The 3 Most Essential Pieces of Equipment for the Garage Gym

Written By: Stephen Dull, Creator of the 360 Man Project

You’re tired of waiting for equipment in the gym, the commute is killing you mentally, and quite frankly you’re tired of paying for a gym membership that increases every year and has subpar benefits. It’s time to join the elite community of garage gym athletes, those who choose weightlifting freedom over stuffy and cramped run of the mill gyms that cater to the masses and not the individual. You’re ready to make the leap, and you even have the space cleared out. It’s is move in ready. Only there is one problem:

You don’t know what equipment to get first.

No worries, we’ve got you covered. The great thing about garage gyms is that you don’t need a lot of equipment to start and you can build, modify and restructure however you see fit. Your gym is going to evolve right along with you. It is as unique as you are.

However, there are three essential pieces of equipment every garage gym needs to have.

• • Pull-up Bar
  • Barbell
  • Kettlebell

Even if these were the only items that you ever had, you could get a complete workout every single day.

The pull-up bar is going to help you with grip strength, give you a strong back, develop biceps and even work on your core, without ever having to do extensive ab exercises.

The barbell is the most functional tool a garage gym owner can have in his arsenal. What can’t you do with one? In fact, you will use this one so much it will become an extension of you. The barbell will be your best friend.

With the barbell you can perform movements like:

• • Squats
  • Deadlifts
  • Cleans
  • Snatch
  • Jerk
  • Rows

• These are only just a few, the list could go on and on. You can find a barbell exercise to help you build almost every muscle in your body.

The Kettlebell

is very dynamic and can improve core stability and strength. Turkish get ups are incredibly challenging and they will help you develop shoulder strength. If you did twenty of these a day you would be a much-improved human.

Where Do I get Gym Equipment?

Thought you would never ask. There are several great places to get some solid equipment. If you are going to just go all out and get all three in one shot, or are just looking to jump start your garage gym saga, then check out RogueFitness.com and the garage gym or CrossFit packages.

One of my personal favorites is the SOCAL Complete Cross-Fitter Package or you can go for the gusto and get the W-4 Custom Garage Gym.

Another great place to get equipment is Titan Fitness, they are always having awesome sales, giveaways and they have a reward point system. Also, they have free shipping and it usually comes in a couple days, so if you have an itch and you need to give it attention, you won’t wait long, before it is scratched.

3 Workouts where all you need is a barbell, kettlebell, and pull-up bar

Instead of just leaving you hanging on next steps, I’m going to give you some cool workouts to use your newfound plunder. My hope is that you will be fired up to get the garage gym, get the equipment and then become a force to be reckoned with.

You owe it to yourself.

• Workout 1: Using only a Kettle-Bell do:
  • 19 Floor to Overhead
  • 19 Front Squats
  • 19 Push-ups (38 total, 19 each arm)
  • 400m run with KB, do not set it down once you start running

  The prescribed weight of the KB is 53 pounds; however, you can use a weight that will allow you to complete this without destroying yourself.

  

• Workout 2: This one is done with only a Barbell and a pull-up bar:
  • FRAN for Time 21-15-9 of:
    • Thrusters
    • Pull-ups
•  

  Workout 3:

  This one has it all. Using a prescribed weight of 185 pounds (you can modify to be a weight that is manageable for you)

  3 Rounds for Time:

  • 11 Front Squats
  • 9 Deadlifts
  • 5 Pull-ups

  Rest 3 Minutes, Then…

  3 Rounds for Time:

  • 50 KB Snatch (53#/35#)
  • 10 burpees

   

  Hopefully, this has primed your engine to finally make the plunge into the awesome world of garage gym ownership. Goodbye to the old membership, and the nasty funk in the locker rooms. Take charge of your life and get started.

  What items do you think every garage gym should have?

  What is a workout that you do in your gym?

  

• Stephen is a self-proclaimed Garage Gym Athlete. He is a Navy Veteran, enjoys doing CrossFit and runs the 360 Man Project in his spare time. He wants to help everyone live a healthier life, the one that they were made to live.