For the first time in over 5 years, I am having to workout in a public, you have to pay a monthly membership, everyone is wearing headphones, some dude is doing 8 sets of bicep curls at the one squat rack, gym. I am not asking for sympathy points whatsoever (I feel super blessed to have been able to workout in some amazing facilities at UW and UH). But, this whole experience has reignited a dream of mine…to have a home gym.
I am sure I am not the only one who would prefer to workout at home, so I figured I’d share the essentials ( in my opinion) to building your own little slice of meathead heaven.
I have about a 10’ x 15’ area to work with, so here’s the list.
A Yoga Mat, or two.
Some Resistance bands (a heavy and light one would be enough)
A medicine ball (Dynamax is my personal favorite. 14lbs would be ideal)
An Iron gym or some sort of Pull Up bar
A TRX – Love this thing, in so many ways.
A sturdy, adjustable bench you can also use for step ups, bench, jumps, etc.
Then most importantly (and most expensive…the weights)
A set of Powerblocks (dumbells where you can adjust the weight from 10 lbs to up to 100 or so) – I’d probably start with the set that goes up to 50, then you can by add on weights in 20lb increments as you get stronger.
A weighted vest (this is not a necessity, but it would be rather nice)
(A squat rack with some plates would be ideal, but right now that’s out of my budget. But, if you search craigslist and ebay you’d be amazed at what deals you can find.)
There you have it. A checklist for that home gym we all would love.
Now, if I actually go through with this, I could make some instructional videos and stuff.
Might have to make my gym look like it’s at the beach then too.
Dream big.