Ready to Grab Some New Gear? Here Are Our Personal Favourites (If You’re Not Sure What To Get, Start Here).

In my opinion, a home gym is easily the best (and most rewarding) way to train.

When you’re setting one up – or adding to an existing setup – consider the items below. These are the ones we use ourselves, love and strongly recommend.

Let’s dive in.

Essentials

These are the items at the core of any strength-focussed home gym. Barbell, bench, rack and plates.

That’s really all you need to get started. The one we recommend are :

• An Olympic weight set. We like the Fitness Gear 300 lb Olympic Weight Set .
  NB : it’s easy to find additional plates (either new or second-hand) when you find you need more. Still, 300lb will keep you going for a while.
• Power Rack (sometimes called a Power Cage). Fantastic thing – perfect for all manner of squats, pulls and presses. We recommend the Valor Athletics Inc. BD – 7.
• Adjustable Bench. Together with the rack, this is very much the heart of your home gym. We like the Ativafit Adjustable.
• Dumbbell Handles. Not absolutely essential, but strongly recommended. We like the Body-Solid Heavy Duty Handles.

Extras

Once you’ve got the basics covered, consider adding an extra or two. Our favourites are :

• Chinning Bar : If you’re buying a rack, you’ll find that there’s a chinning bar (for chin-ups and pull-ups) as part of it. If not, just grab a door-mounted one such as this.
• Dip Handles. Again, if you’re buying a rack, dip handles are frequently an optional extra (they clip onto the rack itself). If not, consider grabbing something like this.
• Suspension Straps. We like the Lifeline Jungle Gym.
• Resistance Bands. There are several available; we’re currently using the Rubberbanditz.
• Stability Ball : optional, but great to have. Something like this is ideal.
• Power Wheel : again this is optional, but great to have. Consider something like the Lifeline Power Wheel.
• Flooring : Something like these Anti-Microbial Puzzle Mats, or any large piece of rubber or carpet that’s available.

Of course there’s a whole lot more. Have a poke around on Amazon, or sites like StrongerGrip or Dragon Door if you’re after something specific.

And if you still can’t find one, drop me a line. Happy to help.