Come take a tour of my home gym and learn how to get the best bang for your buck!
I've always wanted a home gym.
The ease and accessibility.
Not having to wait for the equipment to be free.
Not feeling like everyone is watching me.
The only problem was I didn't have a garage and I didn't have the $10,000+ to spend.
Fast forward a whole year of researching, building wish lists, pricing out different gym equipment options, almost purchasing items and backing out...
I figured out how to create my dream home gym without a garage and under $5,000.
My BEDROOM Home Gym Under $5,000
As you can tell, my gym isn't in a garage...it's in my master bedroom!
I was laying in my master bedroom one morning and thought, "Why not make my biggest bedroom a gym and move into the guest room. After all, I literally just sleep here and you don't need a lot of space to...sleep."
And so she transformed her Master Bedroom into her Dream Home Gym!
Lucky for you, I have listed all of the equipment and why I chose it below!
Flooring
I knew I wanted gym flooring that would protect my flooring below because I know this isn't my forever home, and I was NOT about to redo the entire room. In case you didn't know, real gym flooring is EXPENSIVE. I decided to go with Tractor Supply Horse Stall Mats. I bought 6 mats for my ~12' x 12.5' room and ended up with a 6" gap by the door. I had to remove approximately 1" from the mats to allow them to sit flush. (TIP: BUY A BOX CUTTER AND MULTIPLE BLADES). Also, black gorilla tape works great to cover the seams.
If you look at the reviews, you'll see that the mats are smelly. Well I'm here to tell you that they ARE, in fact, smelly. I left mine outside for a few days, washed them with soap/water, let them air dry and they still made my house smell like a tire shop for at least a month. The room still has a slight rubber smell now, but it is not overwhelming anymore.
Also, the smell is worth it because these mats are heavy duty! If you plan on lifting heavy and don't want to damage flooring or foundation, I 10/10 recommend these mats.
Oh and by the way, they're 100 lbs each, so make sure you have a friend to help.
Treadmill
The treadmill was the second thing I purchased. I wanted a treadmill that I could walk on, do low/high intensity cardio sessions on, and use an incline. Holy moly, new treadmills are expensive. Like $1,000+ expensive. So that was a no for me.
I found my treadmill on Facebook Marketplace for $400. 4-0-0 dollars y'all. This treadmill doesn't have all the bells and whistles, but it is a solid treadmill! (Also, 300+ lbs so grab that friend again to help). I had to disassemble it to get it into my room..piece by piece.
The model I have is unavailable, but I was able to find a similar to one: BowFlex Treadmill BXT8J.
Dumbbells + Rack
When choosing my weights, I wanted dumbbells that were high quality and would last a while. Rogue is my favorite gym equipment company, but their items are EXPENSIVE, and rightfully so. The quality of their equipment is top notch.
Rogue actually had dumbbells for a reasonable price. The best price actually. I got the Rubber Hex 5#-50# set from Rogue.
I use this weight range the most in commercial gyms, so it was a no brainer to get this set. The dumbbells come in pairs and increase by 5 lbs increments.
The quality of these dumbbells are GREAT! They were individually boxed and come with a protective oil/grease gel on them. I'm petite with small hands and the handles aren't too big! This was a fear of mine getting these dumbbells, but the handles are perfect!
With dumbbells, you need a dumbbell rack, unless you're okay with them sitting on the ground. I have limited room, so a dumbbell rack was essential.
Dumbbell racks are also very expensive when purchasing from gym equipment companies, so I chose the Amazon route for mine! I decided on this 3 Tier Dumbbell Rack from Amazon. After reviewing different racks, this one seemed to have the best reviews. Another wise purchase, because this dumbbell rack was easy to assemble and holds my dumbbell set perfectly! It is sturdy and has minimal-no wobble!
Squat Rack
This sections was, by far, the most difficult to decide on. At first, I wanted a squat rack that had a pull up bar and was sturdy. You can actually find a lot of squat racks for a decent price from Fringe Sports and Amazon.
I was searching Amazon when I found my squat rack from Major Fitness. I chose the Power Rack Raptor F22 because it was wide, shorter in length, and had two separate cable systems.
Let me tell you, this Power Rack has me SPEECHLESS. If you're building a home gym, you need this power rack.
Not only can you use it for your typical compound lifts, but you also have dip bars, pull up bars for neutral and wide grips, two separate cable systems, foot pedal for rows/lat pull downs, different cable attachments, landmine attachment, resistance band pegs, etc. ALL INCLUDED!
UNLIMITED options for minimal space usage. This rack is a game-changer y'all. Oh and it's sturdy. This rack is easier to assemble with an extra person, but you can do it by yourself.
Barbell + Plates
What do you need with an amazing squat rack? A barbell and plates obviously.
I purchased all of my weights from Rogue. Because of the history of the company, I knew the weights were going to be high quality. I chose the Ohio Bar - Black Zinc 20kg and the Rogue HG 2.0 Bumper Plates.
These plates are similar to the plates used in most commercial gyms. I wanted plates I could do deadlifts with and could throw around if I decided to start doing olympic lifts one day.
Again, the quality of the barbell and plates from Rogue are excellent.
Bench
To complete a gym, an adjustable bench is necessary.
I went with the Rogue Adjustable Bench 3.0. You can purchase a bench for much cheaper than this one, but I wanted a high quality and sturdy bench that would last me a long time.
Y'all... this bench is HUGE and the quality is perfection.
It is expensive, but it is worth it.
Accessories
Here are a few accessory items I have included in my home gym:
Final Comments
As you can see, you don't have to a huge garage or spend $10,000+ on your dream home gym! This gym cost me less than $5,000 to complete and has everything I need.
I do plan to add mirrors and decorations to finalize my gym, but I'm still in the process of decided what to do there.
If you want to see more content as I decorate the gym, show how the equipment works, and show different workouts with the equipment make sure to follow me on my instagram: Lauren Feagin Fitness
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