craigslist, Offer Up, Facebook Market Place, garage sales, etc. You never know what you will find. My got my first plyo boxes through a trade with a cabinet maker. I traded him some extra medicine balls for a 20″ and 24″ plyo box. You just never know. If you really want to get inspired, check out pinterest or follow #homegym or GarageGymExperiment on instagram. Its a dangerous place. I would love to see your new gym so please send videos and/or tag me!