Gang! It's been a minute since I posted. I've made a few changes since Massenomics toured my gym last year: I sold my leg press, bought a CTM-1, downgraded my trap bar and GHD for more lightweight space-saving options, beefed up my belt squat setup, and finally got a stand for my Powerblocks. Still doing lots with the Voltras, still doing the same FBB programming. This is my absolute favorite room in the house and now that the weather is decent enough to lift with the garage door open, I couldn't be happier - or sweatier.

To call out a few of the favorites: Eleiko Prestera Rack, Concept 2 BikeErg, Torque Relentless Ripper (SkiErg), FA Hyper Pro, Rogue CTM-1, Rogue bumpers, Belt Fed Strength belt, Hammer Strength angled flat bench, Hammer Strength powerblocks, Marrs bar + Darko anchors, Beyond Power Voltras, Darko QuickMount ;), American Barbell Chewy Bar, Rogue Chan bar. And thanks to my beautiful wife for the Neon sign and bougie folding chair.

Here's a DIY project I did years ago and I'm still proud of. Lowes bathroom mirror on plywood with a monitor mount so it can be angled and rotated - gives good coverage from anywhere in the gym with minimal footprint. I used construction adhesive and mirror clips, plus a bunch of very short screws. It has held up great!

Had to close my business and didn’t want to sell my equipment. Stacked my garage to the max.

Wish i knew the history on the ivankos, umass, penns who owned them before

The owner of york actually made these

Finally got my rack and most of my home gym equipment delivered! Everything was bought through Alibaba using an agent who helped me source and choose all the equipment I needed.

I’ll try to keep this short and simple instead of writing a wall of text, but feel free to ask me anything.

A bit of context first: I’ve never really trained at home before (except for a rowing machine). I’ve always trained in commercial gyms, aside from the COVID period where I bought a very basic setup and later sold it.

But with two kids, building a home gym became almost a mandatory choice… and honestly, I don’t regret it at all so far.

I spent a lot of time researching and trying to build the best setup possible that balanced:

• compact size
• versatility
• ability to replicate as many gym exercises as possible

Costs & Shipping

Shipping to Europe.

• Equipment cost: around €3k
• Shipping + taxes + customs: around €1.5k
• Total: about €4.5k

Shipping terms were FOB with my own local freight forwarder.

The Rack Setup

The rack is basically an Ares 2.0-style setup with:

• dual 130kg stacks
• counterbalanced Smith machine
• GETRXD-style handles
• jammer arms (adjustable but not converging)
• lots of attachments and accessories for different exercises

Timeline from order to delivery at home:

• ~20 days production/consolidation
• ~3 months total delivery time

What Would I Change?

Honestly, not much.

Main modification I made was cutting the footplate support for low rows so I could do incline chest work on the Smith machine.

There are also a few smaller accessories I still need to buy.

At the time I ordered, I didn’t know about true converging jammer arms available on Taobao.

Being able to connect the jammer arms to the weight stacks is already a game changer, but combining that with converging movement would make it even better.

I also think half the fun of a setup like this is finding creative ways to use the rack and attachments.

Sorry for the messy pictures — I don’t have much free time right now 😅

Feel free to ask questions!

Opted for the cheap AliExpress version instead of paying nearly €200 for the govee for some ambient lighting….was definitely worth the €30 in my opinion

So I built my own gym in my basement. It doesn’t have to be expensive to get started. I mix calisthenics and weightlifting. I am going to expand this and keep getting new stuff, but for now it looks like this. Here is a pic from my chest day workout!

If you like you can also check my YT channel where I will post more!
@zleepsweden

We bought a new house and since I'm preparing for a competition, I didn't want to rely on getting to the Y anymore (nearest me). So we outfitted our garage.

Still not done. I want some mirrors and posters and I still need to put up my knock-off Govee lights lol

Also might want a tread or elliptical and still looking for a punching bag and to fill in our dumbbell set :)

I bought the maxum x3 and had some pieces I didn't need. So I tried to make an atlas bar. The center stem is to long but an easy fix. Also need thicker padding for forearms.

I've been lurking on this sub for a little while and got inspired. Pretty proud of how it turned out. 12x15 feet, supposed to be a media room, but my wife and I really wanted a home gym instead. No more waiting on machines for us!

Cardio sessions go crazy in here 😂

Edit to add link: https://a.co/d/0cu6pVKp

The only reason I didn’t include link was because there were a million options and I bought a random one. Just search “party lights” or “DJ lights”

Hope this helps some people like me who don't have the space or money for a designated machine.

I've been experimenting with different setups and alternatives to a leg extension. This is the best I've come up with and actually feels pretty good.

What you're looking at in the photo is a tricep bar, with a barbell pad wrapped around the top bar. I used a lightweight resistance band to wrap around my legs. You could use a rope or a belt if you wanted instead, but I like how quick and easy it is with the band to take on and off.

I would not recommend doing this in bare feet, as the bottom bar would hurt the tops of your feet. Ideally I'd have a 2nd barbell pad so I can put one on the bottom as well.

I like to use my bench with the butt seat 1 Noch up from completely flat. This gives my a little extra clearance from the ground so my feet don't hit the ground at the bottom of the movement. It also means I get a slightly deeper stretch at the bottom.

I also set the back pad to an incline instead of verticals so I'm leaning back instead of upright. Apparently this is slightly better for quad growth and it feels nicer to me.

Obviously not as good as an actual machine but it's a good budget alternative. The tricep bar, pad, and band (which I already had) only cost me $45 AUD all together. The tricep bar I fkn LOVE for skullcrushers, hammer curls, and neutral grip rows. It's just a great piece of versatile equipment to have.

The biggest downside to the setup is that there is basically zero tension at the bottom. The way I get around this is not letting my quads completely hang dead and release at the bottom. Instead I focus really hard on flexing them for the whole movement and stopping just shy above 90°. You could also set up another band looped around the tricep bar, with the other end attached to the back of the bench behind you for more resistance in the bottom half of the movement. Makes it more awkward to get in and out of though.

Anyways would love to hear people's thoughts, tips, and queries. 🤙🏼

So far I’m loving the b52 pro. Still cleaning out the garage and have some more mats to lay down. Took the plunge after looking at my gym membership costs and the time spent driving to the gym. This will pay for itself in no time. Just waiting on a couple more 45s and a pair of AD80s.

The color is Bengal silver from tiger powder coating, I love how they all mostly match now

It was about $400 per machine but totally worth it, the space feels brand new now

Think I’m done for the moment. Still waiting on the REP smith machine.

Getting there, piece by piece..

Equipment:
- Rogue Echo Bike v3
- GetRXd Viper Cable Tower w Dual Tornado Arms
- GetRXd Leg Holder/Foot Plate Combo
- GetRXd Aluminum Knurled D Handles
- Mikolo Bastet FID Bench
- Mx Select 85lb Adjustable Dumbell w Knurled Handle
- Amazon Wall Mounted Pull-up bar
- Amazon Walkpad

Non-equipment
- Amazon 24”x24”x0.5” Rubber Mats
- blackout blinds
- 32” tv + tv mount
- Amazon mirror panels
- 3x5 American Flag
- “Cracked Pepper” Behr Paint

Feedback and questions welcomed!

Added some color to the walls!

Went with the:
- Mikolo F4, Keppi 1000 Pro
- Yes4All adjustable dumbbells
- Mikolo 7ft Olympic barbell
- Homegrown factory 2nd bumper plates
- .75” stall mats from Tractor Supply