If you’ve been following this website for a while, you know that I am working on building a home gym again. The first time I never bought any other gear but I am back at it.

If you are new to the site I welcome you. Check out Cutty’s Home Gym Chronicles Revisited Part 1 to get caught up on everything that’s happening.

So in this update I’ll go over what I’ve found, what I’ve bought, what I plan on buying, and anything else that pops into my mind.

This is a somewhat off-the-cuff article so I do my best to organize my thoughts.

So let’s get started.

What have I purchased?

Since the last time we talked I haven’t purchased much, but I did get a few things.

• I purchased 300lbs in plates from a friend – I don’t know the breakdown but I think there are only (2) 45s and a bunch of 10s and stuff.
• I also purchased an adjustable bench from a friend – it was a package deal, I’ll use it until I get a better one.
• I also purchased another bar – again, package deal. I already have 1 really crappy bar I bought in a weight set from Dick’s Sporting Goods and then I have my Texas Power Bar.
• I bought a set of Troy Barbell bumper plates
• I bought a nice weight tree
• A cheap exercise bike

I got a decent deal on the equipment and it’s going to a good friend so even though I should have purchased a rack with this money, I actually came out ahead.

The weights have a lot of 10s and I think 5s which is great because of the EZ Curl Bar and the Olympic style adjustable dumbbell handles I got. Now I should be able to use these dumbbells and not have only enough weight for 1 handle (haha).

The bench should work for now, I don’t know how adjustable it is but I do know the back adjusts.

The bar will probably not be used depending on quality… if it’s like the crappy one I have then I won’t use it.

I bought this set of bumper plates. This will help wear and tear on the floor I’m going to build.

Here’s the Troy Barbell weight tree I bought. I like having the bar holders. I won’t be able to hold all of my weights on here but this will be a good start. There are a couple other trees that I sell I may get as well. Basically have a tree for big plates and a tree for small plates.

Lastly, I bought a cheaper exercise bike.

I could have splurged on a decent bike but I liked this one for many reasons:

• It was budget friendly
• It doesn’t rely heavily on electronics – last one I bought was battery-powered and about impossible to buy a power cord so it SUCKED.
• The electronic part that is on the bike is crappy and I’m pretty sure it isn’t needed; this means I can fabricate a table for like a laptop or for me to take notes or listen to podcasts with.
• This appears to fit wherever so if I want to game inside I guess I can lug this in if I really want to get my cardio on.
• I wanted a complete upright but I wasn’t willing to pay the higher cost so this is not quite recumbent or upright so I’ll just use it.

Just to let everyone know, I started an e-commerce store over at Strength Junkies and I actually use what I sell. If you’re looking to build a home gym or get more equipment be sure to head over there and check it out. If you have a big order contact me and I’ll get you a custom quote.

What do I still need?

There’s not a whole bunch that I need although they are some pretty large ticket items.

I need flooring. I’m looking into whether or not I want to go full force with a floor and build one with 2x4s and all of that but I think I’m going to use 1 or 2 sheets of wood, going to see how my trusty MDF holds up to abuse. I may have to get a different kind of wood but we’ll see.

Once I build the base I’ll buy some rubber mat. There are a couple of companies I wanted to try out their mat and if I can become a reseller for them, even better.

I also need a rack. I’m still trying to figure out what I want to do for a rack.

There are a few options that I could use:

• A full rack will take up a lot of room and provide the most protection especially for benching. I can dump a squat and it certainly is nice to have catches but I am most worried about being protected during bench.
• A half rack provides a smaller footprint. The problem with these will be building or buying “face savers” that will help spot me during bench. As I’ve said before I’m most worried about being safe with benching over everything else. This will also give more room for my wider stance squats.
• The jack stand type squat rack that have 2 separate uprights that you can move to adjust. Some of them seem to go low enough to do benching as well. These would be really nice for space and adjustability, just need to make or buy face savers.

If you don’t know what the jack stand type squat rack I am talking about, here’s an example (plus it’s a good older video):

Other than flooring and a rack I have enough to get me started. I will probably switch over to some twist lock dumbbells eventually because I just don’t know how well these other handles will hold up.

Conclusion

TL:DR – I bought another 300lbs of weight, an adjustable bench, and a bar from a friend. I also bought a pair of 45lb bumper plates and a weight tree from Troy Barbell (hit me up if you want some). I also got a cheaper exercise bike.

Other than needing to build a floor and buy a rack I am ready to go.

Follow along for more!